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OXFORD, Miss. - At the American University of Iraq-Sulaimani, faculty members promote entrepreneurship and new ways of thinking that allow every student to have a voice, the university's chancellor told audiences Thursday at the University of Mississippi.

"One of the most popular American exports is education," Owen Cargol said during a morning lecture to Ole Miss business students. "It is considered very high status to have an American University in Iraq."

American University of Iraq-Sulaimani opened its doors to 50 undergraduate students and 35 MBA students in October, Cargol said. His lecture focused on how American ways of thinking and interacting are being applied at his university.

"Public higher education in Iraq is controlled by the central Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research," he said. "It is a very rigid and inflexible system. All schools share the same calendar, same books, same curriculum and same approaches."

Owen Cargol, founding regent chancellor and CEO of American University of Iraq-Sulaimani, talks to business students at the University of Mississippi Thursday morning. UM photo by Nathan Latil.

Professors at the AUI are English-speaking and encourage free thought and classroom discussion. All voices are heard and both male and female students learn to respect the opinions of others despite differences. And unlike other universities throughout the Middle East, AIU allows students to choose their own majors.

"The hope is for Iraqi higher education, that it can enjoy this model as opposed to a centralized model," Cargol said.

John Holleman, UM director of corporate relations and MBA services, said the lecture was well received.

"Cargol was really able to present a cultural, educational and on-the-ground look at what is happening in Iraq," Holleman said. "We all walked away with a really good understanding of what it's like to be in Iraq post-Saddam Hussein."

Ole Miss MBA candidate Ryan Cardwell, a 23-year-old Oxford native, said he enjoyed hearing Cargol's firsthand accounts of cultural differences.

"It is hard to believe that 25 percent of Ole Miss students want a degree in business, but students in Iraq view a business degree as less prestigious simply because those degrees were not valued under the former regime," Cardwell said.

Cargol, who buys students coffee if they meet with him and speak in English, said he hopes the efforts of his forward-thinking university will encourage young Iraqis to evolve and take advantage of new opportunities to excel.

At both his morning lecture and a lunch seminar for faculty, Cargol discussed the challenges of establishing a Western-style university in a nation experiencing war, civil conflict and ethnic and religious strife. In the afternoon, he addressed graduate students and faculty regarding for-profit versus not-for-profit higher education, gender segregation and political and cultural constraints on the curriculum in Iraq.

Cargol is the founding regent chancellor and CEO of AUI. Previously, he was founding governor and provost of the Abu Dhabi University (United Arab Emirates) for four years. He earned his Ed.D. in higher education administration from Pennsylvania State University and completed postdoctoral studies at Harvard University. He also was a Fulbright scholar in the Federal Republic of Germany.

To learn more about the UM School of Business Administration, visit http://www.olemissbusiness.com..