STONY BROOK, N.Y., October 21, 2003 — Stony Brook University has been awarded a U.S. government grant of $4,131,274 to develop academic programs in environmental health and archaeology to strengthen the capacity of Iraqi universities. The effort will include professors, researchers, and physicians from Stony Brook's College of Arts and Sciences, School of Medicine, Marine Science Research Center, and the University Libraries.
The one-year award—made by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in support of the Coalition Provisional Authority’s overall reconstruction efforts in Iraq — is designed to provide tools for Iraqi universities to develop modern academic programs and curricula in the two areas. Stony Brook will partner with Baghdad University, Al Mustansiriyah University in Baghdad, Mosul University, and Basrah University. Elizabeth Stone, Ph.D., Professor of Anthropology, and Wajdy Hailoo, M.D., Professor of Preventive Medicine, will lead the project.
“Stony Brook will use its wealth of resources and intellectual capital to assist Iraqis in restabilizing and reinvigorating their universities, research and training,” said Shirley Strum Kenny, President of Stony Brook University. “This is an extraordinary opportunity for the University to share globally our expertise and experience, and to make a difference in the quality of life among Iraqi citizens.”
The grant will allow Stony Brook University to develop and modernize archaeological research, leveraging the long-standing research programs of Dr. Stone. She has been working on expeditions to Iraq since the 1970s and was one of only five Americans given permits to do archeological work in Iraq prior to the first Gulf War and the only American archaeologist to have made two trips to Iraq this past summer. Dr. Stone traveled to Iraq in May with the National Geographic Society Magazine, where she surveyed damage to archaeological sites, and again in July, bringing nearly $250,000 of equipment to the Iraq Museum in a trip sponsored by the Andrew Mellon Foundation and the State Department. The October issue of the National Geographic features the story on Iraq.
The borders of modern Iraq coincide largely with what is arguably the most important part of the world for archaeologists. Key elements of the understanding of human evolution as well as critical information on the transformation from hunting to agriculture are contained in the region. Even more significant is Mesopotamia's role as the site of the world's first civilization, accompanied by the first cities, writing, law, and even the first large-scale democratic institutions.
Dr. Stone will lead workshops to train Iraqi faculty and develop new teaching and research facilities in archeology at the University of Baghdad and Mosul University. Renowned scholars, drawn from Columbia, Oxford (England), and Boston University, will participate in the workshops. Stony Brook's University Library will create a new digital library of materials related to the Mesopotamian culture. The library will allow Iraqi scholars to access materials lost at the end of the war.
Iraq also faces acute and chronic environmental health problems, including contamination of the water supply and soil. The decline in environmental conditions has been accompanied by severely inadequate resources and a lack of medical professionals trained in environmental health. These conditions have contributed to an increase in mortality and morbidity from malnourishment, infectious diseases, and many other conditions associated with a failing public health system. In the post-Gulf War period, infant mortality rose to 103/1000 due to the severe health deterioration in the 1990s. Under-five mortality rates in Iraq are now among the worst in the world. According to the UNICEF, Iraq ranks 126th out of 174 on the U.N. Human Development Index; it ranked 50th out of 130 in 1990.
To enable Iraqis to address these issues, the Stony Brook consortium will establish three training and research centers in environmental health in Iraq, provide training in Iraq, as well as train 10 Iraqi faculty members at Stony Brook. Stony Brook will install three environmental analysis laboratories in Iraq, enabling Iraqi faculty and students to assess environmental problems and assist in the rebuilding of their country.
The effort will be headed by Dr. Hailoo, an environmental health expert with an international reputation. Dr. Hailoo is Professor of Preventive Medicine in the School of Medicine and Division Head of Environmental and Occupational Medicine at Stony Brook University Hospital. He has successfully directed many state and federal programs in the field of occupational and environmental medicine. Stony Brook faculty associated with its Center for Environmental Molecular Science and Long Island Ground Water Institute will participate in the effort.
