Salma Ghanem, Provost of DePaul University in Chicago. Ghanem joined DePaul in August 2014 as dean of the College of Communication. Prior to joining DePaul, she served as dean of the College of Communication and Fine Arts at Central Michigan University. She also held the position of chair of the Department of Communication at the University of Texas Pan American.

In addition to her academic background, she served as a press and information officer for the Press Office of the Egyptian Mission to the United Nations in New York and as a communication specialist with the clinical teaching campus of Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine.

Born and raised in Egypt, she attended the Sacré Coeur Catholic School in Cairo. She is fluent in Arabic and French and has considerable skill in Spanish.

She taught for 15 years at the University of Texas-Pan American, a Hispanic Serving Institution. She also taught in several study-abroad programs in Spain, Egypt, Turkey, Austria and Germany.

Ghanem received multiple awards for research and teaching and has published and presented nationally and internationally.

She is the founding editor of the Agenda Setting Journal and a board member of the International Association for Intercultural Communication Studies.

She earned a PhD in Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin in 1996.

Ghanem was 20 years old when she came to the U.S., and had been in the U.S. for 43 years.

She came to the United States with her ex-husband and her one year old daughter. The main challenge when she first moved was feeling home sick and missing her friends. The biggest difference she notes between life in Egypt and life in the USA is the social aspect. “Egyptians are very social, while Americans are not as much.” However, having an Egyptian identity and living in the United States has allowed her to understand different cultures.

Ghoneim has a daughter, Horeya Hilmy, who is 44 and an architect. She also has a son, Alexander Hilmy, who is 36 and a business consultant.

The biggest challenge she faced in raising her children was understanding the American school system, including baseball.

Her kids are proud of their Egyptian heritage. “They visit Egypt, they hear Arabic, they love the food but most of all they love the social aspect. Egyptians are very social,” Ghoneim said.

Ghoneim described her feelings when she sees the Egyptian flag or hears the Egyptian anthem as a mix of pride and nostalgia.

Among her many accomplishments and successes, Salma is most proud since moving to the USA is getting her Ph.D. “When I got my Ph.D. I have always kept my last name and was determined to maintain my father’s legacy by ensuring that there is another Dr. Ghanem.” Her father was also a Ph.D. and died when she was 16.

When asked if she has encountered any stereotypes or misconceptions about Egyptian women in the USA, she said, “Not really. I am proud of who I am, and as a result, people respect that identity.”

She believes it is important for new immigrants to understand the society they have moved into and help the children navigate it.

She advices Egyptian women who are considering moving to or are currently living in the USA to be adventurous.