AUC President David Arnold presenting Egypt’s First Lady Suzanne Mubarak ’77, ’82 with the key to AUC
A Grand Opening
Photos by Ahmad El-Nemr, Dana Smillie, and Mahmoud Hindy
The official opening of AUC’s New Cairo Campus brought prominent figures from the arts, sciences and public arena
Egypt’s First Lady Suzanne Mubarak ’77, ’82 presided
over the official inauguration ceremony of the New
Cairo Campus.The celebration started with a
procession led by the first lady, who toured the campus and
met with AUC student representatives. Margaret Scobey, U.S.
ambassador to Egypt, delivered a message of congratulations
from U.S. President Barack Obama to AUC.
The celebration kicked off a weeklong schedule of events,
including cultural and art exhibitions, musical performances
and academic panels and lectures that featured distinguished
speakers from around the world.These included Nobel laureate
and AUC Trustee Mohamed ElBaradei, director general of the
International Atomic Energy Agency; Jeffrey Sachs, professor of
health policy, management and sustainable development and
director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University; Alaa Al
Aswany, author of The Yacoubian Building and Chicago; and
Youssef Boutros Ghali, Egypt’s minister of finance.
“Today, as we officially inaugurate AUC’s New Cairo Campus, we are witnessing a dream come true for education –– a dream that will have a huge and positive impact on Egypt, the region and the world.”
Egypt’s First Lady Suzanne Mubarak ’77, ’82
“The opening of a new campus marks the beginning of a new era for one of the Middle East’s great academic institutions, and a new era for the Egyptian-United States partnership that is symbolized by the history of this university. ... I am honored to affirm the commitment of the American people as your partner and friend in this endeavor.”
U.S. President Barack Obama
Message delivered by U.S. Ambassador to Egypt Margaret Scobey
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| U.S. Ambassador to Egypt Margaret Scobey delivering U.S. President Barack Obama’s message of congratulations to the university | Student representatives meet with the first lady |
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| Youssef Boutros Ghali, Egypt’s minister of finance |
James Rawley, resident representative of the United Nations Development Programme |
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| Faculty showcase concert | Faculty showcase concert |
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| Allan Goodman, president and chief executive officer of the International Institute of Education |
Talaat Abdel Malek, professor of economics at AUC, and Hania El Sholkamy, research assistant professor at AUC’s Social Research Center |
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| 90th anniversary Gala Dinner |
His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qassimi, ruler of Sharjah, inaugurates the Sharjah Art Gallery at AUC’s Center for the Arts |
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| Jeffrey Sachs, professor of health policy, management and sustainable development and director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University | Inauguration reception |
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| Alaa Al Aswany author of The Yacoubian Building and Chicago |
Kishore Mahbubani dean of the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy at the National University of Singapore |
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| Jazz performance by the Charlie Young Quartet | Nabil Fahmy ’74, ’77, former ambassador of Egypt to the United States |
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| AUC Trustee Mohamed ElBaradei, Nobel Prize winner and director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency |