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History & Background of the J.U.S.T. A.B.H.A. Master's Degree Program

In October of 2005, a delegation from the Association for Behavior Analysis, International (ABAI) visited the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan with the purpose of exploring and promoting the long-term development of behavior analysis in the region. The visiting delegates included: Wayne Fisher, Ph.D., Linda J. Hayes, Ph.D., Alexandra Logue, Ph.D., Maria E. Malott, Ph.D., and M. Jackson Marr, Ph.D. During their visit the delegation met with several prominent figures in government, education, and military including a visit with Her Royal Highness, Princess Muna Al Hussein, the mother of Jordan’s King, His Majesty King Abdullah II bin Al Hussein (Association for Behavior Analysis Newsletter, 2005, Vol. 28, No. 3).

A main topic of interest discussed during these meetings was the establishment of higher education programs in behavior analysis designed to train scientist practitioners in the region. In response to these conversations, Dr. Wajih Owais, President of the Jordanian University of Science and Technology (JUST), in conjunction with the ABAI delegation, unveiled a plan to establish the region’s first Master’s Degree Program in Applied Behavior Health Analysis (ABHA). To ensure sustainability of the Program, Dr. Owais pledged to provide financial aid from JUST dedicated to the education of select Jordanian students admitted to established behavior analytic doctoral programs. Currently, there are 3 students enrolled in ABAI accredited programs in the United States receiving support. In return for the support received from JUST, these students have contracted to serve as instructors in the JUST ABHA Master’s Degree Program following the completion of their studies.

Dr. Owais and the ABAI delegates foresaw early on that under their plan it would take almost a full decade to create a fully sustainable Master’s Degree Program managed entirely by Jordanian nationals. While their plan to fund future instructors for the Program would lead to sustainability in the long-term, it did little to address the immediate need for behavior analytic science and practice in the region. To address these more immediate needs, Dr. Owais in conjunction with the ABAI delegation, decided it would be best to initiate the Program as soon as possible and fulfill instructor positions with the assistance of ABAI appointed coordinators. In order to assist JUST in achieving this goal, ABAI appointed Linda J. Hayes, Ph.D., Erick M. Dubuque, M.A., and Maria Isabel Muñoz Blanco, M.A. to function as the ABAI Coordinators for the Program. Since its inception, the ABAI coordinators have played an advisory role to the Program and their activities have consisted of assisting with instructor recruitment and communication, developing resources for students and faculty, and overseeing the scheduling of course delivery.

The program has been fortunate enough to have hosted several prominent behavior analytic expert instructors since its inception. Each of these instructors should be recognized for their dedication to the dissemination of behavior analysis. The instructors that have taught in the Program thus far include: Linda J. Hayes, Ph.D., M. Jackson Marr, Ph.D., W. Larry Williams, Ph.D., Kennon A. Lattal, Ph.D., Michael Dorsey, Ph.D., Dick Malott, Ph.D., Martha Hubner, Ph.D., Mitch Fryling, Ph.D., Marianne Jackson, Ph.D., Molly Day, M.A., Erick Dubuque, M.A., Sigurdur Sigurdsson, Ph.D., Josh Pritchard, M.S., Genevieve DeBernardis, M.A., Barbara Kohlenberg, Ph.D., Kendra Rickard, M.A., W. Donny Newsome, M.A., Michael Dougher, Ph.D., N. Joseph Rodrigues, Ph.D., Kate Kellum, Ph.D., Michele Bishop, Ph.D., Kimberly Zonneveld, M.S., Maria Isabel Muñoz Blanco, M.A., and Dan Hursh, Ph.D.

The JUST ABHA Master’s Degree Program is housed within the JUST Faculty of Nursing and is administered by faculty and administrators within the Department in conjunction with the ABAI Coordinators. Much of the success of the program can attributed to the past and present JUST Coordinators administering the program at the University. These Coordinators include Musa Al-Hassan, Ph.D., Muntaha Ghoureba, Ph.D., Laila Akhuzaheya, Ph.D. Arwa Oweis, Ph.D., and Nahla Malkawi, Ph.D. Without the hard work, flexibility, and responsiveness of Dr. Owais and his team of coordinators the Program would not have had the support to continue to grow and expand.