An Important Update on the Qatar Campus
General (Ret.) Mark A. Welsh IIIPresident
February 8, 2024
The message below was distributed to the Qatar campus faculty, staff and students.
Members of the Aggie Family,
I know you’re headed into the weekend, and I hope you will be spending time with your family and friends. When I took office, I committed to improve transparency and maintain open lines of communication, which is why I’m reaching out to you now. Earlier today, The Texas A&M University System Board of Regents voted to work toward closing our Qatar campus by 2028.
This decision was made after thoughtful discussion about the need to focus the university on its land-, sea- and space-grant mission. Our work — your work — in Qatar over the past 20 years has advanced ideals, graduated exceptional Aggie engineers and is cemented as an important legacy of Texas A&M. As we look to the future, we will continue our commitment to global education and research through our campuses in the United States.
Winding down campus operations will be a multi-year process, and as such, there are no immediate actions or changes to what you do when you return to campus Sunday. If you are planning to be off, please take the time you planned. I am offering a town hall, which will be recorded, on Sunday for those of you who want to join. I’ll plan to share more on the decision and also spend time addressing questions I know you have. A meeting link will be distributed to you all soon. In the meantime, I encourage you to submit your questions to provost@tamu.edu.
At the same time, we are quickly assembling a transition team based in College Station that will work closely with the leadership team in Qatar to ensure current students are supported through their academic journey and that our faculty and staff are provided with support and resources during this transition period. This will take time, and we are committed to providing clear direction, timelines and support as we better understand the implementation process. To our students, please know our intent is for all of you to complete your academic work and graduate with an Aggie Ring and a degree from Texas A&M.
I’m extremely proud of the Qatar campus community for the work you have done over the past two decades and for the work ahead. I’d like to extend my gratitude to dean and chief operating officer of the Qatar campus, César Malavé, for his leadership over the past seven years and upcoming transition, and express my appreciation to the Qatar Foundation for their collaboration. Thanks to your efforts, more than 1,500 Aggie engineers have graduated from the Qatar campus, many of which have assumed leadership positions at major energy companies in Qatar and around the world.
I hope you will join me on Sunday to hear from me directly on this transition if your schedule permits. If not, I encourage you to watch the recording at your convenience. Thank you for all you do, and I look forward to talking with you soon.
r/mark
General (Ret.) Mark A. Welsh III, President
The message below was distributed to the university campus community.
Members of the Aggie Family,
In recent months, our university, the Texas A&M System and Board of Regents have closely analyzed how we best serve our mission, particularly in regard to our remote and branch campuses. Earlier today, the Board of Regents voted to work toward closing our Qatar campus by 2028. I encourage you to read the official announcement from the System here.
This decision was made after thoughtful discussion about the need to focus the university on its land-, sea- and space-grant mission. Over the last 20 years, the Qatar campus has advanced ideals, graduated exceptional Aggie engineers and is cemented as an important legacy of Texas A&M. As we look to the future, we will continue our commitment to global education and research through our campuses in the United States.
Winding down campus operations will be a multi-year process. We are quickly assembling a transition team based in College Station that will work closely with the leadership team in Qatar to ensure current students are supported through their academic journey and that our faculty and staff are provided with support and resources during this transition period.
Our students, faculty and staff in Qatar are priority number one as we navigate the road ahead. I’ve been in communication with those most directly impacted by this decision and will plan to keep the greater university community updated through my monthly emails. As always, thank you for the important work you do each day in support of Texas A&M.
r/mark
General (Ret.) Mark A. Welsh III, President