veiled4allah: another step forward for Saudi women

The Head of King Saud University announced the appointment of Professor Nadia Mohammad Saleh al Ghoraimel as the new Chair of the Information Technology department for women at the Faculty of Computer Science and Information, the first time a woman is selected for this post. According to the Dean, Dr. Sami bin Saleh al Wakil, Professor al Ghoraimel is the first Saudi woman to head a specialized department at the university. Traditionally, a member of the teaching staff were chosen to work closely with the male department at the main campus in Dariya.

The recent creation of a separate department for women with a number of distinguished professors and lecturers who hold postgraduate degree from world-renowned universities in the field of computer science and information meant a female chairperson became a possibility.

Recognizing the important and effective role women play in the development f Saudi society, the selection committee put forward the name of Professor Ghoraimel for the vacant head of department position.

Dr. al Ghoraimel has a B.A degree in Computer applications from the King Saudi University with distinction, an M.A in Computer Science in Program Engineering and a PhD in Computer Science from the George Washington University in the U.S. She specialized in graphics and databases with a minor in multimedia and education.

The winner of the Prince Bandar bin Sultan award for scientific distinction, she has worked at the King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Center as an analyst and designed computer software. She was also a member of various professional committees as lecturer and then assistant professor at the IT department at the King Saud University.