UNC-Chapel Hill officials took the initiative to increase international relationships Friday by giving a tour to a visitor from the Kabul University in Afghanistan.
Zalmai Zaheb, the vice chancellor of student affairs of Kabul University, spent the afternoon touring campus and discussing the needs of his university with UNC-CH officials.
He said he hopes his trip across the U.S. will result in improved education conditions for Afghanistan.
"We are in dire need of faculty," said David Tavakoli, a retired professor of sociology at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, who served as the interpreter for Zaheb. "Even one slot would be of help. No Americans go to Afghanistan, but hopefully this will change once security is improved."
Tavakoli said Kabul University also is looking for technology U.S. universities no longer need.
Purdue University already stepped up by sending outdated books and computers that would be embraced by schools in the Middle East, Zaheb said.
The International Affairs Council, an organization that brings leaders from all over the world to the Triangle, sponsored Zaheb's trip.
The trip, which included visits to numerous universities across the U.S., is also an opportunity for UNC-CH to bring more international students to campus.
UNC-CH's number of foreign transfer students is trailing other major universities, with only 1 percent of about 26,000 students transferring to UNC-CH from outside the U.S. last year. International students count as out-of-state students, which the UNC system caps at 18 percent.
In contrast, at the University of Virginia, which caps out-of-state students lower than North Carolina, international students make up 5 percent of about 21,000 students.
Zaheb, also an engineering professor at Kabul University, has visited N.C. State, Duke and N.C. Central universities. But his visit to UNC-CH was the first time he got to interact with students.
The tour also included conversations with Student Body President Eve Carson and Student Body Vice President Mike Tarrant.
After commencing at the Old Well, the group strolled through campus, stopping at places such as the Pit, Student Stores and the Student Union.
"Everything is interesting because every campus is different," Zaheb said to the members of the student government after listening to a Tar Heel Voices performance.
He discussed with students the most apparent differences between the two countries, emphasizing how no student government or any type of activism exists in Afghanistan because of the authoritative education system.
Afghanistan's universities do not each have specific leaders, but all report collectively to one department of higher education, he said.
"Student involvement is not represented throughout the university, just through themselves," Zaheb said.
The final stop was the Student and Academic Services Buildings on South Campus, where Zaheb met with April Mann, the director of New Student and Carolina Parent Programs. They discussed topics such as freshman orientation, freshman summer reading and admission standards.
Zaheb's next stop is California, where he will tour several more schools, including Stanford University.
Zaheb said he left with a better perspective of UNC's customs and felt confident after the meeting that the two universities would be able to assist each other's needs.
"I'm sure that the contact will have a positive result."
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
