Wadiah Atiyah, Ph.D., CPA has extensive U.S. and international experience in establishing and managing greenfield universities, including strategic vision and mission planning, creating and growing innovative academic programs, managing quality assurance, spearheading accreditation, creating private public partnerships (PPPs) and guiding investment in higher education.
Dr. Atiyah has led the entire lifecycle of educational businesses, from the initial greenfield stage to steady growth. Dr. Atiyah has vast experience working with government regulatory bodies and regional accreditation agencies and has developed academic and business strategies and arranged financing while ensuring high levels of access, academic quality and professional education for the students.
Dr. Atiyah helped establish and manage three greenfield universities in Morocco, UAE, and Bahrain. He was founding Dean and academic leader of the American University of Sharjah, now ranked the #1 Business College by U.S. News and World Report in the Arab Region. During his time as CEO of the MENA region for Laureate Education, he oversaw the start up of new universities in the region and established eleven technical colleges in Saudi Arabia in cooperation with the Saudi Ministry of Education. Previously Dr. Atiyah held administrative and faculty positions at American University in Washington, D.C. and at Johns Hopkins University. He received his Ph.D. from American University.