VALPARAISO | An internationally-respected expert on terrorism will participate in an Oct. 16 panel discussion at Valparaiso University as part of a two-week visit to campus through the Fulbright Scholar program.

Abd El-Aziz Shady, a political science professor and director of Cairo University's Program on Terrorism Studies, will discuss "The Future of Terrorism: A Look at Current Middle East Affairs" at 6:30 p.m. in the Christopher Center for Library and Information Resources.

The panel discussion is free and open to the public.

Responding to Dr. Shady's remarks will be Chuck Schaefer, an associate professor of history whose scholarship and teaching interests include modern African and Middle Eastern political and social history; Dr. Nelly van Doorn-Harder, Patheja professor of world religions and ethics and one of the world's leading scholars on Muslim-Christian relations; and Dr. Susan Shearer, an adjunct assistant professor of political science whose research and teaching focuses on international relations and U.S. foreign policy.

Dr. Shady's research has focused on religion and democratization in the Arab world, the nation-state's absence and terrorism in the Middle East, and Christian perceptions of Islam in the United States. He is spending six weeks in the United States discussing those issues and others as part of his participation in the Fulbright Scholar program.

He has been invited to discuss terrorism issues at numerous international conferences and seminars, including programs sponsored by the Program for Research and Studies on Terrorism in Egypt, Institute of Security Studies, Sweden's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Center for Combating Terrorism in Cairo, Ford Foundation and Center for Strategic Studies.

--For The Times