NORTH CANTON – Walsh University welcomed the Archbishop of Catholic University in Erbil, Iraq (CUE), to campus Nov. 14 to sign a memorandum of understanding that will foster a mutually beneficial collaboration for students, faculty and staff from both Catholic institutions and the broader populations they serve.
President Tim Collins and members of the Walsh University Cabinet attended the memorandum signing ceremony. They met with Archbishop Bashar Matti Warda, CSsR, the Chaldean Catholic Archbishop of Erbil, a leading international voice for the persecuted Christians of Northern Iraq.
Collins and Archbishop Warda signed the agreement to formalize and support the ongoing collaboration between Walsh University and CUE and promote cultural exchanges between the two educational communities. The memorandum states:
“The parties will host groups of faculty and students from the partnering university whenever feasible and includes Walsh’s support for educational trips of Iraqi students to Northeast Ohio.”
The two Catholic universities will work collaboratively to create educational opportunities for the students of the two universities and will include the joint pursuit of scholarship funding for Iraqi students to study at Walsh University online and in-person.
Additionally, the universities will explore educational initiatives such as joint development of language courses in Arabic and Aramaic by faculty employed by the CUE to be offered to Walsh students.
As part of the memorandum, there is also potential for catechist collaborations with Walsh’s Department of Theology, campus ministry and others.
Funding for this memorandum will be collaboratively sought by the two universities.
