DUBAI – Dr. Dwight E. Brooks came all the way from Florida in the United States to be the new dean of the College of Communication and Media Sciences.
He has two pieces of advice for the CCMS students.
“One, come see me and talk to me,” Dr. Brooks says. “I want to know more about the experiences of our students.”
“The second piece of advice is something I said in the welcoming of the students, and I’m going to say it for a while: Take control of your academic program. Own it.
“(Only) you can know what it is you want to accomplish, and we are here to help you to fulfill that.”
Dr. Brooks came to the UAE in early August 2018, and his initial impression of the country was quite positive.
“It’s been exactly 33 days, not that I’m counting,” Dr. Brooks said in an interview on Sept. 17. “My first impression was: ‘Wow!’ It’s hot, but I was amazed because it’s beautiful, modern, it’s clean, and it’s diverse.”
Dr. Brooks says that many people he meets tell him stories about themselves. They tell him where they are from and why they came to the country.
“I think it’s important because we are a storytelling society,” Dr. Brooks says.
Dr. Brooks is impressed by the accomplishments of the United Arab Emirates.
“People in the West have no idea of how much this country has accomplished in the last 47 years,” Dr. Brooks says. “An amazing story, and people don’t know this.”
Dr. Brooks says he did not know much about the UAE. Now he shares pictures of the country on Facebook to show and tell the people in the USA about the UAE.
About Dr. Dwight E. Brooks
Dr. Brooks’ career started with his passion for radio. However, in the last decade of his professional life he focused on administration.
“But as an educator, the three components of my life that are important are my teaching, my research and my service,” Dr. Brooks says. “So one of the things that I miss already having been here for a month is teaching.”
Before joining Zayed University, Dr. Brooks worked as a vice dean at Hofstra University in New York. Earlier, he was a director of the School of Journalism at Middle Tennessee State University and a department chair at Jackson State University.
About the author: Huda Al Qaisy is studying Integrated Strategic Communication with a minor in Arabic for Media at the College of Communication and Media Sciences at Zayed University in Dubai. Photos for Huda’s story were taken by Ayesha Hareb, who is a student of strategic communication at CCMS. This story was produced in MPS481 Zajel Student Media Production class lead by Dr. Michael Ogden.
This story was originally published on Oct. 25, 2018. It was re-uploaded on Jan. 4, 2021.
