San Francisco State University this fall will take the first steps to quickly and dramatically expand its faculty resources devoted to the interdisciplinary and wide-ranging subject of Islamic Studies, an area of growing interest at universities across the country.

If the initiative succeeds -- and gains faculty support -- San Francisco State University will examine the possibility of creating one of the country's first Islamic Studies Programs that will be shaped by the new Islamic Studies specialists arriving on the campus this year and next.

The idea was first presented to the faculty earlier this year by President Robert A. Corrigan, who believed that San Francisco State University urgently needed to take the lead in seeking outstanding scholars for the emerging academic area of Islamic Studies.

Beginning in the fall, the first scholars will arrive on campus. One is a historian who created SFSU's course on Islamic history. And the second is a scholar in Islamic culture who will be joining the Department of Humanities.

In the meantime, the University will begin four international searches for scholars in academic areas that faculty at San Francisco State have painstakingly identified over the last several months. Scholars will be hired in the fields of polical science, international relations, psychology and philosophy.

For more, see the press release.