As many as 100 graduate and post-graduate engineering students from Iraq might soon enroll at Oregon State University.

Memoranda of understanding were signed Saturday afternoon by OSU President Ed Ray, Nabeel H. Al-A'aragi, president of Babylon University near Baghdad, and Ali Ismael Obeid Al Snafi, president of Dhi Qar University in southern Iraq. They were among seven Iraqi university presidents visiting campuses in the United States throughout the week.

Much of meeting focused around the quality and admissions procedures of Oregon State's College of Engineering, but the long-term goal is to expand the partnership to include advanced studies in other disciplines, as well.

According to Al-A'aragi, many Iraqi students already attend universities throughout the United Kingdom. Successful cooperative links will now open the door to universities in the United States. The program will encompass about 500 students at first, but the goal is to ramp up to as many as 10,000 students studying outside of Iraq each year, significantly increasing the number attending OSU. Full scholarships will be provided by the Iraqi government.

In addition to President Ray, members of the OSU welcoming delegation included Ron Adams, dean of the College of Engineering; Chris Bell, associate dean of the College of Engineering; Scott Ashford, professor and head of the School of Geotechnical Engineering; Ken Williamson, interim head of the School of Chemical, Biological and Environmental Engineering; Charlotte Moats-Gallagher, International Programs chairwoman; and Catherine Mater, president of Mater Engineering and director of sustainability for the School of Civil and Construction Engineering.

Al-A'aragi said a major concern was whether Iraqi students would feel safe in the United States. He said that after touring Corvallis and OSU, he will return to Iraq knowing that his students will be safe and welcomed. He also liked the fact that Corvallis is not a metropolitan area where students could become distracted with outside activities and that the cost of living is reasonable compared to large cities.

The visiting presidents were impressed that the College of Engineering has a high percentage of female instructors, because many women in their country are studying to become engineers.

In addition to students, the university leaders would like to see their professors spend time on campus and invited OSU staff to visit Iraq in return. The universities would also value input from OSU staff and community engineering professionals such as Mater, when it comes to purchasing state-of-the-art teaching equipment.

President Ray encouraged his guests to send staff from their universities to OSU before students begin the enrollment application process. The staff could then relate information directly to prospective students. Twelve universities in Iraq have already committed to working with U.S. universities, Al-A'aragi said.

Both universities plan to send representatives to an engineering faculty exchange seminar between the U.S. and Iraq at OSU in August. It was proposed by the College of Engineering and will focus on sustainable engineering and design, green building materials and renewable energy technologies.

The OSU and Iraqi campus connection began last year when then Army Capt. Josh Mater gathered 200 engineering textbooks and donated them to Dhi Qar University. Shipment of the textbooks was paid for by the Michael Scott Mater Foundation, named for Mater's late father, a highly respected Corvallis engineer.

Mater now works for Honeywell and is working in Iraq, where he is a liaison between the Iraqi schools and Oregon State.

After their meeting, the Iraqi university presidents toured Kearney Hall and visited the O.H. Hinsdale Wave Research Laboratory. Saturday evening they were hosted at a private dinner by OSU Engineering and International Programs, before traveling today to Washington, D.C.