Sultan presides over AUS Board of Trustees

His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan bin Mohammad Al Qassimi, Member of Supreme Council, Ruler of Sharjah and President of American University of Sharjah (AUS) presided over a meeting of the AUS Board of Trustees at AUS today.The board approved the establishment of an Industrial Engineering Department. Sheikh Sultan said he was pleased with the development and headway made by AUS in consonance with its mission and strategic initiatives and thanked the members of the board for their commitment to the university. Following the meeting, Dr. Peter Heath, Chancellor of AUS said the Department of Industrial Engineering was created to house the undergraduate program in Industrial Engineering and the graduate program in Engineering Systems Management. “This resolution came in line with the AUS launch of the new bachelor’s degree program in industrial engineering in Fall Semester 2012, offering a distinctive curriculum that combines logistics, supply chain management as well as quality and maintenance engineering,” Dr. Heath said. The program was created following a survey research showing that 89 percent of the companies surveyed will hire AUS industrial engineers. “This program complements the extensive engineering majors the university offers, making it one of the largest engineering colleges in the region with the variety of engineering programs available. We offer most of the main engineering majors,” said the AUS Chancellor. “It is aligned with the mission, vision and strategic initiatives of AUS as mandated by His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah, to produce highly-qualified graduates who will support and sustain the growing industrial and economic demands and development of the country,” Chancellor Heath added. Other resolutions approved by the board also included changing the name of the Department of Design to the Department of Art and Design. The board extended membership of trustee Dr. Roderick French and received updates from senior officials on various other important university matters. To thank the Sharjah Ruler for his support to the university, the board passed a resolution expressing gratitude for the funding of additional facilities on campus including a female dormitory, a sports pavilion, additional parking space and wheelchair access on campus. Work on these projects will begin this summer. The board also passed a resolution extending its appreciation and gratitude to Abdul Hamied Seddiqi for his generous contribution to the AUS Endowment Fund towards the establishment of the Abdul Hamied Seddiqi Chair of Middle Eastern Studies. Through a generous gift of AED 15 million by Abul Hamied Seddiqi, Vice Chairman of Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons, the chair will meet the need to develop a focus in the scientific study of the distinctive cultural traditions of the Gulf. Dr. Heath said that the board approved an increase in the tuition and fees for 2013-2014, not to exceed 4.5 percent, as the final amount will be announced subsequently. “The university understands the financial limitations of a number of our students who receive financial grants from AUS. Therefore, this increase will be offset by a similar increase in the financial aid grants and scholarship offered to the students,” Dr. Heath added. The board also approved request placed before it for renovation funding as well as approving the audited financial statements for the fiscal year ending May 31, 2012. Subsequent to the meeting, His Highness Shaikh Dr. Sultan visited the Club Fair held at the Student Center and inspected stalls put up by scores of national, ethnic and interest-oriented clubs on campus. The Ruler was accompanied by members of the Board of Trustees and senior AUS representatives. Organized by the Office of Student Affairs, the fair is a chance for the university to highlight campus diversity and to introduce new students to the student-led organizations on campus. The two-day event, which is held each semester, gives new students a chance to sign up for the many cultural and common interest clubs on the AUS campus. Fifty four clubs are participating in the fair today of which are 28 ethnic clubs and 26 interest-oriented clubs as well as eight units of the Office of Student Affairs. The Libyan Cultural Club and the Entrepreneurship Club have also been reactivated this semester in time for the fair. The AUS Student Center has been divided into segments based on mutual territories, with corners for Asia, Africa, South America, the Middle East and also the GCC. Special corners for the interest-oriented clubs include the business, engineering and entertainment corners. Students enjoy the two-day event taking the time to interact with their peers form different majors. Welcoming the visit of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah to the Club Fair, Dr. Moza Al Shehhi, Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs said, “We are proud to have His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah visiting the Club Fair this time. We aim for our students to avail the extracurricular opportunities offered to them and which they benefit from as out of classroom learning experiences. Club Fair is not just a membership drive, it is a reflection of the vibrant campus life we have at AUS.” Participating interest-oriented clubs this year included the Innovators Club, the Modern Visual Arts Club, the Psychology Club and the AUS Games Club whilst ethnic clubs included the Libyan, Yemeni, Iraqi, Egyptian, Afghan and Turkish clubs, among many others. Members of the AUS Board of Trustees are: His Highness Shaikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Member  of Supreme Council, Ruler of Sharjah, and Chairman of the Board and President of AUS; Dr. Ali Abdullah Al Shamlan, Director-General of the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences, Kuwait; Dr. MaryAnn Baenninger, President, College of Saint Benedict, Minnesota, USA; Mr. Joseph L. Brand, Senior Partner, Patton Boggs LLP, Washington, DC, USA; Professor Lord Alec Broers, Member of the British House of Lords, UK; Dr. Anthony George Coates, Director of the Museum of Biodiversity, the Bridge of Life, Republic of Panama, and Senior Scientist Emeritus, Smithsonian Institution, USA; Mr. Charles Cotton, Director of Cambridge Enterprise, University of Cambridge, UK; Mr. Abdul Jalil Yousuf Darwish, Chairman of UAE Enterprises Group; Dr. Leroy S. Fletcher, Regents Professor Emeritus and Thomas A. Dietz Professor Emeritus, Texas A&M University, USA; Dr. Roderick S. French, Chancellor Emeritus, AUS; Dr. Peter Heath, AUS Chancellor; Mr. Hamid D. Jafar, Chairman and CEO, Crescent Petroleum Company, Sharjah; Dr. Cornelius Kerwin, President, American University, Washington, DC, USA; Baroness Onora O’Neill of Bengarve, CBE PBA FMedSci, Member of the British House of Lords, UK; Dr. S. Georgia Nugent, President of Kenyon College, Ohio, USA; Mr. Riad T. Sadek, Chairman of Al Habtoor Leighton Group, Dubai; and Mr. Maroun A. Semaan, President and CEO, Petrofac International Ltd., Sharjah. The meeting was also attended by senior AUS officials.