The Government of Kuwait, through the generosity of His Highness the Amir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, has presented The George Washington University with a gift of $4.5 million as an endowment for GW’s Institute for Middle East Studies and for the Global Resources Center’s Middle East and North Africa Research Center at the Gelman Library.
“I am deeply grateful to the Government of Kuwait and His Highness the Amir for their continued support of the George Washington University,” said GW President Knapp. “This latest gift will further our efforts to strengthen the relationship between the United States and the Middle East, both through the Elliott School’s Institute for Middle East Studies and through our special collections in the Gelman Library.”
In 2008, the government of Kuwait presented GW with a gift of more than $1 million to support the Institute for Middle East Studies, which is based at GW’s Elliott School of International Affairs. This followed a 2005 gift of $3.4 million from the Kuwait Foundation for the Advancement of Sciences to establish the Kuwait Chair for Gulf and Arabian Peninsula Affairs, which is held by Amb. Edward W. Gnehm Jr, former U.S. ambassador to Kuwait, Jordan, and Australia.
“A deep understanding of the Middle East is essential to understanding international affairs in the 21st century,” said Elliott School Dean Michael E. Brown. “This gift will enable the Elliott School to expand its research, education, and policy engagement efforts related to this vital region.”
“The generous donation will greatly benefit the Gelman Library’s new Middle East and North Africa Research Center as we continue to work together with GW’s faculty and students to shape meaningful services and resources,” said Global Resources Director Cathy Zeljak.
The Elliott School’s Institute for Middle East Studies is a non-partisan, scholarly institute located in the midst of some of the most important U.S., international, and nongovernmental organizations in the world. The institute defines its scope in broad, inclusive terms: geographically, it examines the entirety of the greater Middle East; academically, it draws on multidisciplinary expertise in the fields of anthropology, economics, geography, history, language and literature, and politics. The institute sponsors an array of teaching, research, policy, and special event programs on issues ranging from security and conflict to politics and governance to economic development, energy, and environmental challenges.
The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs is one of the world’s leading schools of international affairs and the largest school of international affairs in the United States. Located in the heart of Washington, D.C., its mission is to educate the next generation of international leaders, conduct research that advances understanding of important global issues, and engage the policy community in the United States and around the world.
The mission of the George Washington University Libraries’ Global Resources Center (GRC) is to support international and regional studies as emphasized throughout the courses and programs currently available to GW’s undergraduate and graduate students. The GRC focuses primarily upon the political, socio-economic, historical, and cultural aspects of countries and regions around the globe from the 20th Century onward.
