Giving Up Is Not an Option: Memoirs of a Palestinian American

Davis, Duane E.: - Dr. Hani Q. Khoury is a Professor of Mathematics. He is the founder of the department of Mathematics, Science, and Informatics at Mercer University's College of Professional Advancement, Georgia, USA, and served as its chair from 2006-2013. He was born in Nablus, Palestine in 1965 with a rare and progressive physical disorder known as Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a neuromuscular disease that sentenced him to an electric wheelchair at the age of 18. Despite his disability, he decided to come to America to complete his higher education. He earned an Associate of Arts degree in Mathematics and Science from Onondaga Community College in 1985, Bachelor of Arts degree in Mathematics and a Bachelor of Science degree in Systems and Information Science in 1987, a Master of Science in Computer Science in 1989, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Mathematics Education in 1995, all from Syracuse University, New York. In 1993, and based on academic excellence, campus leadership and community service, Dr. Khoury was honored by being selected as a Chancellor's Advisor at Syracuse University. Dr. Khoury has served on the American Friends Service Committee as a Third World Coalition committee member and a Disability Issues subcommittee member (1988-1994). Dr. Khoury has also served as Executive Director of the Mayor's Commission on Disability Issues for the city of Macon, Georgia (1999) and as a board member of the Macon Council on World Affairs (1998, 1999). Dr. Khoury is the recipient of two Excellence in Teaching awards at Mercer University, the Muscular Dystrophy Association's Personal Achievement Awards for Central New York in1992, and for the entire State of Georgia in 1997. In 2008, Dr. Khoury was selected as a Governor's Teaching Fellow at the University of Georgia, Athens, GA. In 2013, Dr. Khoury was nominated by his college to receive the highest teaching award at Mercer University: The Joe and Jean Hendricks excellence in teaching award. For his inspirational success story and good work being done to create a better world for everyone, he was awarded the 2019 High Achieving Arab American Individual award by the Alif Institute in Atlanta, GA. Dr. Khoury has written articles and has given presentations on the quest for justice and peace in the Middle East and on empowering people with disabilities. His academic interests focus on the philosophy of mathematics, international perspectives on education, and the link between mathematics and political thought.