The Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies (CMENAS) is dedicated to promoting a broader and deeper understanding of the region–its histories, cultures, languages, and peoples–through research, education, and outreach programs. CMENAS is committed to creating a supportive environment where scholars, educators, students, and the community have the opportunity to engage in dialogue and to study current and historical events related to the Middle East and Northern Africa.
CMENAS gifts help support internships, student group activities, faculty and student travel, workshops and lectures, visiting scholars, artists, performers, and special courses related to the Middle East and Northern Africa.
Your Gifts at Work
Your donations to CMENAS directly support impactful programming, research initiatives, and the success of both undergraduate and graduate students.
“The Center for Middle Eastern and North African Studies at the University of Michigan excels in its ability to make my experience personable, warm, and welcoming! With staff like Warsan Salah and Rosa Razmi, who are always there with quick email replies and useful answers to any questions, as well as Charlie Polinko and Tina Griffith, who go above and beyond with making sure that the entire center gets their needs met, our center is truly one of a kind.
Also, the professors in our program are phenomenal. Khaled Mattawa and Cameron Cross are two of the greatest people I’ve had the pleasure of working with so far. Their dedication to their students and their lively energy helped in making what could’ve been a stressful semester a lovely and exciting time! I cannot wait to interact with more professors in the center as I continue my academic journey here at UMich.
Overall, the CMENAS program stood out immediately to me when choosing which graduate program to enter in fall 2024 due to the staff’s hospitable and personable energy towards me. They knew my name, my research, and my academic goals that I had written on my application, and welcomed me on a first-name basis and showed their excitement for my potential entrance to the program right away! Truly, you couldn’t get it better anywhere other than CMENAS.” — Batool Makki, MIRS '26
For more information on the various ways you can support CMENAS, please contact our center at (734) 647-4143 or [email protected].
CMENAS Support Fund (Endowment)
This endowment fund is to help support the mission of the Center by continuing to provide programming, research, and outreach to foster understanding of the Middle East region for the general public, students, and university community and help support the daily operation and staffing of the Center. [DONATE]
Lois A. Aroian Middle Eastern and North African Studies Scholarship Fund
Scholarship fund for undergraduate and graduate student scholarships. [DONATE]
Mahfoud Bennoune Memorial Thesis Award
In memory of Professor Mahfoud Bennoune (1936-2004), this prize is awarded to a CMENAS student in recognition of an outstanding M.A. thesis that focuses on North Africa and emphasizes values that Dr. Bennoune fought for: tolerance, secularism, human rights and women’s rights. [DONATE]
Richard P. Mitchell Memorial Prize
The Richard P. Mitchell Memorial Prize was initiated in 1986 to honor the late Professor Mitchell, who taught Middle Eastern and North African studies at the University of Michigan from 1956 to 1983. The prize has been awarded annually since 1987 and is offered to an incoming or continuing graduate student in the Center's Modern Middle Eastern and North African Studies MA program. [DONATE]
