Student and Faculty Work
Spring 2026 Faculty Appreciation Mention
In 2026, Professor Maryait Khader was named the honorable mention for the Marjorie Lamberti Faculty Appreciation Award: “This award (nominated by students) is given annually by the SGA to a Middlebury College faculty member who, following the example set by Professor Lamberti, demonstrates excellence in and dedication to teaching. The Student Government Association initiated a faculty appreciation award as an opportunity “for the College community to reflect on what makes an inspiring teacher, to recall the many gratifications of being a teacher at Middlebury, and to say to the award recipient and other deserving faculty members ‘we value what you do.”’ Read more about the award here.
Summer Research Symposium 2025
Summer research assistants, Joshua Glucksman ‘24.5 and Zev Gold ’27 presented at the Summer Research Symposium on the relationship between Arabic calligraphy and genre in modern Arabic printing as a part of their summer research supervised by Professor Dima Ayoub. The presentation included the history of Arabic writing, its religious significance, and the characteristics of prominent calligraphic styles.
Spring 2025 Translation Project
Professor Ayoub translated American poet and fiction writer Camille Roy’s prose poem “Land Behind Baghdad” in 2025. You can read the work here.
Spring 2024 Exceptional Service Award
In 2024, Professor Dima Ayoub won the Virtue Family Exceptional Service Award, recognizing staff and faculty who make an exceptional difference in students’ experiences at Middlebury. Student nominators credit her with having a profound impact on their lives both in and out of the classroom. “Professor Ayoub embodies what it means to transcend professional responsibilities—to guide, nurture, and inspire,” said one student who came to Middlebury after being evacuated from Kabul, Afghanistan—an experience she described as emotionally overwhelming. “My first meaningful connection was with Professor Ayoub, a sentiment shared by all Afghan students here. Her kindness, willingness to listen, and unwavering support have left an indelible mark on my life.” Students also expressed appreciation for Ayoub’s willingness to involve them in her research on the translation of Arabic paratexts such as introductions, prefaces, and glossaries to better understand the westward movement and influence of Arabic literature. Read more about the award here.
Fall 2023
Sonam Choedon ’25 and Mehr Sohal ’26 designed and edited the most recent volume of the Yemen Update (vol. 56, 2023), the journal of the American Institute for Yemeni Studies. Sonam and Mehr worked as digital editors under the supervision of Professor Sam Liebhaber.
Fall 2021
In cooperation between the Arabic and Portuguese departments and students, we talked and learned about the Arabic influence in Brazilian food.
Students Sophie Leathers ’22 and Willie Thacker ’23 talked about the Arabic culture in Andalusia.
Olives have an important role in food culture across the Mediterranean, and in Arab countries olives loom large. The olive harvest season begins in late October and continues into November, so at this time of the year markets are filled with olives, and families are out in force buying them. You will learn more about the customs and traditions associated with this season, with me, a Palestinian student at Middlebury, Abdulrahma Abbas ’24.
Professor Dima Ayoub and Priyanjali Sinha ’18 are working on a project to expand a database on paratexts of Arabic literature in translation. Read about the project.
Students in the News
- Ellen Bevier ’16 and Cassandra Wanna ’16 on work with refugees in Jordan.
- Helena Hlavaty ’16 talking about Arabizi.