President Leebron visits Iran with educational delegation

By Cindy Dinh     12/4/08 6:00pm

In times of international turmoil and political hostilities, connections between countries can still be forged through neutral institutions like universities. Last month President David Leebron and five other American university presidents traveled to Iran to visit the Iranian minister of science and research technology as well as four universities highly regarded for their science programs. "The basic idea was to start a conversation about where science is going in the 21st century and lay some groundwork for increased interactions between Iranian and American universities and faculty and institutions," Leebron said.

Leebron visited Iran through the Association of American Universities, joining five other American public and private university presidents. The other universities represented were Carnegie Mellon University, University of Florida, University of Maryland-College Park, Cornell University and University of California-Davis.

This delegation visited four universities in Isfahan and the capital city of Tehran, including Sharif University of Technology - which is regarded as the MIT of Iran, Leebron said. They met with university presidents and top administrators, toured facilities and nanotechnology laboratories, and had a discussion with students at the University of Tehran.

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Leebron said the trip left him optimistic, despite ongoing tensions between the United States and Iran.

"There have not been a lot of prominent delegations of Americans visiting Iran in recent years," Leebron said. "Although we remain cognizant that there are serious issues dealing with the Iranian government, we are also encouraged by the warm reception we received and the very strong interest in fostering understanding and relationships."

Due to previous engagements with the James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy's 15th anniversary, Leebron attended four of the six days of the trip, which accomplished the preliminary goals of understanding the state of Iranian research and consideration of possible exchange and collaboration, he said. Though there are current political contentions between the American and Iranian governments, Leebron said the delegations did not serve as emissaries of the government. However, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the Department of State knew about the trip and were supportive of its goals.

Leebron said this trip operated independently of a political agenda.

"Even when governments are hostile to each other and they have important contentious issues between them, universities can play a valuable role in educational exchange and cultural interaction, dialogue and understanding," he said. "Any decision to engage in this kind of trip or deeper relationships with Iranian universities is not an endorsement of policies of the Iranian government."

However, he noted that the status between governments does matter when it comes to obstacles between student and faculty exchange. Since the United States currently does not have diplomatic relations with Iran, certain challenges arise when it comes to travel. For example, there are no outbound flights from Iran to the United States, which means Iranians board U.S. flights from other countries. Conversely, Americans traveling to Iran might feel uneasy since there is no U.S. embassy in the country. In addition, the United States cannot export technology to Iran and students in Iran are prohibited from using certain types of equipment, he said.

"Those are obstacles our country has to evaluate and see the trade-offs between a policy of isolation and a policy of engagement," he said.

Other considerations include what opportunities are available for students and faculty, particularly females. While restriction of dress might be an issue due to the country's majority Muslim population, Leebron also wanted to be assured that the area would be a positive, safe place for faculty and students to visit.

"We saw nothing in our visits that would undercut that," he said. "I think the Iranians are very proud that the majority of university students are women, but on the other hand the success rate for women in graduate studies is significantly less."

There are already a number of Iranian students and faculty members at Rice, and Leebron cited the Iranian community in Houston as a potential source of strength for the university.

"The more [the students] can understand the issues around a country like Iran, the more they can be prepared for whatever that is that lies in the future," Leebron said.

He plans to visit faculty to iron out the next steps and hopes to possibly arrange a visit from the presidents of Iranian peer institutions.

"I'm hoping that there might be a reciprocal visit from some of these university presidents to the United States and [that they will] make a point of visiting Rice," Leebron said.

Besides traveling to Iran, Leebron has also traveled to India, China, Mexico, Argentina and Chile on business trips this academic year. These business trips help identify university partners and establish relationships and to improve Rice's international visibility, he said.

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