APP Staff | The American University of Iraq Sulaimani

APP Staff

Rachel Gresk, Director of the Academic Preparatory Program

Ph.D. University of Nebraska-Lincoln
M.A. American University
B.A. St. Mary’s College of Maryland

Rachel Laribee Gresk is Director of APP and Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs at American University of Iraq, Sulaimani (AUIS), located in the Kurdistan region of Iraq, where she has been working since 2009. Rachel has extensive experience working in higher education administration and working in English language programs (ELP), having served as Director of the Academic Preparatory Program (APP) for the past ten years, before becoming Director of Academic Administration, and then moving into her role as the Assistant Vice President of Academic Affairs.

Rachel earned her PhD in Higher Education Administration from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.  Her dissertation was on social-cognitive factors and the impact of environmental influences on student satisfaction. She is a graduate of American University in Washington, D.C., where she earned a master’s degree in international development; she has a Bachelor of Arts in Chinese from St. Mary’s College in Maryland.

Rachel was the self-study coordinator for her ELP’s Commission on English Language Accreditation (CEA) process, and is currently overseeing U.S. regional accreditation at AUIS. Rachel has presented at numerous Iraqi and international conferences, including ASHE and TESOL. She is a trained accreditation site reviewer with CEA.

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Zimkitha Mpatheni, Deputy Director of APP

M.A. Portsmouth University
B.A. Stellenbosch University

Email: [email protected]

Zimkitha Mpatheni received a bachelor’s degree in international studies from Stellenbosch University in South Africa and an MA from tbe University of Portsmouth. She earned her CELTA certificate from the International Training Institute in Istanbul, Turkey. She has been a member of APP since January 2013.
 

Ahmed Aram, APP Coordinator

Office: B-F2-37b. Ext: 1930.
Email: [email protected]

Ahmed Aram is an AUIS alumnus. He graduated in 2018. Ahmed is an IT major with a minor in Business Management. Though he graduated in 2018, he has more than three years of work experience, and has held reputable positions. Ahmed is in charge of managing students’ records mainly. Ahmed is always there to assist APP students with student-teacher interaction and help them access study tools if they have issues. Ahmed’s major interests in IT lies in CCTV, surveillance, and Video Management Software systems. He chose to work for AUIS because he enjoys the university and respects how it functions as a whole.

Pers Osman, APP Intern

Email: [email protected]

Pers joined AUIS in 2018 and is an Information Technology student with great interest in networking. He was eager to take advantage of the opportunity to become an APP intern and support AUIS staff members. Pers believes diversity is what makes the AUIS community so great and that interacting with so many people from different backgrounds has helped him learn new workplace skills. 
 

Hadi Ammar, APP Intern

Email: [email protected]

Hadi Ammar Al Noori joined AUIS in 2019. He is currently majoring in Business Administration, and planning for an IT minor. He hopes to further specialize in Banking. His tasks as an APP intern include Arabic-English translation, providing support to students from outside of Sulaimani, and assisting with APP events such as orientation and graduation.
 

Hozak Jamal, APP Intern

Email: [email protected]

Hozak is a senior Information Technology at AUIS with a strong interest in web development. He describes himself as a very curious person, always looking to learn and research new subjects. This curiosity also led him to join the APP department as an intern. In addition to learning new things, he hopes to give back to new students and share what he has learned during his time at AUIS.