Walsh University recently welcomed several key members of the Catholic University in Erbil (CUE) administration to campus as part of our growing partnership. Guests included Fr. Dr. Karam Shamasha, Provost, Mrs. Vida Hanna, Chief of Planning and Effectiveness, and Mr. Stephen Rasche, Director of the Institute for Catholic Humanitarian Service at FUS. Their visit included a series of meetings and conversations across campus aimed at strengthening academic collaboration and supporting future student and faculty engagement.
This visit builds on the partnership first formalized when Archbishop Bashar Matti Warda visited Walsh in November 2022 to sign a memorandum of understanding. In 2023, he returned as the University’s Commencement speaker and was presented with an honorary doctorate in recognition of his extraordinary lifetime achievements and dedication to serving Christian communities in Iraq.
Most recently, during President Tim Collins’ visit to Iraq in August 2025, he and Archbishop Warda signed a renewed Memorandum of Understanding, strengthening the partnership that enabled students Treza Raad and Meerna Mohanad to begin their studies in the United States this fall.
The partnership also expanded to include Faculty Fellowships and employment opportunities for recent Walsh graduates, including Kael Shobel ’24, who now teaches PYP 2–5 Religion at Mar Qardakh International School.
