Huge Gift Gives Top Mideast B-School A New Name — And Chapter

The School of Business at the American University in Cairo has received the largest donation in its long history: $30 million. The school will get a new name to go with the gift: the Onsi Sawiris School of Business. AUC photo

At one of only a handful of business schools in the Middle East that can make a strong case for inclusion in The Financial Times‘s global rankings, a major gift has the potential to transform programming, research, faculty hiring, and more.

It has already transformed the school’s name.

The School of Business at the American University in Cairo will become the Onsi Sawiris School of Business in honor of the late founder of the Orascom Group, a global engineering and construction company, after the Sawiris family donated what is estimated to be worth more than $30 million to the school, the largest gift in its 77-year history.

EXCHANGE WITH UCHICAGO PLANNED

AUC began offering economics courses shortly after World War II. Its business school is the only triple-crown-accredited B-school in the region.

The value of the gift — the single largest philanthropic gift in the institution’s history — is hard to pinpoint because it will have so much reach, and so many unforeseen benefits. It will support excellence in interdisciplinary research and exchange programs with leading American universities, according to a news release from the school, and will provide funding for scholarships and a professorship in artificial intelligence/data science, combined with visiting faculty and student exchange programs with leading U.S. universities, including the University of Chicago.

This is not the Sawiris family’s first foray into philanthropy at AUC. Over the years, they have supported scholarships for students from Upper Egypt, students with disabilities, women’s empowerment, and the renovation of AUC’s historic Tahrir Square campus.

‘A LANDMARK DEVELOPMENT’

“This gift is one of the many examples of impactful philanthropy from the Sawiris family,” says Sherif Kamel, dean of the School of Business. “It reinforces AUC’s position as an institution that produces global-ready graduates with the career and life skills to make a positive difference in their communities and around the world.

“This is a landmark development in the school’s history, and we look forward to a new chapter where we continue to raise the bar as a destination for business education.

“I am confident that this gift, the academic exchanges and collaboration with faculty of leading American universities will ensure the Onsi Sawiris School of Business is at the forefront of global business education and on par with the best in the world.”

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