When he first came to Emory, Sam Cherribi already had a storied international political career.
From 1994-2002, he served two terms as a member of Dutch Parliament, where he represented the Netherlands in the Assembly of the Council of Europe and on the Assembly of the West European Union.
Cherribi was new to teaching when he joined Emory in 2003 as a lecturer in sociology and received an invitation to lunch with former U.S. President Jimmy Carter, was served as Emory University Distinguished Professor.
“He said something that really humbled me,” Cherribi says. Carter pointed out that Cherribi served two terms as a member of parliament while he was “only a one-term president.”
“The president of the United States tells me that and I’m from a tiny country, the Netherlands. I thought: This is humility in power, humility in action. So I learned my first principle at Emory: be modest and elevate the students,” says Cherribi, now a teaching professor in the Department of Middle Eastern and South Asian Studies (MESAS) with an adjunct appointment in the Department of Economics.
Cherribi's unwavering commitment to students has garnered him the 2025 George P. Cuttino Award for Excellence in Mentoring. The award was established in 1997 by John T. Glover 68C in honor of the late Emory history professor and celebrates exemplary mentorship.
“I want always to do exactly what Jimmy Carter did, elevate my students, give them this opportunity to discover something in themselves because they have the world in front of them. Give them self-worth. Respect them,” Cherribi says.
Fostering student success
Cherribi’s students have gone on to serve at the White House, Goldman Sachs and prestigious companies and universities in the U.S. and around the world.
“I couldn’t think of anyone more deserving, for all the years and effort he has done for his students and the university as a whole by using his professional and personal network to enhance Emory globally,” says 2006 alumnus Jonathan Gitlen, who was Cherribi’s first teaching assistant and now practices law in Washington, D.C.
When Cherribi heard the news of the award he froze in place.
“I said, what? That was amazing. I had a tear in my eye because I had to give it a moment. I said, ‘I wish my mom was still alive to see me here at this place.’ It was very moving,” he says. “I love Emory so much because it gave me a lot of opportunities. I came here, discovered myself and became a teacher.”
As director of the Emory Development Initiative, Cherribi studies economically and socially vulnerable communities from Alabama to Paris to Africa. He is the associate director of the Center for African Mediterranean Studies in partnership with Arizona State University and a Lillian Carter Center for International Nursing fellow.
He holds a PhD in social science research from the University of Amsterdam and a master’s in philosophy and sociology from the University of Mohammed V in Rabat.
He’s written numerous publications including three books. His most recent, “Fridays of Rage: Aljazeera, the Arab Spring and Political Islam,” was published by Oxford University Press in 2017 with an audiobook released last year.
Creating space for civil discourse
Former student Drew Siegal, who graduated from Emory College in 2021, says Cherribi rarely lectured at the front of the room. Instead, the class sat with him in a horseshoe designed to spark student thought and conjure interest through deep conversation about the world.
“At first everyone is nervous about saying the wrong thing, but then in an hour we are having an incredibly fruitful discussion about the politics of integration in Sweden,” says Siegal, an associate at Damhurst, a London executive search firm.
Cherribi’s classes are cross listed in the economics department, MESAS and the Institute of African Studies.
“We were given a safe place to explore what we believe,” says Siegal. “Being an active participant in society is incredibly important and his classes afforded me the space to gain the skills to do that.”
Cherribi learned an important principle from the 17th century philosopher Baruch Spinoza during his studies in Amsterdam: “Don’t laugh, don’t cry, don’t criticize, but understand.” And create a safe “rehearsal space” environment where students can make mistakes, he says.
“You have students from different backgrounds with different opinions,” Cherribi says. “The classroom is a place where you respect every single opinion.”
Student Noah Stifelman recalls how Cherribi created a safe environment for open discussion and expression in his Political Economy of the MENA (Middle East and North Africa) Region course.
“I found myself both challenged and appreciated in his course,” says Stifelman in a letter recommending Cherribi for the Cuttino Award. “My views often differed, not only from the majority of my peers, but occasionally from Professor Cherribi himself. Yet in every discussion, he ensured the classroom remained a bastion of civil discourse, rooted in a steadfast commitment to the free marketplace of ideas.”
Invested in student success
Rembrandt and the Dutch guild also inspired Cherribi’s teaching philosophy.
“This idea of the Guild of 17th century was a place where people can learn from each other,” he says. “I publish in peer-reviewed journals with my students because I think that the principle of the guild learning from the students as creators is absolutely fundamental.”
Siegal is one of those students who co-wrote with Cherribi and other students the book chapter “Media Configuration in Morocco” for the Routledge Handbook on Arab Media.
A popular teacher whose classes attract large numbers of students, Cherribi also organizes internships and serves as honors thesis advisor for many students, including two who published books based on their research, says Devin Stewart, Samuel Candler Dobbs Professor of Arabic and Islamic Studies.
“What truly sets Dr. Cherribi apart is his unparalleled dedication and approachability,” Stewart wrote in his recommendation letter.
Cherribi gets to know his students — taking them out to eat, holding long chats and meeting students’ families. For some, he became a friend.
“We might not speak monthly but, other than my parents, he is one of those people who I know if I genuinely needed anything, he would be there,” Siegal said.
Before Siegal left Boston to attend Emory, he had never ventured beyond his hometown. He didn’t imagine he would live in London, earn his master’s degree at Cambridge University and work for the U.K. Parliament.
“There were ‘pinch me’ moments like going to 10 Downing Street for a meeting. I’m a kid from Boston and I was working in my office in the Palace of Westminster,” says Siegal. “I would definitely not be on the journey I’m on if it weren’t for [Cherribi]. He changed the trajectory of my life.”
After graduating in 2006, Gitlen stayed at Emory with Cherribi to create the Emory Development Initiative (EDI), which sponsors field trips, projects, internships and courses for students interested in development.
“Our guiding principle had been to give Emory students unique, hands-on and real opportunities to bridge classroom learning with real world experiences. Cherribi was committed to bringing students into the ‘room where it happens,’” says Gitlen, former executive director of EDI.
Students often sit in Cherribi’s class with high-powered speakers — like consulate generals from the Netherlands, executives from Phillips Corporation and the Dutch prime minister.
“They would fly in because they’re personal friends of his. So now if you’ve read the book, now you’re talking to the person who actually wrote the book,”” Gitlen says.
Years later, Cherribi hand-picked then-Emory student Ankith Nath to introduce those high-profile classroom guests and moderate similar economic conference discussions.
“I’m on stage in front of an audience of about 100 students and administrators and he’s in the front row smiling with pride. I engage these titans of industry and political dignitaries in topical discourse,” says Nath, who now works as an asset and wealth management senior associate at Goldman Sachs. “His seeing something in me and giving me that platform so early in my undergraduate journey molded me into a campus leader.”
The access to influential change-makers extended outside Emory with collaborations with nonprofits, conferences and trips to Mali; Ghana; Selma, Alabama; and the nearby DeKalb Farmer’s Market. For example, Cherribi collaborated with Morehouse College faculty Kipton Jensen and Preston King to offer courses that explore the principles of nonviolence.
At a Leon H. Sullivan Global Economic Development Summit, Cherribi brought 20 students to Africa, assigning them as aides to various African leaders, heads of state and political figures such as Jesse Jackson to participate and observe high level talks.
“They are getting coffee but they are there talking with them and got to be in the room,” says Gitlen. “He gave me the confidence to believe in myself that I could have a seat at any of those tables and actually contribute something meaningful.”
Prior to Goldman, when Nath was contemplating a career in corporate law, Cherribi wrote him a “glowing” law school letter of recommendation.
About a year ago, Nath returned the favor when Cherribi needed his endorsement for a promotion. A few weeks ago, he learned Cherribi received that promotion.
“It’s such a beautiful, heart-warming, full circle moment. And seeing him win Emory’s Cuttino Award is the cherry on top. Albeit several years removed from Emory, Dr. Cherribi’s transformational impact on my journey is not lost on me. I couldn’t be more thrilled to see him receive the flowers he so deserves.”