Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q) dean and CEO Marwan M Kraidy has been elected as the chair of the board of directors of the New York-based American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) for a term until 2027, a statement said Monday.

ACLS is dedicated to the advancement of humanistic studies in all fields of learning within the humanities and social sciences.

Kraidy has been a long-serving member of the ACLS board, most recently serving as secretary. In his new role, Kraidy will work closely with ACLS president Joy Connolly on organisational direction and policies, oversight of investments, and allocation of funds. His leadership will help shape the future of ACLS while continuing to support its mission to strengthen relations among national academic societies committed to these fields of studies.

Connolly described Kraidy as an outstanding scholar and an empathetic, energetic leader whose advice and support has already made an impact on the work of ACLS. A scholar of global communication and an authority on Arab media, culture, and politics, Kraidy is a leading figure in global media studies.
His interdisciplinary expertise spans culture and geopolitics, theories of identity and modernity, humanistic inquiry, comparative media systems, images and effects, media industries, and digital sovereignty.

Kraidy and his wife, Ute, are currently sponsoring a new ACLS fellowship, the ACLS Marwan M and Ute Kraidy Centennial Fellowship in the Study of the Arab World and Latin America, which aims to support scholars conducting humanities and interpretive social sciences on the Arab and Latin American regions.

“This is a critical time for advancing knowledge production about the global human experience,” said Kraidy. “I am looking forward to supporting the mission of ACLS by fostering a more inclusive and expansive understanding of humanistic scholarship. Together, we will work to ensure that various perspectives are integrated into humanistic inquiry, thereby enriching our collective knowledge and addressing global challenges.”