with American in University of Cairo President Francis J. Ricciardone

As Egypt faces well-known domestic and regional challenges, it continues to play a pivotal geostrategic role, and must advance its capacity for quality higher education and innovation in its private sector. The American University of Cairo is playing an important role in pressing innovation forward for the country and the region. AUC President Francis Ricciardone, a three-time U.S. ambassador (Cairo, Ankara, Manila) understands the importance that higher education plays in developing the needed skills for a country that must rise to its geostrategic potential, and must develop its economy or face endless domestic instability.

Francis J. Ricciardone was appointed the 12th President of the American University in Cairo and began his term on July 1, 2017. He had served as a Foreign Service Officer from 1978-2014, including appointments as U.S. Ambassador to Egypt, Turkey, and the Philippines, and Chargé d’Affaires and Deputy Ambassador to Afghanistan. After graduating from Dartmouth College Summa Cum Laude in 1973, he received a Fulbright Scholarship and taught in American international schools in Trieste, Italy, and Tehran, Iran. From 2014-2016 he was Vice President of the Atlantic Council and Director of the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East. He was a distinguished scholar at the US Institute of Peace in 2008-2009. He speaks Arabic, Turkish, Italian, and French. He is married to Dr. Marie Ricciardone, a molecular biologist.

Sponsored by: The Texas International Education Consortium