Professor Emeritus of Counseling Psychology at the School of Educational Sciences Sulieman Rihani holds a B.A. degree in Psychology and Education from the University of Jordan (1966), M.A. degree in Counseling Psychology from Michigan State University (1970), and Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology also from Michigan State University (1972).
In 1972, Rihani Joined the teaching staff of UJ's School of Educational Sciences at which he held many academic and administrative positions, including the School's Assistant Dean (1981-1982), Director of the Counseling Center (1976-1978 & 1980-1984), Chairman of the Psychology Department (1984-1985) and (1987-1989),Vice Dean School of Educational Sciences (1989-1990), Chairman of the Department of Graduate Studies for Educational Sciences - graduate school (1991-1992), Vice Dean - graduate school (1992-1995), and Dean of School of Educational Sciences (1995-1999).
While teaching at the School, Prof. Rihani founded and directed the Counseling Center (1976-1978 & 1980-1984) and the Special Education and Rehabilitation Center (1977-1980).
In 1998, he was named Chair holder of the UNESCO Chair for Educational Sciences at the University (1998-2002).
Prof. Rihani went on lecturing part-time for many universities, institutions, and training sessions and seminars in the areas of Counseling Mental Health, Special Education and Behavior Modification.
Furthermore, he was a visiting professor in a number of universities in Jordan and abroad including the University of North Carolina, Fulbright Exchange Grant, U.S.A.(1985-1986); (IRSEN) School of Education, M.S.U. (1977-1978);Petra University (2000-2001), Jordan; Amman Arab University of Graduate Studies, Jordan (2003-2004) and (2009-2010); and Yarmouk University (2007-2008).
Prof. Rihani has over 30 research articles in peer-reviewed journals and has supervised many M.A & PH.D theses at UJ's School of graduate Studies and School of Educational Sciences, particularly in Psychology, counseling, and mental health.
He also serves as an evaluator for scholarly articles for publication purposes in a number of specialized journals such as the Jordan Journal of Educational Sciences and many others in the area.
Prof. Rihani is the first President of the Jordanian Psychological Association. He served and is serving as a member in numerous national and international committees and associations, including the Arab Counsel on the Gifted and Talented; and the Arab Education Forum’s Advisory Committee of The Center for Middle Eastern Studies at Harvard University. Prof. Rihani was also member of the Board of trustees of the Hashemite University (2010-2014).
Wisdom Prof. Rihani could abstract from his long life's experience is “Never lose trust in yourself”…“Always respect yourself as well as others especially your students who will always look at you as their model” he says.
“Don’t ever stop learning as there is always something new to learn, no matter what you think you know,” he tells his students.