Manhattan ? An expert on Middle East politics who taught at Kansas State University has died.

Michael W. Suleiman died Wednesday at the Good Shepherd Hospice House in Manhattan. He was 76.

The Manhattan Mercury reported that the Palestinian native joined the faculty at Kansas State in 1965. He helped to start the political science department.

Suleiman built his reputation on his work in Middle East Studies and his research of Arab-Americans.

In the late 1970s, Suleiman met with then-President Jimmy Carter to counsel him on how to proceed with peace talks between Egypt and Israel.

He wrote dozens of publications and worked as a consultant for many groups including the League of Arab States.