Michael W. Suleiman (1934-2010)

Abstract

For all of us who knew Michael Suleiman over many years, news of his illness and untimely death came as both a shock and cause of enormous sadness. Michael's accomplishments in the academic world are simply astonishing. A quiet and unassuming man Michael did perhaps more than any other single person to establish and champion the study of Arab Americans. At the same time, he was an unfailing spokesperson for the rights of the Palestinians. Michael balanced academic rigor with a meticulous scholarship that is apparent in everything he wrote, edited and in any conference he organized.Michael was born in Tiberias into a poor family (his father was a mason) of two brothers and four sisters. When the Nakba of 1947/48 forced the family out of Palestine they became refugees in Jordan where a scholarship enabled Michael to complete his secondary schooling at the Anglican sponsored Bishop's School in Amman. After graduation he taught at the school for two years before moving to England to teach science and math at Abbotsholme. Although he was accepted by both Oxford and Cambridge his admission was deferred owing to the large number of returning veterans from World War II who were also pressing for admission. Through the sponsorship of a Presbyterian minister, Reverend Page, Michael was able to come to the United States to attend Bradley University on a scholarship attained after he convinced the college director of his determination, work experience, and abilities. He earned graduate degrees from the University of Wisconsin where he completed his MS ( 1 962) and PhD degree ( 1 965) in Political Science and where he met and married his beloved wife Penny. Married for 47 years, Michael and Penny had two children, a daughter Suad and son Gibran.In 1965 Michael joined the faculty of political science at Kansas State University (KSU) in Manhattan, Kansas where he served as head of the department from 1975 to 1982. In 1 972 he was awarded a university Distinguished Professorship. Michael held a wide range of advisory positions including among others, the Dean's Advisory Committee, African Area Studies Center Planning Committee, and the KSU Task Force on Financing the Library for the 21st Century. Over the course of his career, Michael was also a visiting scholar at the University of California, University of London, and a Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton University.Michael was awarded no fewer than five Fulbright-Hays Fellowships, in addition to receiving research grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the American Institute of Maghribi Studies, and a Ford Faculty Research Fellowship among others. Michael was also the recipient of a number of operating grants to arrange conferences, lecture series, and concerts.As a recognized scholar in Middle East studies, Michael was asked to consult by a wide range of scholarly journals and presses including, to name just a few, the American Journal of Political Science, Arab Studies Quarterly, Arab American Almanac, Harvard Encyclopedia of American Ethnic Groups, Pluto Press, and many university presses. His work as an evaluator for grant proposals was highly valued by Department of Health, Education and Welfare (HEW), American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE), the League of Arab States, and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). Media organizations as diverse as ABC Nightline, Associated Press, PBS (McNeil/Lehrer News Hour), NPR, Boston Globe, Chicago Tribune, Washington Post and the New York Times interviewed and consulted with Michael on developments in the Arab world and about Arab Americans. As recognition of his achievements he is included in many directories of leading scholars and Arab Americans including Who 's Who in America, International Who 's Who of the Arab World, 2000 Prominent Arabs of the 20th Century.As an active member of MESA, Michael frequently presented papers and chaired panels at the annual conventions and rendered valuable advice to the Ethics Committee during the 1990s. …