Dr. Adnan Al-Shatti ’76
Kuwait City, Kuwait

A strong sense of caring for others is the thread that connects Dr. Adnan Al-Shatti’s prestigious academic career and his tireless humanitarian service to those around him.

Al-Shatti grew up in Kuwait and came to the U.S. in 1970, at age 17, hoping to receive an education that would allow him to help those at home. He studied at Wartburg College for two years before transferring to the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he earned his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate in psychology. While there, Al-Shatti was instrumental in the creation of the Islamic Center of Madison, the first mosque in that community.

Al-Shatti took his degrees back to Kuwait and helped create the Department of Psychology at Kuwait University, becoming the first Ph.D.-level Kuwaiti-born professor to teach in the division. In the years since, he has shaped the curriculum of the department, adding courses on child development and family dynamics. Al-Shatti hosted a TV show, Family Relations, for many years, in addition to his work as a researcher and author of books for adults and children.

In 2004, Al-Shatti traveled to Lebanon to offer aid to Syrian refugees who were sheltering there. When he saw many orphaned children living on the streets, he leapt into action and founded the Lebanese Center of Education. According to one of his nominators, Al-Shatti asked, “What kind of future does their country have when a whole generation is left without an education?” With funding for the children’s food and shelter secured, Al-Shatti, a child psychologist, organized a toy drive to ensure the children could experience the small joys of youth.

The Lebanese center started small, providing food, shelter, and education for 12,000 children. By 2014, it had grown to serve 100,000 people and was renamed the Kuwaiti Refugee Care Center. Today, more than 18,000 Syrian children are being educated across 21 schools, staffed by teachers hired from the refugee population. More than 4,000 refugees are employed in total at the camp. Al-Shatti has led several fundraising efforts across the region to support the center’s expansion and ongoing operations.

“It is clear to me that Adnan’s generous heart, joyful spirit, desire for teaching and learning, and his strong faith were qualities that were promoted by his educators at the schools and universities that he attended,” wrote one of his nominators.

For his successful career as a child psychologist and his passionate advocacy on behalf of others, truly embodying the Wartburg College ideal of servant-leadership, the Wartburg College Alumni Board is pleased to present Dr. Adnan Al-Shatti with an Alumni Citation.