FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                                        October 10, 2007

IRAQI EDUCATION OFFICIAL TO LECTURE AT NORTHWESTERN

            Dr. Beriwan Khailany, deputy minister in the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Iraq, will be on the Northwestern Oklahoma State University-Alva campus Oct. 25 and 26 to deliver a series of lectures about education in Iraq and the impact of the current war in that country.

            Beriwan is a visiting professor in micropaleontology at the University of Oklahoma.

            “Dr. Beriwan’s visit will provide Northwestern students the opportunity to learn how the war in Iraq has affected its educational and governmental systems,” said Dr. Kay Decker, professor of sociology.

            On Thursday, Oct. 25, she will speak to members of Non-Western Civilization and International Relations classes. The lecture is titled “Iraqi Women: Between Ousted Regime and Democracy” and will be broadcast via interactive television to students in Enid, Woodward and Ponca City.

            Later that day, a reception in Beriwan’s honor will be held in the Wyatt Room of the Student Center from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.

            From 7 to 8 p.m., a public lecture will be presented in Room 109 of the Struckle Education Center and all members of the community are invited to attend. Beriwan will discuss “Iraqi Higher Education Today and Its International Relations.”

            On Friday, Oct. 26, she will speak to the Education as a Profession class and members of other student groups and classes are invited to attend. This lecture will be at 11 a.m. in Room 100 of the Struckle Education Center and is titled “The Impact of International Crisis on Education in Iraq.”

            Beriwan earned a bachelor of science degree in geology from Baghdad University and has a Ph.D. in micropaleontology (oil exploration) from University College London. She has taught post-graduate courses and supervised master’s degree and doctoral students in the fields of stratigraphy, paleoecology, engineering geology and rock mechanics. Her research interests include oil exploration, geochemistry, industrial geology (especially glass and ceramic industries) and applied geology.

            She has written two textbooks on geology and microfossils, has published more than 10 papers and has written more than 20 unpublished, confidential applied researches. Beriwan has been a member of the editorial board for the Journal of Al-Nahrain University for Science and a consultant to a number of government establishments. She has been certified by the Women’s Alliance for a Democratic Iraq at a ceremony in Washington, D.C.

            Beriwan has served as senior scientific researcher with the Petroleum Research Center for the Scientific Research Council of Iraq; chief geologist for the Applied Research Center of Iraq; head of scientific affairs and cultural relations at Al-Nahrain University; UNESCO focal point for the fields of teacher training and scholarships; head of the Foundation of Scientific Research of Iraq; first deputy of the Iraqi National Committee for Education, Culture and Science; head of the Hydrocarbons Energy Committee in Iraq; and member of the joint Iraqi-Omani trade committee.

            She has participated in a number of geological academic conferences and has been the keynote speaker or participant in many international higher education conferences. Those conferences were centered on such subjects as short-term professional training in higher education, pedagogical studies and E-learning.

            In 2007, Beriwan’s work has been focused on international relations, including consultation meetings concerning bilateral treaties.

            For more information, contact Decker at (580) 327-8521 or by e-mail at kldecker@nwosu.edu.

-NW-

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