Six faculty members from Herat University in western Afghanistan were among the approximately 1,300 students who received degrees at Commencement on Sunday.

The Afghani faculty members, who have been studying at the University of Hartford for 18 months, earned master’s degrees in civil engineering. The six men are part of a contingent of 12 instructors from Herat University who are studying engineering or architecture here as part of a partnership between the University of Hartford and Herat University. The partnership is being funded by a nearly $2 million grant from the World Bank and an earlier $215,000 grant from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

The first to graduate under this program are: Azizurahman Azimi, Noor Sayed Jami, Sayed Abdul Basit Mododi, Ahmad Sohail Rahimi, Noman Moheb Rahmani, and Khalil Ahmad Sarwari.

"This brave group of faculty traveled halfway around the world" so that they can rebuild engineering education in a country that has been devastated by decades of war, University President Walter Harrison said during Sunday's Commencement ceremony. Their example reminds us of "the beacon of hope that education is for so many people around the world," Harrison said.

Faculty from the University of Hartford’s College of Engineering, Technology, and Architecture (CETA) have traveled to Herat and are involved in revamping that University’s civil engineering, architectural engineering, and mechatronics (a mechanical engineering specialty) curriculums. Their accomplishments include having acquired hardware and software for and setting up a new computer lab at Herat University, noted CETA Associate Professor Saleh Keshawarz, who is a native of Afghanistan and a key figure in creating the partnership with Herat University.

Herat University, which was established about 20 years ago, has been working with the World Bank to help develop partnerships with 15 universities around the world. To date, Herat has established partnerships with universities in Germany, France, Slovakia, and Thailand. The University of Hartford is Herat University’s only American partner.

Work is also under way to establish distance learning facilities at the University of Hartford and Herat University to facilitate additional educational opportunities for the partnership.