The story of the new Dean

Dr. Tyler (“Ty”) Adams (Post-doc, Oxford University; Ph.D., The Florida State University) arrived in Dubai on July 22 2019, eager to begin engaging his duties as Dean of CMMC.  Originally born in Arkansas (USA), Dr. Adams spent the first part of his career developing his pedagogy and research agenda at prestigious institutions such as the University of Arkansas, University of Louisiana, Southern Methodist University, and Yale University (as a JSA Professor).  He has lived and worked in Arkansas, South Carolina, Florida, Louisiana, Texas, and Georgia – but now calls Dubai “home.”  “I have always wanted to live and work in Dubai,” Adams remarked.  “This is such a progressive forward-looking culture and country with truly inspirational leadership who have vision and stamina to be competitive for the long-haul,” he added.  In 2011, Adams was the recipient of the U.S. Department of State’s Council on the International Exchange of Scholars (CIES) specialist award, whereupon he traveled to Almaty, Kazakhstan (a post-Soviet Republic) as a Fulbright scholar.  He worked for an entire year as Vice President of Academic Affairs at the Kazakhstan Institute of Management, Economics, and Strategic Research, where he was the Chief Academic Officer of the institution.

However, his roots run deep in Lafayette, Louisiana, which is the heart of Cajun Country in the USA.  He commented, “my ex-wife and children still live in Louisiana, where the shrimp, oysters, crabs, and sea trout are plentiful.”  He notes that the US-backed Fulbright experience changed his worldview towards a globalist mindset, adding that “the international experience was just too fantastic to pass up.”  Some ten years later, Dr. Adams has lived and worked abroad as an academic and researcher in Italy, Cambodia, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Mexico (where he met his second wife), and The Bahamas.  While a very adventurous person, Adams noted, “It is good to finally be in my dream job here in Dubai, where my wife and I can grow some roots and settle as expats alongside our fellow Emiratis.”  Adams believes that Dubai is poised for economic and political growth as a nation because Sheikh Makhtoum sees the coming Fourth Industrial Revolution (4IR), and is heavily investing in the technology corridor to make the city prepared for the coming avalanche of media and mass communication innovations of the future. 
  

At the heart of Adams’s research is the topic of nanotechnology, based largely on the nascent field of nanoelectronics called “spintronics.”  To date, he has published nine books and textbooks on new communication technologies and remains an avid reader of new media reports and white papers.  “No one truly understands just what is coming over the next decade in terms of new hardware.  But, if you follow nanotechnology literature closely, we are within reach of a massive revolution in new media that is going to make today’s common standards seem infantile and elementary,” he says.  All his research articles, books, book chapters, and keynote presentations are on the concept of a ‘coming communications revolution’ in hardware and software development.  In fact, he regularly visits government offices to promote the need for a unified UAE National Nanotechnology Initiative.

“AUE is a fine university,” he stated, adding that “this institution is poised to do some seriously wonderful and amazing things for its student body, and the wider UAE community as a whole.”  Adams has been preparing for this role as Dean for some 25 years, since graduate school at Florida State.  

“Every step I have taken in my education, awards, honors, roles, and responsibilities has led me to this day,” he concluded.  “Being the Dean of Media and Mass Communication at AUE is my life dream, and the President and Provost have given me a lot of freedom and support to build CMMC as if it were truly an American-style College,” he added.  Surely, AUE is lucky to have such a qualified and experienced Dean at the helm.  It should be noted that Adams is also a very friendly and sincere administrator, who has aims and goals that transcend our national borders.  “We have to be competitive.  Not just in the UAE, but globally.”  In conclusion, Dr. Adams is obviously motivated by his students and fellow faculty.  He notes that without the support of his team, he would not bother waking up in the morning and facing the many challenges of a given day.  “The people to whom I am accountable have placed a lot of faith in me to bring AUE to the next level.  I am, in short, prepared to do so.”