HOUSTON – (May 19, 2022) – Rice University President David Leebron announced April 19 that “with the approval and endorsement of Rice University’s Board of Trustees, the Baker Institute’s Center for the Middle East will henceforth be known as the Edward P. Djerejian Center for the Middle East” in recognition of Ambassador Djerejian’s role as founding director of the Baker Institute and of his “extraordinary leadership and deeply impactful foreign service career.”

As a nonpartisan voice relying on data-driven research and direct engagement with decision-makers in the United States and around the world, the institute offers policymakers, scholars and the general public comprehensive analyses of regional issues, events and trends that impact U.S. policy and global stability. The Edward P. Djerejian Center for the Middle East will pursue key regional policies in areas including Israeli-Palestinian conflict resolution, the political economy of the Persian Gulf, refugees, human rights, U.S.-Iranian relations and Islamist movements. The center collaborates with other think tanks and with other experts within the institute as well as with Rice academics studying the history, politics and societies of the Middle East, thereby fostering informed, policy-relevant dialogue.

The first event to be hosted by the center under the new name will be a one-day conference with four panels June 1. Experts will examine some of the most pressing issues in the region — including the ongoing developments between the Gulf Cooperation Council states and Iran, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Islamist politics and refugees.

To learn more about the Edward P. Djerejian Center for the Middle East’s programs, visit bakerinstitute.org/center-for-the-middle-east.