Impact Stories

The American University of Beirut is awarding a record amount of financial assistance these days – thanks in part to our extraordinary donors who have stepped up to assist AUB students during these unprecedented times. Despite this support, some students find that they need additional help because of a change in their family’s circumstances. His Highness the Father Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani, the father of the current leader of Qatar, recently made a personal gift of $84,000 to the university to establish a scholarship fund to assist some of these students. Mohamad Kanj, who earned an undergraduate degree in business administration and management (BBA) in 2022 and is now pursuing a master’s degree in business analytics, is one of the 15 students who benefited from the His Highness, the Father Emir, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al Thani Scholarship. “The scholarship will play an instrumental role in enabling me to complete my education,” he says. “Without it, it would have been a stressful experience. I can now spend more time on my studies and explore all possible opportunities at my university.”

“We are very grateful to His Highness the Father Emir for his generous and timely gift,” said Senior Vice President for Advancement and Business Development Imad B. Baalbaki, who notes, “our university has been honored to have been the beneficary of the generosity of the family of His Highness the Father Emir and the State of Qatar on many occasions.” In February 1977, at a time of great civil unrest and during the early days of the Lebanese Civil War, the State of Qatar partnered with AUB to establish the State of Qatar Chair in Petroleum Studies. The State of Qatar also stood by AUB in the aftermath of the terrorist explosion that brought down AUB’s landmark College Hall building in 1991 and earmarked $1 million for the rebuilding of College Hall and the Nami Jafet Memorial Library. In 2003, the Qatar Chair in Petroleum Studies was expanded to become the Qatar Chair of Energy Studies. A more recent example of impactful philanthropy is the four-year Qatar Scholarship – Education Above All (EAA) program, which was established in early 2022 and supports Lebanese, Palestinian, and Syrian students.

Baalbaki notes that receiving even a modest scholarship – “just $2,000-$3,000” – can be transformative for a student. “Some donors find this hard to believe, but it’s true. We meet students every day who need just a little help to pay their outstanding tuition balances. Some of them are in tears when they find out that a donor – someone they have never met and perhaps will never meet, someone like the Father Emir – has made a gift that lifts a burden off their shoulders. You cannot imagine the impact that this has on the life of a young person.”