A central dimension of Dr. Waleed F. Mahdi’s academic mission involves institutional leadership and discipline building through leading national scholarly associations, directing university research centers, and convening international research collaborations that shape the fields of Middle East, Arab American, and Media Studies.
Executive & Association Leadership
- Director, Center for Middle East Studies, University of Oklahoma | 2024 – Present Direct academic strategy, research funding distribution, and institutional programming (Co-Director, 2024–2026; sole Director, 2026–Present). Currently developing two major convenings resulting in co-edited books:
- ”Contemporary Regional Order of the Middle East” (national Symposium”
- “Yemen in Exile: Rethinking Knowledge in Displacement” (International Conference).
- President President, Arab American Studies Association (AASA) | 2023 – 2025 Elected National Executive Role (President, 2023–2025; Past President, 2026–2027). Led national governance, strategic planning, and field-building initiatives. Worked with the association’s board to organize:
- 2024 AASA National Conference, “Critical Futures in Arab American Studies”
- 2027 AASA National Conference, “Arab American Studies as Practice: Working With Our Communities.”
- Director-at-Large, American Institute for Yemeni Studies (AIYS) | 2019 – 2023 Elected Governing Board Member. Served on the board of the Overseas Research Center (CAORC member), supporting research fellowships, archival preservation, and international academic exchange.
Editorial & Curated Scholarship
- Co-Editor, Arab American Studies Unbound: Histories, Communities, and Disciplines | 2023 – 2027 Conceived the national CFP and convened the underlying research workshop at the University of Oklahoma, assembling leading scholars to establish new theoretical frameworks for the field.
- Editorial Board Member, Arab Americana (Penn State University Press) | 2026 – Present Guiding peer-review standards and editorial trajectory for the dedicated academic journal in Arab American community-engaged research.
- Guest Editor, “MENA Migrants and Diasporas in Twenty-First-Century Media” Conceived the conceptual framework, issued the Call for Papers for this special issue, and worked with peer-reviewers. The issue presents various insights into media, mobility, and representation.
- Co-Editor, “The Aesthetics of Dissent: Culture and Politics of Transformation in the Arab World” Co-edited this volume originating from an international workshop in Qatar supported by a major Qatar Foundation grant. Dr. Mahdi was a key Primary Investigator in this multi-institutional partnership between the University of Oklahoma, Columbia University, University of Jordan, and the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies.
National Program Committees
- Program Committee Member, Society for Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS) | 2021
- Program Committee Member, American Studies Association (ASA) | 2018