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Show UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF NEAR EASTERN STUDIES ANN ARBOR. MICH. July 20, 1951}- Dr. Aziz Surial Atiya 34 Sharia Wadi el-Nil Maadi Cairo, Egypt Dear Professor Atiya: Your friends in this country and abroad have repeatedly urged me to ascertain whether you might be induced to spend a year with us at the University of Michigan. The enclosed announcement of our offerings for the year just concluded will give you some idea of the effort the University has been making to build a sound Program in Near Eastern Studies. I have been particularly impressed with the promise of George Hourani (a brother of Cecil and Albert), George Makdisi who spent the years 1950 to 1953 at the Sorbonne, and in Damascus and Cairo - in fact, I have been very pleased at the skill and enthusiasm of the entire staff. Obviously, however, our Program would be much enhanced if a mature scholar like yourself would be able to join us, say, for the year 1955-56. The University runs on a two semester basis with the first semester normally beginning around the 20th of September and concluding around January 28. The second semester usually begins February 8th and concludes June 10. Your normal teaching load would consisti of 8 hours a week - which means two 3 hour courses and one 2 hour seminar. You made such a fine impression as a result of your teaching appointment in this country during the period January to July 1951* but, of course, your publications are known to us all. I have already been in preliminary touch with the Medieval Academy of Amerioa of which Professor Charles Miller is the Executive Secretary. Professor Miller, as well as our own Dean Charles Odegaard, remembers most favorably the fine impression you left as a result of your address at the annual meeting of the Academy in Washington in April 1951. I have also taken the liberty of contacting Miss Elizabeth Lam in the hope you might be permitted to return to this country under the Pulbright grant. To my dismay, however, I discovered that scholars are not eligible to reapply for travel expenses under that grant until an elapse of I|. years has occurred. I was also somewhat astonished to discover that the funds for the Pulbright Program in Egypt are nearly exhausted. Nevertheless, the Academy's Visiting Professorship of Islamic Studies grant amounts to $7,000.00. In all probability this grant will be renewed |