Pauline Jones, director of the U-M International Institute, is passionate about the need for education around some of the most complex topics in the world, like Islam. “Islam is much more than a religion. It’s also a civilization, a variety of cultural traditions and sometimes a basis for political ideologies,” said Jones. “Its diversity, complexity, and geographical expansiveness makes it nearly impossible for one university to offer enough courses to cover it all.” To fill the gaps in education, U-M has taken the lead in coordinating with several other universities in the Big Ten Academic Alliance to establish the Digital Islamic Studies Curriculum (DISC). The initiative allows students to take courses about Islam not offered at their own institutions. In the last few years, more than 250 students across 10 universities have taken courses through DISC.
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