Higher Ed Without Borders interviews Dr. Tarek Sobh, President Lawrence Technological University

Dr. Tarek Sobh, is President of Lawrence Technological University in Southfield Michigan, with an enrollment of approximately 3,000 students. Dr. Sobh, a licensed professional engineer, assumed the position of President on January 1st, 2022.  In 2020 he joined Lawrence Tech as vice president of academic affairs and provost at LTU.

Previously, he was the interim provost, the university executive vice president, research and economic development, and founding dean of the College of Engineering, Business, and Education at the University of Bridgeport (Connecticut). He received a Bachelor of Science in engineering with honors in computer science and automatic control from Alexandria University, Egypt, and a Master of Science and a Ph.D. degree in computer and information science from the University of Pennsylvania. He began his academic career as a research assistant professor of computer science at the University of Utah.

The interview includes the following questions:

• We are seeing an increasing number of foreign-born scholars leading U.S. Universities.  What are some unique advantages that they bring to their universities and unique challenges that they may face at times?
• We have spoken with several university leaders each has expressed their own institution's advantages and challenges. As a private US university, What would you say are Lawrence Technical University's advantages, and what are the challenges?
• The higher you go in higher education, the lonelier it gets.  As a first-time president who took the position less than a year ago, what are some keys to your success as a leader in higher education?
• You come from a university career track. Did you have mentors along the way and what lessons did you learn from them about being a university leader?
• As a U.S. university leader, you have traveled widely around the world.  Over the past decade, what are some significant changes, reforms, and transformations that you see in higher education in different regions of the world?

Comments and Suggestions:

Higher Ed Without Borders would love to hear your ideas for future topics and guests. Connect with Dr. Senthil Nathan or Dean Hoke on LinkedIn. You can also visit the Edu Alliance website. To hear the entire series please subscribe to Higher Ed Without Borders on your preferred podcast platforms such as Apple, Spotify, or Google. The podcast is sponsored by Edu Alliance, an education consulting firm located in Bloomington Indiana, and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. We assist higher education institutions worldwide on a variety of
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