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Saudi prince gives Harvard, Georgetown $40 million

Posted on: Tuesday, 13 December 2005, 09:49 CST

BOSTON (Reuters) - A billionaire Saudi prince, ranked by Forbes Magazine as the world's fifth richest person and wealthiest Muslim businessman, has donated $40 million to Harvard and Georgetown to expand their Islamic studies programs.

Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, a nephew of the late Saudi King Fahd and a prominent figure both inside the Saudi kingdom and internationally, gave $20 million to each university, according to both schools' Web sites.

"Bridging the understanding between East and West is important for peace and tolerance," Alwaleed, a global investor with a net worth estimated by Forbes of more than $20 billion, said in a statement released by the schools.

The gift to Harvard -- one of the 25 largest in the its history -- will fund four new faculty positions in a new Islamic studies program and make rare Islamic textual sources available in digital format, Harvard said.

Georgetown, the country's oldest Catholic and Jesuit university, said it would expand its Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding.

"This gift will deepen Georgetown's ability to advance education in the fields of Islamic civilization and Muslim-Christian understanding," Georgetown University President John J. DeGioia said.

Harvard University already has the largest group of Islamic specialists in the English-speaking world, though it does not have a separate Islamic studies department.

It said the new Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Islamic Studies Program will bring together faculty, students and researchers from across Harvard and be housed in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences in coordination with Harvard Divinity School.

Harvard said it will also create an endowed chair named for Prince Alwaleed.

Harvard currently has 13 senior faculty and 16 junior faculty and visiting scholars in various areas of Islamic studies. These include faculty in Near Eastern languages, a law school program and programs at the school of government.

Source: REUTERS

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