The American University of Afghanistan (AUAF)

Faculty and instructors at the American University of Afghanistan come from many fields of study and research. In keeping with the intent of the University to build a modern tradition of education based on academic integrity and professionalism, all faculty and instructors have academic backgrounds from universities in North America, Europe, or Australia, and have professional experience teaching in a variety of cultural contexts.

Faculty & Instructors

Marilyn K. Angelucci, B.A., M.A.
Title:		Foundation Studies Program Instructor
Bio:		Mrs. Angelucci has lived in Afghanistan with her family since 2005. She is new to AUAF as of the summer of 2008. The Angelucci’s have lived in the United States, Italy, Romania, India and Afghanistan working on Peace Education and Journalistic writing as well as teaching English. She is now in Kabul with her husband Umberto and her two teenage sons, Joshua and Young.
Degrees:		B.A., Psychology, State University of New York at New Paltz, 1988 M.A., Education, Unification Theological Seminary, 1990

Nangyalay Arsala, Ph.D.
Title:		Associate Professor of Mathematics and Natural Science
Bio:		Dr. Arsala joined the American University of Afghanistan in August 2008 after serving as a senior academic advisor to two Afghan ministers of education from 2005 to 2008. Previously, he was teaching mathematics and physics and was a teacher educator at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands. Over a 15-year period Dr. Arsala was student-advisor and science/math teacher-educator at the graduate school for teacher education, ICLON, at the University of Leiden.

Christopher Blades, B.Eng., H.N.G., Ph.D.
Title:		Associate Professor of Information Technology and Computer Science
Bio:		Dr. Blades joined the American University of Afghanistan in August 2008 from Eastern Kentucky University’s Department of Accounting, Finance, and Computer Information Systems. Dr. Blades taught courses in Networking and Telecommunications, Introductory, Intermediate and Advanced Programming, Advance Database Design and Administration, Management Information Systems, Introduction to Computer Information Systems. He is actively engaged in several ongoing research projects in Knowledge Management, Telemedicine, and APEX database approaches.
Degrees:		H.N.D., Electronic Engineering, Norwich City College, 1993 B.Eng. (First Class Hons), Electronics, University of East Anglia, 1996 Ph.D., Physics Device Modeling, University of Bath, 2000

Mr. H. David Shaw
Title:		Director of Student Affairs
Bio:		Mr. H. David Shaw is the Director of Student Affairs and the Course Director of the University Success and Making Connections Programs at AUAF. He has worked in Student Affairs for over 10 years, initially at The University of Mississippi, Arkansas State University, and, most recently, George Mason University. Mr. Shaw earned a Bachelor of Science in Liberal Arts from Regents College of Albany, New York, a Master of Arts in Education from the University of Education, a Specialist Degree in Education, and has completed his coursework in 2005 toward an Doctorate of Education, from Arkansas State University
Degrees:

James G. Hart, B.A., M.A.
Title:		Assistant Professor of English and Humanities
Bio:		Mr. Hart has most recently been teaching English, academic and creative writing, critical thinking and journalism at universities in the Kyrgyz Republic. He has also taught introduction to philosophy, ethics, and religious studies in the United States. In his free time, Mr. Hart studies languages and has experience with Semitic, Indo-European, and Turkic languages.
Degrees:		B.A., Classical Languages and Literature, University of Montana, 1998 M.A., Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, Indiana University, 2001

Sharif Fayez, Ph.D., D.H.L., D.R.H.
Title:		Founding President and Professor of Humanities and Comparative Literature
Bio:		Dr. Fayez is widely experienced in world higher education. He was formerly Afghanistan’s Minister of Higher Education.
Degrees:		B.A., Kabul University, 1969 Ph.D., University of Arizona, 1978

Kevin King, B.A., M.A.
Title:		Foundation Studies Program Instructor
Bio:		Mr. King has taught English in the U.S.A and eight different countries including Japan, Egypt and Cambodia. He has also worked as a researcher and English editor for the Mekong Institute in Thailand and recently worked with the Afghanistan Rule of Law Project in Kabul.
Degrees:		B.A, Communications, University of Miami, 1980 Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) Certificate, Aston University, 2000 M.A., International Studies, Webster University, 2006

Kunduz Maksutova, M.Ed.
Title:		Foundation Studies Program Instructor
Bio:		Ms. Maksutova has university teaching experience for the last 18 years. She has presented papers at various international conferences, such as Harvard University, USA, 2003; the University of Cluj Napoka, Romania, 2005; Central European University, Hungary, Budapest, 2007; the Muskie Alumni Conference, Tbilisi, Georgia, 2006 and others. She also has experience as a teacher-educator working with Aga Khan Education Service, Central Asia, developing curriculum for the Aga Khan High School in Osh, Kyrgyzstan, working on the selection committee for the principal of the school, providing professional training for teachers, and volunteering in the parent-teacher association.
Degrees:		University Diploma, Osh State University, 1989 M.Ed., Education, Aga Khan University, 1999 M.Ed., Education, University of Massachusetts, 2004

Eric Merkt, B.A., M.A., M.I.B.S.
Title:		Assistant Professor
Bio:		Professor Merkt began his professional career with Procter & Gamble (Arabian Peninsula) and moved on to be Marketing Director at the Arabian Company for Detergents (Riyadh), playing a key role in the company's turnaround that led to its forming a joint-venture with Henkel. He has completed his coursework and examinations toward a Ph.D in organizational behavior.
Degrees:		B.A., Philosophy, University of South Carolina, 1982 M.A., Religion, LTSS, 1986 Masters in International Business Studies, University of South Carolina, 1991 Ph.D., ABD (in progress), Organizational Behavior, University of South Carolina

Sayed Askar Mousavi, B.A., M.Litt, D.Phil
Title:		Adjunct Professor of Anthropology
Bio:		Dr. Mousavi returned to Afghanistan from Oxford University, U.K., where he spent over twenty years as a student, researcher, and professor. He is currently a Senior Associate Member of St. Antony’s College, Oxford, where he also founded the Afghanistan Studies program. Presently, he is the Senior Advisor to the Minister of Higher Education in Afghanistan.
Degrees:		B.A., Development Studies, University of East Anglia, 1987 M.Litt, Anthropology, Linacre College, Oxford University, 1992 D.Phil, Anthropology, Linacre College, Oxford University, 1992

Abdul Qayum Mohmand, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.
Title:		Assistant Professor of Political Science
Bio:		Dr. Mohmand joined the American University of Afghanistan on August 1st, 2008. He has taught courses in International Relations, Comparative Politics, Middle East Politics, and Islam and Politics at the University of Utah and Brigham Young University. Dr. Mohmand's areas of interest and research include Theories of International Relations and Comparative Politics; American Foreign Policy; Government, Politics, and Religion of the Middle East; Islamic Political Thought; and Political Violence and Conflict Resolution
Degrees:		B.A., Political Science, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), 1993 M.A. Political Science, California State University, Long Beach, 1996 Ph.D., Middle East Studies/Political Science, University of Utah, 2007

Athanasios Moulakis, Dr.Phil
Title:		Chief Academic Officer
Bio:		Dr. Moulakis joined the American University of Afghanistan in February 2008 after serving as a public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, DC, and an Onassis Foundation Fellow in Athens, Greece. Previously, he was director of the Institute for Mediterranean Studies of the University of Lugano. Over an 11-year period Dr. Moulakis was Herbst Professor of Humanities and Professor of Political Science at the University of Colorado, where he was also founding Director of the Herbst Program of Humanities.
Degrees:		Dr.Phil. (magna cum laude), Political Philosophy,Ruhr-Universität Bochum

T. Seamus O’Sullivan, Ph.D
Title:		Assistant Professor of American Studies
Bio:		Dr. O’Sullivan was a newspaper journalist and administrator of non-profit organizations addressing the healthcare and housing needs of homeless people in Colorado and New Mexico before earning his doctorate. His research and teaching interests include poverty and homelessness, class formation and stratification, U.S. social history, cultural studies, critical whiteness studies, popular culture and globalization, and U.S. foreign policy.
Degrees:		B.A., Political Science, State University College of New York at Oswego, 1973 M.A., American Studies, University of New Mexico, 1997 Ph.D., American Studies, University of New Mexico, 2004

Joyce Killen Shah, B.S., M.S., Ph.D.
Title:		Professor of Science
Bio:		Dr. Shah has more than twenty years of overarching education and healthcare experience in teaching, research, and project development and management. She has done university teaching and grant-funded research at Ohio State University, Marquette University, Michigan State University and the Salk Institute. Her technical and scientific expertise is in biology, chemistry, microbiology, infectious diseases, immunology, and medical devices. Her private business sector experience includes responsibility for the intellectual property of a biotechnology corporation; she is a member of the patent bar and registered to practice before the United States Patent & Trademark Office and World Intellectual Property Organization. Dr. Shah’s international experience includes working with government officials, physicians, professors, scientists, engineers, attorneys and senior management in Afghanistan, Europe and the Middle East. She has knowledge of Afghan Dari and French.
Degrees:		B.S., Medical Technology, Ohio State University, 1973 M.S., Pathology, Ohio State University, 1978 Ph.D., Microbiology, Wayne State University School of Medicine, 1982

Muhammad Shariq, B.Sc., M.B.A, M.A, M.S.
Title:		Assistant Professor of Information Technology
Bio:		Mr. Shariq not only has extensive experience in the business and information technology sectors, but he has also taught at various levels. He is the member of various professional and international organizations including Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and Duke of Edinburgh’s Award.
Degrees:		B.Sc., University of Karachi, 1994 M.B.A., Marketing, Institute of Business Administration, 1999 M.A., International Relations, University of Karachi, 2001 M.S., Computer Sciences, City University of New York, 2003

Melvin Sterne, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.
Title:		Assistant Professor of English
Bio:		Dr. Sterne teaches Creative Writing, Literature, Composition, and Editing and Publishing. He is the author of 18 published short stories, in addition to several poems and academic articles. His stories have won numerous awards. Dr. Sterne was the founder and Senior Editor of Carve Magazine, and most recently edited with Government Information Quarterly. He has ten years' professional editing experience. You may learn more about his writing, teaching, and photography at www.melvinsterne.com.
Degrees:		B.A ., English, University of Washington, 2001 M.A., English, University of California at Davis, 2003 Ph.D., Creative Writing, Florida State University, 2008 Graduate Certificate in Editing and Publishing, FSU, 2006

Cynthia Warren, B.A., M.A.
Title:		Assistant Professor of English
Bio:		Ms. Warren has worked in many areas of ESL/EFL education including teaching, curriculum development, program evaluation, and teacher development in eight countries, including four in the Muslim world. As a U.S. Department of State Senior English Language Fellow in Russia from 2000-2004, she helped develop a new American Studies Department at Irkutsk State Linguistics University in eastern Siberia.
Degrees:		B.A., English, College of Notre Dame of Maryland, Baltimore, MD, 1972 M.A., TESOL (Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages) University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 1989

Ken Whalen, B.A., M.A., Ph.D.
Title:		Assistant Professor of Geography
Bio:		Dr. Whalen's research interests include landscapes of commemoration, geographical representation, (post) colonial theory, environmental ethics and cultures of environmental conservation. He is currently doing research on cultural landscapes and environmental conservation in South Asia particularly northern India and Afghanistan. Dr. Whalen previously taught at University of Maryland, University of Florida, Jacksonville University and Florida State College at Jacksonville. He also serves as an undergraduate academic advisor at AUAf.
Degrees:		B.A., Geography, Hunter College, City University of New York, 1992 M.A., Geography, University of Maryland, College Park, 1996 Ph.D., Geography (minor in Landscape Architecture), University of Florida, 2009

Timor Saffary, Ph.D. (Phys.), Ph.D. (Math.)
Title:		Associate Professor of Mathematics and Physics
Bio:		Dr. Saffary joined the AUAF in January 2009 after working eight years as a Scientic Assistant at the Helmut-Schmidt-Universität (HSU) in Hamburg, Germany. He has taught physicists, mathematicians and economists in mathematics and physics at the Universität Hamburg and at the HSU. His research interests include quantum feld theory on curved spacetimes, in particular black holes and the Hawking radiation, as well as operator algebras and non-commutative probability theory.
Degrees:		1994 Technical-Chemical-Assistant, Gewerbeschule 13 Hamburg 2001 Diploma in Physics, Universität Hamburg 2002 Diploma in Mathematics, Universität Hamburg 2005 Ph.D. in Theoretical Physics, Universität Hamburg 2008 Ph.D. in Abstract Mathematics, HSU