Dearborn — The Board of Directors of the Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services (ACCESS) accepted the resignation of recently elected Board President Fawwaz T. Ulaby during its April 5 meeting in Dearborn. The Board has named its vice president, Andrea Awada, as its new president.

Awada, a resident of Dearborn Heights, is principal of Geer Park Elementary in Dearborn, and has served the Dearborn Public Schools in various capacities for 29 years. She has been a member of the ACCESS Board of Directors for over 15 years. Among her many volunteer leadership activities, Awada was recruited by Michigan’s First Gentleman, Dan Mulhern, to serve on the Community Service State Committee. 

 “Andrea brings a wealth of experience to this position,” said Hassan Jaber, ACCESS Executive Director.  “She is intelligent, passionate, and possesses a keen understanding of the community’s needs.  I have every confidence in her ability to guide ACCESS.”

 Ulaby, a resident of Dexter, Michigan, is the R. Jamison and Betty Williams Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor, where he has been employed in various capacities, including vice president for research, since 1984.

 Last month, Ulaby was named Founding Provost of King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia, a new institution that will greet its inaugural class of 300 students in September 2009. He will take a leave of absence from the University of Michigan to launch the new university.

 The slate of ACCESS officers is now as follows: Andrea Awada, president; David Allen, vice president; Wadad Abed, treasurer; Edward Bagale, English secretary; Yasser Al Soofi, Arabic secretary; Mike Makki, at-large; Amal Berry-Brown, at-large.