In November, ISGAP echoed accusations of Qatar funding Hamas and having relations with the Muslim Brotherhood, a claim that the Gulf state has repeatedly and vehemently rejected.
The former Texas A&M University president expressed disappointment over the university’s decision to terminate its contract with Qatar Foundation (QF), leading to the closure of its Doha campus, known as TAMUQ, by the year 2028.
“I understand the regents deal with difficult and complex issues. I respect the fact that the decision they made is within their authority. The source of my surprise is the 20-plus year reputation of the partnership as one that’s successful in every aspect,” Ray Bowen, who played a role in the initial partnership with QF, said in an op-ed for The Dallas Morning News.
He highlighted the lack of additional information supporting the decision and called for a deeper evaluation.
In February, Texas A&M announced it would close its almost 20-year-old Qatar campus by 2028, a decision Qatar Foundation had labelled as “disappointing”.
The move came after the university’s board voted to shut down TAMUQ over “heightened instability in the Middle East”, according to a decision by the Board of Regents Chair, Bill Mahomes, following an assessment of the regional situation in late 2023.
However, a report by the Texas Tribune said the decision came after Washington, D.C. think tank, the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP), questioned the partnership between QF and Texas A&M in light of the ongoing war in Gaza.
The former president recalled his involvement in the early stages of the partnership, emphasising the positive assessment provided by a delegation sent to evaluate the opportunities in Qatar.
He credited the success of the partnership to careful evaluation and support from university leadership.
“In response to that request, Provost Ronald Douglas took a small delegation of faculty and administrators to Doha to evaluate whether we should pursue the opportunity in Qatar. This group returned with a strong positive assessment of the opportunities there,” the former university president said.
In a statement on February 9, QF said that Texas A&M’s decision had “been
influenced by a disinformation campaign aimed at harming” its interests, noting
that the university’s board did not attempt “to seek out the truth from Qatar
Foundation before making this misguided decision”.
“In the environment of a now-terminated contract, it is ironic to look back and recognize that our partnership was negotiated and accepted in the wake of the 9/11 attacks,” said Bowen.
Stressing the relations between Doha and Washington, Bowen said: “Our nation has significant long-term relationships with Qatar. For example, Qatar is the home of our Al Udeid Air Base, the largest U.S. military installation in the Middle East. Over 10,000 American troops are housed there. The relationship between our countries led our government to recognize Qatar as a major non-NATO ally.”
He went on to list U.S. companies benefitting from Qatar, and engineers born out of Texas A&M.
“In addition to military relationships, U.S. companies like Chevron Phillips Chemical, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips are successfully holding interests in Qatar. These companies, and others, I am told, have benefitted from the availability and quality of the Aggie engineers produced by Texas A&M Qatar,” he said.
Including Texas A&M University, Education City also houses campuses for other leading American universities.
“The partnership of Texas A&M University with the Qatar Foundation has been viewed as successful. Any student of higher education will acknowledge that international partnerships are often difficult to manage and sustain,” Bowen said.
“The partnership between Texas A&M University and Qatar is an exception. One indicator of the success is reflected in the decision of the Qatar Foundation to invest more than $500 million in a building to house Texas A&M engineering programs,” he added.
The closure decision raises concerns about the fate of more than 1,500 engineering graduates, with over 40 percent of the graduates and current students at TAMUQ being women, Bowen said.
Meanwhile, concerns have been raised regarding a report published in November 2023 titled “Hijacking Higher Education Qatar, The Muslim Brotherhood and Texas A&M,” which alleged improper management of the partnership.
The university president Mark A. Welsh III swiftly responded to these allegations, refuting the disinformation made in the ISGAP report.
“I am troubled by the disinformation spread by ISGAP,” Bowen said.
On November 27, 2023, ISGAP echoed accusations of Qatar funding Hamas and having relations with the Muslim Brotherhood, a claim that the Gulf state has repeatedly and vehemently rejected.
Notably, Qatar opened the Hamas office in 2012 in response to a request from the U.S., which has proven to be pivotal in recent mediation efforts.
In light of these developments, the former president called for an independent evaluation of the management of Texas A&M’s contract with Qatar to uncover the facts and ensure transparency. He stressed the need for the university’s commitment to openness and accountability in its operations.
While expressing love and respect for the university, the former president urged Texas A&M to consider the interests of current students, faculty, and staff at the Qatar campus, many of whom have been part of the community for over two decades.
“I just hope Texas A&M University finds a way to protect the interests of the current students, faculty and staff of the Qatar campus. Some of these individuals have been with the Qatar campus for all of its 21 years,” Bowen wrote.
