SEMO PROFESSOR TO VISIT MIDDLE EAST

The chairman of Southeast Missouri State University's political science department will get a first-hand look at Islamic culture during a two-week trip to Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

Dr. Peter Bergerson is one of 15 people across the nation who will visit the Middle East on fellowships from the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations and the William J. Fullbright Institute at the University of Arkansas.

Participants come from the academic and business communities.

Bergerson said he and the other participants will spend days in seminars in Washington, D.C., next week before departing on Thursday for Saudi Arabia.

Bergerson said the delegation will visit universities, government agencies and chambers of commerce. "We are also going to the U.S. Embassy in Saudi Arabia," he said.

The longtime Southeast professor said the trip will give him a chance to experience the academic and cultural life of Islamic society.

Bergerson said the topic of Islamic fundamentalism likely will be discussed.