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Historical and Contemporary Aspects of Psychology in Sudan; with Special Reference to University of Khartoum

Adil Ishag

Faculty of Education International University of Africa,

Khartoum, Sudan.

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Table of Contents Acknowledgment Abstract 1 Introduction 2 The Overall Objectives 3 Strategy of Data Collection 4 A Historical Background of Psychology in Sudan 5 Special Reference to Psychology at University of Khartoum 6 The Pioneering Staff in Psychology Department 7 Historical Aspects of the Study at the Psychology Department 8 Current Status of Psychology in Sudan 9 Historical and Contemporary Figures of Psychology in Sudan: 9.1 Abdel Basit Merghani 9.2 Abdel Wahid Awadalla 9.3 Afaf Gadheldam 9.4 Ali Farah 9.5 Al-Zubair Bashir Taha 9.6 Hisham Osman Khogali 9.7 Jean George Mosley 9.8 Malik Badri 9.9 Nagat Fathi 9.10 Omar Haroon Al-Khaleefa 9.11 Sadig Mohamed Abdel-Halim 9.12 Suad Alatabani 9.13 Tag Elsir Doleib 9.14 Taha Amir 9.15 William Alexander Miller 9.17 Yousif Hassan Yousif 10 References

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Acknowledgment I am really indebted to Prof. W.A. Miller and Dr. Ali Farah for providing me with invaluable historical information and to Dr. Abdelwahid Awadalla for proofreading, penetrating ideas and comments on the paper. A word of thanks should also be sent to Prof. Dr. Evelin Witruk for her kind invitation, encouragement and solid support.

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Abstract This study traces back some historical aspects of psychology in Sudan with special reference to University of Khartoum, as well as providing some statistical figures of psychology at the University of Khartoum. It also discusses the current status of psychology in Sudanese institutions in general and at University of Khartoum more specifically; showing the main trends of research and the obstacles that are hindering the progress of psychology in Sudan. It also reviews the contributions made by some pioneering psychologists and academicians to the establishment and development of psychology in Sudan. In addition, some of the nominated Sudanese psychologists are alphabetically presented.

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1 Introduction The history of psychology as a scholarly study of the mind and behavior dates back to the ancient Greeks. It was widely regarded as a branch of philosophy until 1879, when the German scientist Wilhelm Maximilian Wundt (1832 – 1920) established the world's first experimental laboratory of psychology in Leipzig University (Wintle, 1991). Additionally, the first use of the term "psychology" in German "psychologie" is often attributed to the German scholastic philosopher Rudolf Göckel (1547-1628). German scholars in general and Wundt’s contributions at Leipzig University in particular have played a major role in the establishment and development of modern psychology. For instance, the first professor in the United States of America James Mckeen Cattell (1860 – 1944) obtained his doctoral degree under the supervision of Wundt at Leipzig University in 1886 (Koppes, 2006). His dissertation entitled in German "psychologische untersuchungen" (psychometric investigation) was considered the first dissertation for an American in the field of psychology. In comparison, psychology in Sudan appeared as a minor subject nearly in the early 1950s, seven decades later than Germany, and three decades later than the neighboring country Egypt, where in which psychology began in the early 1920s (Abou-Hatab, 1989) Original studies dealing with the History of psychology in Sudan are actually scarce and meagerly documented. Therefore, this paper attempts to trace and record some historical and contemporary aspects of psychology in Sudan with special reference to university of Khartoum and outlines the greatest contributions in psychology development made by many pioneers. 2 The Overall Objectives This paper aims at achieving the two following objectives: • To trace back and record some of the historical and contemporary aspects of

psychology in Sudan with special reference to university of Khartoum as the oldest and most influential university in Sudan.

• To review the pioneering psychologists and academicians who have highly contributed to the development of research and clinical practice of psychology in Sudan.

3 Strategy of Data Collection To achieve the aim of reviewing the history of psychology in Sudan, various approaches and tools were followed such as personal interviews with some of the earliest psychologists, visits to psychology departments and contacts initiated with both Sudanese and foreign scholars in the field. Then selected highlights were retrieved from reports, periodicals, archives and personal diaries.

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4 A Historical Background of Psychology in Sudan The history of psychology in Sudan as a scientific and academic discipline dates back to the early 1950s, when the British scientist Scott applied the first measure of intelligence in Sudan under the auspices of Gordon Memorial College in collaboration with the Institute of Bakht-er-Ruda and under the supervision of Mr. Vernon from Britain. Some of the tests applied by Scott included: Gabbani-Ballard Test, Scale of Non-Verbal Mental Ability, and General Intelligence Test for Africans (Khaleefa & Ahmed, 2009). Bakht-er-Ruda institute has also contributed to the history of psychology in Sudan, where the library of the institute contained a number of books in psychology, as well as teaching educational psychology within its curricula. According to Kardman (2003), Mr. Kamil Elbagir who was the first chancellor of Omdurman Islamic university, was perhaps the first Sudanese interested in the teaching of psychology in 1955. He brought - along with the efforts of Bakht-er-Ruda institute -teachers' attention to the role and significance of educational psychology in teaching processes. Another outstanding contribution to the history of psychology in Sudan was the role of Cairo University Khartoum Branch which was established in 1955. This university introduced psychology as a part of the sociology and philosophy curricula. A few years later, Cairo University of Khartoum set up a Diploma of Education, in which some psychology courses were offered.

It could be observable that the beginning of psychology in Sudan was linked to the beginnings of educational psychology and psychotherapy in psychiatry. For instance, Eltigani Elmahi (1911-1970), a man of varied intellectual abilities who was once known as “the father of African psychiatry”, was the first Sudanese and African to specialize in psychiatry. He graduated from the Institute of Psychiatry, University of London in 1949. A year later, he established the first clinic for psychiatric and neurological diseases in Sudan. Elmahi’s work was fostered by his distinguished student Dr. Taha Baasher (1922-2008) who was also specialized in psychiatry in the Institute of psychiatry, University of London, Britain in 1956. In 1960, Baasher established the second clinic for nervous disorders in Khartoum North. In 1961, Psychology courses were taught at the Department of Philosophy in the Faculty of Arts, University of Khartoum, and in 1962, the Department of Psychiatry was established at the current Khartoum Teaching Hospital (Mahmoud, 2002). In 1967, the first Sudanese university department of psychology was established at Ahfad College for Women to meet the increasing interests and needs in teaching psychology, and to qualify and train female psychology students (Ramadan & Uwe, 1998). In the beginning, Ahfad College was offering a diploma in psychology, and then it was upgraded into a bachelor degree in

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1984. Additionally, Ahfad University is regarded the largest institution for psychology students in Sudan. However, the admission to this university is only restricted to female students. Ahfad University is now chaired by the psychologist Prof. Gasim Badri who is considered as one of those who highly promoted Psychology discipline in Sudan. A few courses of Psychology were also taught at Omdurman Islamic University in the early 1970s. However, the Department of Psychology was opened in 1986, and started recruiting a number of psychologists from Arab countries such Dr Miasa (1995-2005) from Syria, and Drs. Drs. Mohamed Mustafa Gilan and Hassan Abdel-Mouti from Egypt (Al-motwakil, 2009). Another contribution to the area of history of psychometrics in Sudan was the earliest and important study conducted in 1964 by the Egyptian psychologist Dr. Mustafa Fahmi to measure the intelligence of Shuluk tribes' children in Southern Sudan. A contribution was also made by Kamal Doussequi, the Egyptian psychologist who worked as an assistant professor of psychology at Omdurman Islamic University and Cairo University in Khartoum during 1970s and 1980s (Mustafa, 2009). He taught and supervised many theses at Omdurman Islamic University, and also lectured for a short period of time at Psychology Department, University of Khartoum. Additionally, he conducted several studies on personality and social psychology such as his reputable research: studies on the Sudanese society in 1973. Another outstanding historical aspect of psychology in Sudan was started with establishing the first Department of Psychology at the Faculty of Education, University of Khartoum under the name applied psychology in 1976 and it was chaired by Prof. Malik Badri (Haroun, 2009). The pioneering staffs of the Department included: Dr. Suad Al-Atabani, Dr. Kabashor Koko, Dr. Saleh Abdallah Haron, Dr. Omer Bilal Al-Siddeg, Mahmoud Abdallah Borat, Dr. Mohamed Al-Amin Al-Katib and Dr. Ali Yahiya who was the first Sudanese to specialize in psychological measurement in Bristol University, England. In 1980s, mental health and abnormal psychology courses were partially taught within the syllabus of the Faculty of Medicine, University of Gezira (Khaleefa, 2009). Those courses were taught by both psychiatrists and psychologists such as Al-Zubair Bashir Taha, Abdel-Basit Marqani and Fathya Omer. Later, when the Faculty of Education was founded at the same University in 1985, the first lecturer of psychology Prof. Ahmed Shanan was appointed in 1987. Additionally, at Gezira University there is a Department of Health Psychology at the Faculty of Health and Environmental Sciences. In 1990s, a revolution in the higher education began by establishing new universities in the different states of Sudan. Accordingly, a Department of Educational and Psychological Sciences was opened at Al-Fashir University and

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another Department of Psychology at Al-Dalang University in 1991; they are both in Western Sudan. In 1999, Psychology Department with the largest number of students in Sudan was established at the Faculty of Arts, Neelin University (El-Tayeb, 2009) and in 2000; a Department of Applied Psychology was founded at Faculty of Education, Sudan University of Sciences and Technology (Sharif, 2005). In 2003, a department of educational psychology was founded at Faculty of Education, International University of Africa and another department of general psychology was established at the same university at the Faculty of Arts this year 2009. There are also other psychology departments at some colleges and institutions such as Africa University College, Wad-Madani College, and Al-Imam Al-Mahdi University. 5 Special Reference to Psychology at University of Khartoum Psychology came into the University of Khartoum through the Department of Philosophy in 1961. Professor Anthony Cavendish, the Head of Philosophy Department, was instrumental in having two courses in psychology taught in the Philosophy Department for final and semi-final students by Dr Mowafag Al-Hamdani, an Iraqi in the 1960s. Cavendish was keen to see psychology advanced as a subject in its own right in the Faculty of Arts. He pressed this issue in the Faculty. Some attempts were made to that end but at the level of Senate they were blocked over disputes about the Faculty to which Psychology should be attached. In 1975, the case for psychology was revived again (by this time Professor Cavendish had left Khartoum University to England) and a small Committee from Philosophy Department composed of Prof. W.A. Miller, Aziz Hanna Dawood, and Rip Bulkeley was established. The goal of the committee was to reconsider the issue of psychology as a subject within the Faculty, and report to Faculty and Senate. As a result of the Report, the Senate approved of the establishment of psychology at the Faculty of Arts and so Professor Cavendish's earlier efforts were not forgotten, but in fact, appreciated and incorporated into the committee’s final recommendations (Miller, 2009). In the period 1970 – 1976, Dr Aziz Hanna Dawood, an Egyptian lecturer seconded by the University of Ain Shames – Cairo, who taught the two psychology courses in the Philosophy Department, was appointed Head and entrusted with preparing a syllabus, which was accordingly approved by Senate. But disagreement arose over Dr Hanna's proposal to teach in Khartoum for part of the Academic Year and for the other part to teach in Cairo. This was not acceptable to the University of Khartoum and so Prof. W. A. Miller who had academic qualifications in both psychology and philosophy became Head of Psychology Department, in November 1976. However, he was still continuing to teach some courses in philosophy at the Philosophy Department (Miller, 2009).

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Prof. Miller has substantially contributed to take the Department of Psychology into a more cross-cultural approach that would encourage students to think and not just memorize, and relate psychology to exploring the Sudanese social environment whilst introducing them to the results of psychological studies in other cultures. In Prof. Miller's period, three students were chosen and sent abroad to specialize in psychology in order to join the department staff afterwards. Those students were Dr. Jean George Mosley from English Language Department, Prof. Al-Zubair Bashir Taha and Dr. Yousif Hassan Yousif who were philosophy graduates. All of them were not majored in psychology because there were still no psychology graduates at University of Khartoum and philosophy was the close discipline to psychology. In 1978, Prof. Taha Amir joined the psychology staff and later he became the head of the department. In his period, students were enrolled to the department and teaching began in the Academic Year 1978 and thus, the first batch of psychology students gradated in 1982 (Amir, 2009). That batch included eight male students, and only one female student called; Aisha Suliman Brima, who was regarded the first Sudanese woman to obtain a bachelor in psychology with honors degree in the University of Khartoum. Unfortunately, Aisha Suliman Brima did not work in the psychology field, but she instead worked as a professional Arabic-English translator and she is currently working in Sudan News Agency (SUNA) (Brima, 2009). Additionally, Aisha was recently one among other Arab translators, who have translated "the international Arab encyclopedia". Moreover, Dr. Ahmed Al-Mustafa, from the first batch, was the first teaching assistant in the history of psychology department (Amir, 2009). Additionally there is an overall agreement that he was one of the most academically distinguished students not only in the Psychology Department but in the history of Khartoum University. Since 1980s, he has been working as a clinical psychologist in Saudi Arabia. Another distinguished student of the first batch was Dr. Abbas Hussein, who was regarded the first Sudanese to major in organizational psychology. He is now a very reputable expert and consultant in the field of organizational psychology in many organizations and universities abroad. There are also many other nominated psychologists who graduated from Khartoum university such as Dr. Mohamed Salah who was the first Sudanese to specialize in cognitive and neuropsychology in Newcastle University, Dr. Abdel-Bagi Dafallah who is renown in the area of educational psychology, Dr. Kabashor Koko who obtained his PhD from Leon University, France in 1983 and he was the first Sudanese to attract attention to the psychology of language in Sudan and Dr. Mohamed Mahgob Haroun the pioneering Sudanese in social and political psychology.

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Regarding the history of postgraduate studies in psychology at Khartoum University, the first master's thesis was defended by the student Mohamed Al-Amin Al-Katib - he is now associate professor of psychology at University of Khartoum - in 1980 at the Faculty of Education, whereas the first master's thesis at the Faculty of Arts was defended in 1986. On the other hand, the first doctoral degree at Khartoum University was offered in 1989 at the Faculty of Education and in 1992 at the Faculty of Arts (Attalla & Elshik 2003). In the same Survey which conducted by Attalla & Elshik (2003) about the postgraduate studies of psychology at university of Khartoum, they have provided figures of (207) master's theses and (37) PhD's dissertations, which conducted during 1980-2002. (25%) of the theses were conducted at the Faculty of Education and (75%) at the Faculty of Arts, and there were only 6 Arab nationals received master's or doctoral degrees from University of Khartoum. in terms of the language of research; (77%) of the theses were written in Arabic language and (23%) in English. On the other hand, the percent of males who conducted Masters was (29%), and (65%) conducted doctorates, while the percent of females who conducted Masters was (71%), and (35%) of them conducted doctorates. More importantly, the number of supervisors who supervised these theses at University of Khartoum was (44). Prof. Al-Zubair Bashir Taha had the highest number in the supervision of the theses, where he supervised (14%) of them, followed by Dr. Abdel-Bagi Dafallah who supervised (10%), Mohamed Al-Amin El-Khatib (8%), Mohamed Salah Mohamed Khalil (7% ), and Osman Abdo who supervised (5%) of the theses that conducted at University of Khartoum up to 2002. in terms of the content of the theses, there were 75 topics investigated, and the most frequent topics were: academic achievement which composed (10%) of the investigated topics, attitudes (7%), psychological and social adjustment (6%), depression (5%), anxiety (4%), parental treatment (4%), and creative thinking (4%). 6 The Pioneering Staff in Psychology Department Some of The pioneering staffs in Psychology Department who have contributed to its development were as follows: Dr. Paul Johnson, a graduate of Sussex in England, taught statistical analysis and experimental design courses for psychology students. He proved to be a top-class technician, constructing a piece of apparatus out of bits of old scrap tin that was used for demonstrating the phi-phenomenon. He, too, is of those who got psychology going in Sudan (Miller, 2009). In 1981, Dr. Paul was aided by an appointment of a young Sudanese technician called Al-Amin Yousif to work in the psychology lab as a tutor and technical monitor. Mr. Al-Amin has resigned from Khartoum University in 1996. He is currently conducting M.A in Islamic studies at Omdurman Islamic

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University and he is also a spiritual and religious leader of a Sufi group in Gezira state (Yousif, 2009). Dr. Patrick Slatry, an American psychologist taught a course on occupational psychology, which was later, taught by Dr. Awad Ahmed Al-Jazz who obtained his PhD in managerial sciences in 1980 from University of Southern California in USA, and his doctoral dissertation entitled "Managerial Motivation for Organization Effectiveness in the Sudan". During the last two decades, Dr. Awad Ahmed Al-Jazz was one of the influential and powerful politicians and a leading figure in the current government in Sudan. The biologist Prof. Mohamed Abdallah Alryah lectured on Animal Behavior, and Dr. Hassan Mohamed Salih taught Development of Anthropological Theory. Prof. Malik Badri, and Mr. Paul Wani Gor also lectured in the department. In 1981, the Egyptian psychologist Dr. Mustafa Dissouqi who was working at Cairo University in Khartoum branch taught developmental psychology course at University of Khartoum. But, the students were not happy about the way he taught the course and so they protested to the head of the department Dr. Taha Amir who expelled him and took over the course to arrange for retaking of the final exam (Awadalla, 2009). In fact, Dissouqui’s method of teaching did not really go in line with that of Khartoum University, which was basically based on researching the material than teaching from a notebook as Dissouqi used to do (Farah, 2009). 7 Historical Aspects of the Study at the Psychology Department The psychology program at the Faculty of Arts was designed to offer a general bachelor degree of psychology in four years. However, the outstanding students were allowed to study a fifth year to get a bachelor of psychology with honors degree. More importantly, the students had only to specialize in psychology in the second year because the first preliminary year was general. This is based on the consideration that psychology students have to be open-minded and sophisticated in different disciplines. So, the students in the preliminary year would be taught all the subjects in the Faculty of Arts and have an optimum background in its various subjects (Miller, 2009) and (Farah, 2009). The admission requirements to the Psychology Department at that time were considerably high and intellectually challenging. For instance, students who would like to join the psychology department were required to score high grades in English language and mathematics in their school leaving certificates and they must prove an academic distinction in the preliminary year (Amir, 2009). Additionally, experimental design and statistics courses were compulsory from the first to the final year in the psychology department.

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8 Current Status of Psychology in Sudan Psychology in Sudan has developed in a country whose social-cultural system underestimates the value of psychology discipline and attributes mental health disorders to myth, lack of religiousness, superstition, witchcraft, and devils. Accordingly, there is a social stigma associated with mental health issues. By international standards, psychology as a scientific and academic discipline is rather low status in Sudan and the quality of psychological research is deteriorating. There is a substantial absence of fields such as cognitive psychology and neuropsychology, which require experimental and laboratory facilitates that are no longer available in Sudanese universities and institutions, There are also lack of cross-cultural studies, if any. Psychology at Sudanese universities is located at the faculty of education as educational psychology department or at the faculty of arts as a department of general psychology. Regarding admission requirements, most psychology departments including Khartoum University do not normally require any academic distinction. Whilst in the past of Khartoum university, psychology students were chosen among the highly achievers in English language and mathematics. And hence, psychology students were among the best academic mentalities. Since the early 1990s, studying at Sudanese universities were Arabicised and Arabic language became the medium of instruction instead of English. Thus, psychology students and even university academicians and psychologists may experience a poor command of English and this in turn led to the disconnection with the international psychological research and society. Although, most of psychology students in Sudan are female ones; where the percent of female psychologists is 89%, whereas the percent of male psychologists in Sudan is 11% (Mahmoud, 2002), However - in the history of psychology in Sudan until today - there is no Sudanese woman that held a professorship in psychology. Since the first female psychology staff at Khartoum University Dr. Jean George Mosely had left Sudan; the department did not appoint any female staff until 1993 when Dr. Intisar Abu-Nagma Hamid was recruited a teaching assistance of psychology. Additionally, Sudanese professors in psychology are very few if any. For instance, currently there is no professor of psychology at all among the psychology staff at the first Sudanese university, Khartoum University, neither at the Faculty of Education nor at the Faculty of Arts. Whereas a relatively rural Egyptian university such as Al-Mansora University has currently 11 professors of psychology at the Faculty of Education and many other staff professors in various domains of psychology at the Faculty of Arts. Furthermore, in the history of psychology at Khartoum University, only four graduates from University of Khartoum held professorship in psychology they

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are: Al-Zubair Bashir Taha, Shams Eldin Zain Alabdin, Taha Amir and Ahmed Shanan who is now Dean of Faculty of Education, University of Gezira. On the other hand, the first Sudanese professor in psychology Malik Badri is a graduate from American University of Beirut, Lebanon. There are two psychological associations in Sudan: the Sudanese Psychological Association founded in 1995 and chaired by Prof. Al-Zubair Bashir Taha and the International Association of Muslim Psychologists, which was founded in 1997 and chaired by Prof. Malik Badri. In addition, there is only one Sudanese psychological journal entitled "psychological studies" which published seven volumes up to date (Sid-Ahmed, 2009). Finally, there is up to date no Mental Health Act or governmental regulations to set guide rules for profession of psychology in Sudan. Hence, the practicing of psychology is not fully accredited and psychologists are among the highly unemployed graduates. Moreover, no psychology courses are taught at secondary level and the counseling centers are only located at universities, while secondary schools do not have any psychological counseling and guidance. 9 Historical and Contemporary Figures of Psychology in Sudan Last but by no means least, a biography of some of the Sudanese figures of psychology is provided as well as those ones who made substantial efforts in the progress of psychology in Sudan. These biographies are listed alphabetically as follows: 9.1 Abdel Basit Merghani Dr. Abdel Basit Merghani is one of the earliest Sudanese who specialized in psychology by obtaining a Diploma in Clinical Psychology (which is equivalent to master's degree) from University of Lorand, Budapest- Hungary in 1980. However, when he returned back to Sudan, University of Khartoum at that time did not recognize his diploma as equivalence to master's degree and therefore, he studied again with final year undergraduate students at the psychology department and obtained Honors Part II, Qualifying Exam in Psychology from University of Khartoum in 1983. In 1986 he was awarded a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology & counseling from Lorand University, followed by a Specialized Diploma in Clinical Psychology, Postgraduate Medical University, Budapest- Hungary. In 1983 he became Head Department of Behavioral Psychology in Tegani Elmahi Hospital for Mental Disorders and in 1991 he was appointed Lecturer in Psychology and Behavior Sciences, School of Medicine, Gezira University, Sudan. In the period 1994 – 2001 Dr. Abdel Basit was recruited Program Officer for Child Protection, UNICEF (United Nations, Khartoum). In 1997, he established a Psychological & Social Consultancy Center in Khartoum, which is considered

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one of the very distinguished psychological centers in Sudan, and he is still its General Director. 9.2 Abdel Wahid Awadalla Dr. Abdel Wahid Awadalla is one of the few Sudanese professional psychologists to specialize in clinical psychology with proficiency in neuropsychology. He received his bachelor degree in psychology at University of Khartoum in 1982, and his master and doctoral degree in clinical psychology with specialty in neuropsychology in 1995, 1997 respectively at California School of Professional Psychology in Fresno, California, U.S.A. (Awadalla, 2008). In 1997, he completed an internship in clinical psychology at St. Francis Medical Center in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and in 1999, he obtained a postdoctoral fellowship in neuropsychology at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in conjunction with University of Pennsylvania Medical School. Dr. Awadalla published numerous peer-reviewed articles on psychology, neuropsychology, psychiatry and neurology in international scientific journals. In the period 1999 – 2007, Dr. Awadalla was appointed Assistant Professor at the Department of psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, Kuwait University. Currently he is on a one-year contract with the Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia. 9.3 Afaf Gadheldam Dr. Afaf Gadheldam is a highly Sudanese qualified academician of psychology. She graduated in Khartoum University with a bachelor of Education in Applied Psychology 1992. She received her master’s degree in psychology at University of Khartoum in 1995. In 2003, she was awarded a PhD degree in mental health and clinical psychology from Carl von Ossietzky Oldenburg University, Germany. She also received a prize from Oldenburg University for the distinction of her doctoral dissertation, which entitled "Tendency of patients towards medical treatment and traditional healing in Sudan" (Gadheldam, 2009). During 2006-2009, Dr. Afaf appointed a lecturer in the Department of Educational Psychology and Special Education at Faculty of Education, University of Khartoum. Then she was appointed the head of the department 2004 – 2006. Additionally, she lectured on across-cultural psychology and spiritual psychotherapy at Oldenburg University 2001 – 2003. Since 2007, she has been working assistant professor at Hanze Hoge School, Academy of Social and Psychological Studies- Groningen, Netherlands. 9.4 Ali Farah Dr. Ali Farah is a prominent academician and counseling psychologist with varied talents and creativities. He is considered the leading contributor to advancement and teaching of counseling and educational psychology in the

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recent history. Dr. Ali graduated from University of Khartoum with highest honors bachelor degree in psychology in 1983. He obtained his master in psychology at the same university under supervision of Prof. W. A. Miller in 1989. In 2005, he received his PhD in counseling psychology at Sudan University of Science and Technology. Dr. Ali worked as a psychologist in the ministry of health up to 1990, and then during 1990 – 1994 he was seconded to Kobar asylum where he founded and headed the department of psychological services. He is now associate professor at the Department of Applied Psychology, Faculty of Education, Sudan University of Science and Technology (Farah, 2009). 9.5 Al-Zubair Bashir Taha Al-Zubair Bashir Taha was a philosophy graduate who had shown interest in psychology when he was an undergraduate student. His scholarship as a Teaching Assistant was transferred from the Philosophy Department to the Psychology Department (Miller, 2009). Prof. Al-Zubair graduated in University of Khartoum with a bachelor degree in Philosophy 1972. He obtained a master's degree in moral psychology, Birmingham University in 1976, and another master's degree in experimental psychology from University of Sussex, Brighton, United Kingdom in 1978. He received his PhD in psychophysiology at University of Sheffield, United Kingdom in 1982 (Khaleefa, 2009). Prof. Al-Zubair has held a number of academic and political positions including Associate Professor at the United Arab Emirates University 1988-1990, Head of Psychology department at Khartoum University 84-1986, chancellor of the University of Khartoum 98-2000, Minister of Higher Education 2000-2001, Minister of Science and Technology from 2001 to 2005, and Minister of the Interior 2005-2008. He is now the ruler of Gezira State. 9.6 Hisham Osman Khogali Dr. Hisham is a very distinguished Sudanese psychologist, he graduated from University of Khartoum in 1980, and then he was awarded master's degree in 1984 and a doctoral degree in 1987 both from University of London. Dr. Hisham was one of those who founded the Sudanese Psychological Association in 1995(Khogali, 2009), and supervised many theses in psychology at University of Khartoum, including the master's thesis of Dr. Afaf Gadh eldam in 1993. Additionally, he chaired the psychology department from 1992 – 1995. He is currently an academic staff of psychology at King Fahd University of Petroleum 9.7 Jean George Mosley Dr. Jeanie George Mosley was the first female staff in the psychology department and in the history of psychology in Sudan and also chaired the department for a while as the first female to hold such a position in a psychology

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department in Sudan. She graduated from University of Khartoum with a bachelor degree in English language (Miller, 2009), and then she has been recommended by Dr Aziz Hanna Dawood to specialize in psychology in order to join the department staff (Farah, 2009). Thus, she obtained first and higher degrees in psychology at Reading University in England (Yousif, 2009). However, she did not work a long time at the psychology department and she left Sudan for Greece in the early 1980s (Taha, 2009). Unfortunately, there is a lack of information about Dr. Jean George Mosley; she was generally described by her colleagues and students at that time as a very brilliant psychologist (Awadalla, 2009) and (Farah, 2009). She had also some social conflicts in Sudan as a result of being a liberal woman in a conservative society and so she preferred to leave Sudan for ever at the beginning of her academic career (Taha, 2009) and (Yousif, 2009). 9.8 Malik Badri Prof. Malik Badri is recognized as the father of psychology in Sudan. He was the first Sudanese professor of psychology and the first Sudanese to pursue a doctoral degree in psychology in Leicester University, England 1961. He received his bachelor and master degrees in 1956, 1958 respectively at American university of Beirut. In 1976, he founded and became the first head of the Department of Applied Psychology at the Faculty of Education, University of Khartoum (Haroun, 2009). He has many publications in international and Arab professional journals and he has been awarded several prizes for his distinction and distinguished contributions to psychology in Sudan, Arab and Muslim world. 9.9 Nagat Fathi Dr. Nagat Fathi is a graduate of University of Khartoum with honor first class and she was a very outstanding student at University of Khartoum; she holds a Ph.D. and an M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Ohio State University, Ohio, USA. She also completed a two-year postdoctoral fellowship in Pediatric/Health Psychology with Columbus Children’s Hospital and Ohio State University Medical School. Up to 2004, Dr. Nagat worked as an assistant professor of psychology at Ohio Northern University, and adjunct lecturer at Ohio State University, USA. She served on the Committee for the accreditation of Ohio Northern University Counseling Center and was a faculty mentor at the Student Research Institute. Dr. Nagat is currently the Executive Director of Student Counseling & Support Services at the United Arab Emirates University, United Arab Emirates. 9.10 Omar Haroon Al-Khaleefa Dr. Omar Haroon Al-Khaleefa is one of the young active psychologists and researchers in Sudan and his works are published worldwide. He graduated from

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University of Khartoum with a bachelor degree in psychology 1985. Then he appointed as a teaching assistant in psychology department, University of Khartoum in 1995. He received his PhD in psychology at University of Newcastle Upon Tyne, United Kingdom (Khaleefa, 2008). During 1996-2002, he worked Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology at Faculty of Education, University of Bahrain, Bahrain. He is now associate professor of psychology at University of Khartoum. 9.11 Sadig Mohamed Abdel-Halim Dr. Sadig who was born in 1973 in Khartoum, was the first handicapped blind staff member in a psychology department in Sudan. He was appointed at the Psychology Department, Faculty of Arts, University of Khartoum in 2003 (Abde-Halim, 2009). He also graduated from Khartoum University with a bachelor second class upper honor degree in 2002, followed by master's degree in psychology. Additionally, he was the first Sudanese to specialize in the area of Bio-psychology by conducting a PhD in 2009, and his dissertation entitled: "the level of testosterone hormone in relation to aggressive behavior and intelligence quotation among delinquent adolescents in Khartoum state". His PhD was co-supervised by a physiologist from the faculty of medicine, University of Khartoum. 9.12 Suad Alatabani Dr. Suad Alatabani is regarded the first female Sudanese staff in psychology, where she joined the Department of Applied Psychology at Faculty of Education, University of Khartoum in July 1978. She was also the first Sudanese woman to specialize in psychology by obtaining a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Hagazian College, Beirut, Lebanon in 1973. She received her Master in Education from American University of Beirut, Lebanon in 1977. Additionally, she was the first Sudanese lady to obtain a PhD in psychology from Exeter University in England in 1985 (Alatabani, 2009). During 1989 – 1990, Dr. Suad Alatabani was appointed the Head of the Psychology Department, Faculty of Education, University of Khartoum, and from 1990 to 2009, she worked as Assistant Professor at the Department of Psychology, King Saud University in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 9.13 Tag Elsir Doleib In 1970, Taj Elsir Doleib was the first psychologist to establish a counseling center in Sudan and introduce the concept of counseling among Sudanese. The Center was located at the students' deanship at the University of Khartoum. Dr. Doleib was the first Sudanese to obtain a master's degree in counseling psychology at American university of Beirut in 1969 (Doleib, 1981). He worked at the University of Khartoum from 1970 to 1995, and he has recently been

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appointed an associate professor of psychology at Ahfad University for Women (Doleib, 2009). 9.14 Taha Amir Prof. Taha Amir who graduated in University of Khartoum with a bachelor degree in philosophy, was among the earliest Sudanese PhD holders of psychology, where he received his PhD from Wales University, Britain in 1979 and so, he was seconded from the Ministry of Health to Khartoum University (Farah, 2009). Then he was appointed the head of the psychology department as the first Sudanese to hold such a position in the history of the department. In 1982, Prof. Taha left University of Khartoum for Kuwait University, Kuwait where he worked until the Gulf war in 1990. He is currently a professor of psychology at the United Arab Emirates University, UAE (Amir, 2009). 9.15 William Alexander Miller Prof. W. A. Miller is widely regarded the landmark of the history of psychology in Sudan in general and at the University of Khartoum in particular. He was appointed as the first actual head of psychology department. Prof. Miller is a native Irish scientist from the United Kingdom who came to Sudan in September 1965 to work in the Department of Philosophy, Faculty of Arts, University of Khartoum. He obtained his honor bachelor degree in Philosophy and Psychology from Queens's University, Belfast 1960, then a foundation scholarship in Philosophy and psychology in 1960. In 1961, he received Peel prize for distinction in philosophy essay. He conducted his M.A in psychology by thesis at Queen's University, Belfast 1962 (Miller, 2007). Prof. Miller has taught for several decades in both Philosophy and Psychology Departments and supervised many of prestigious master's theses in the history of University of Khartoum. He is also one of the greatest founders of Psychology Department at University of Khartoum. He headed the Department of Psychology in the Faculty of Arts for two periods; the first actual head during 1976 – 1978, then 1982 – 1984. He retired in 2008 and returned to his homeland Belfast in the same year after almost half a century dedicated entirely to teaching and establishment of psychology and philosophy at the University of Khartoum. 9.16 Yousif Hassan Yousif Dr. Yousif was one of the three chosen teaching assistants to specialize in psychology in order to join the department staff. He graduated from a bachelor degree in Philosophy at Faculty of Arts, University of Khartoum in 1975. In 1978, he was awarded a diploma in organizational psychology from Lancaster University in England. In 1979, he obtained a master's degree in applied psychology followed by a PhD in social psychology in 1983 from Aston University, England (Yousif, 2009).

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Dr. Yousif became the head of the Psychology Department during 1986 – 1989. He was then seconded to serve as an assistant professor in the Department of Psychology at Sultan Qaboos University in the Sultanate of Oman where he continues to hold till present time.

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10 References 1. Abdel-Halim, S. (2009). Personal Interview. November 2009, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, University of Khartoum, Sudan. 2. Abou-Hatab, F. (1989). Egyptian Psychology: A Case Study From The Third World, Cairo, Egypt. 3. Alatabani, S. (2009). Personal Interview. August 2009, Khartoum Sudan. 4. Al-Motwakil, M. (2009). A Personal Call. August 2009, Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Education, Omdurman Islamic University, Sudan. 5. Amir, T. (2009). Interviews Through Telephone Calls. August 2009, United Arab Emirates University, U.A.E. 6. Attallah, S. & Elshik, F. (2003). M.A. and PhD theses in Psychology at the University of Khartoum in a Quarter of a Century; A Documentary and Analytical Study (in Arabic). Psychological Studies Journal (2), 173-194. 7. Awadalla, A. (2009). Several E-mails and Calls. October 2009, Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, King Faisal University, Saudi Arabia. 8. Awadalla, A. (2008). An Emailed C.V to The Author. October 2008, Khartoum, Sudan. 9. Brima, A. (2009). Personal Interview, November 2009, Sudan News Agency (SUNA), Khartoum, Sudan. 10. Doleib, T. (2009). Personal Interview. September 2009, School of Psychology, Ahfad University for Women, Sudan. 11. Doleib, T.(1981): What is Counseling and Guidance. Khartoum University Press. 12. El-Tayeb, A. (2009). Personal Interview. August 2009, Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, Al-Neelin University, Sudan. 13. Farah, A. (2009). Personal Interview. August 2009, Department of Applied Psychology, Faculty of Education, Sudan University of Science of Technology, Khartoum, Sudan. 14. Fathi, N. (2009). Attached C.V and Photo. November 2009, Student Counseling & Support Services at the United Arab Emirates University, Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates. 15. Gadheldam, A. (2009). An Emailed C.V. September 2009, Hanze Hogeschool, Academy of Social and Psychological Studies – Groningen, Netherlands. 16. Haroun, S. A.(2009). Personal Interview. August 2009, Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Education, University of Khartoum, Sudan. 17. Kardman, S. (2003). The Contributions of some Sudanese Researchers in the Psychology Field; Khartoum School (in Arabic). Unpublished M.A. thesis, Omdurman Islamic University, Sudan. 18. Khogali, H. O. (2009). An E-mail. November 2009, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, Saudi Arabia.

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19. Koppes, L.(2006). Historical Perspectives in Industrial And Organizational Psychology. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. 20. Mahmoud, I. (2002). The Training Needs for Psychologists Working in the Departments of Psychiatric and Neurotic Disorders in the Sudan (in Arabic). Psychological Studies Journal (1), 103-120. 21. Merghani, A.(2009). Personal Interview. Psychological & Social Consultancy Center, October 2009, Khartoum, Sudan. 22. Miller, W. A (2009). Psychology at University of Khartoum Part I, II and III; Special Reports Emailed to The Author. August September 2009, Belfast, Ireland, United Kingdom. 23. Miller, W. A (2007). Prof Miller's C.V. Handed to the Author in November 2007, University of Khartoum, Sudan. 24. Mustafa, A. (2009). Personal Interview. August 2009, Department of Educational Psychology, Faculty of Education, International University of Africa, Sudan. 25. Omer, H. (2007). Prospects of Indigenization of Psychology in the Arab World (in Arabic) . 1st Ed, Intellectual Thought Corporation. Khartoum, Sudan. 26. Omer, H. & Ahmed, I. A. (2009). Psychology Scene in the Sudan at the End of the Millennium, Unpublished Research, University of Khartoum, Sudan. 27. Ramadan A. A. & Uwe P. G. (1998). Psychology in the Arab World, Menoufia University Press. 28. Sharif, H. (2005). Indigenization of Psychology in the Sudan; a Content Analysis of theses in some Sudanese Universities 1990-2002 (in Arabic) . Unpublished M.A thesis, Al-Neelin University, Sudan. 29. Sid-Ahmed, A. (2009). Personal Interview. November 2009, the Sudanese Psychological Association, Khartoum, Sudan. 30. Taha, A. B. (2009). Personal Interview. September 2009, Khartoum, Sudan. 31. Wintle, J. (1991). Makers of Nineteenth Century Culture 1800 – 1914; A Biographical Dictionary. Rutledge & Kegan Paul, London. 32. Yousif, A. (2009). Personal Interview. November 2009, Khartoum, Sudan. 33. Yousif, Y. H. (2009). Emailed Special Historical Notes on Psychology at University of Khartoum. August- September 2009, Sultan Qaboos University, Sultanate of Oman.