Wafic Saïd pledges further support for the Saïd Business School

On 28 May 2008 the University of Oxford launched “The Campaign for the University of Oxford” which seeks to raise £1.25 billion for: supporting students; academic posts and programmes; and infrastructure and buildings. The University announced a number of significant gifts including from Wafic Saïd who is creating a Strategic Development Fund for the Saïd Business School with a capital value of £25 million. The Fund will support initiatives and opportunities at the School which are of strategic value in its development. 

This gift is in addition to the £15 million pledged by Wafic Saïd for the Phase II building at the School which will enable the School to meet its ambitious plans for the expansion of its activities. The design of the new building by world-renowned architects Dixon and Jones has been agreed and construction work will begin shortly.

Professor Colin Mayer, Peter Moores Dean of the Saïd Business School, said: "We are enormously grateful to Mr Saïd for his generous ongoing support of the School. This Strategic Development Fund will allow us to advance our goal of establishing the School as a truly exceptional institution. The Business School is an integral part of one of the best known universities in the world and as such it is able to provide a depth and breadth of education and research that few other business schools are able to match. This Strategic Development Fund will ensure that it is able to offer its faculty, students, staff and corporate partners the excellence in service that can be expected of a leading global school.”

Wafic Saïd commented: “The Business School is hugely successful but compared to other world class business schools it is still in its infancy. Its alumni body is too small and too young to provide the critical support which the School’s competitors receive from their alumni. The new building will play a vital role in the School’s development but I am conscious that there are other important projects which need funding. The purpose of the Strategic Development Fund is to provide seed money for initiatives which will make the greatest difference to the School’s successful development.”

The Karim Rida Saïd Annual Dinner 2008

The annual dinner of the Karim Rida Saïd Foundation was held on 12 April in London to celebrate the achievements of the Foundation’s impressive scholars. The Foundation has been supporting students from the Middle East since 1984 and over the years more than 450 young people have benefited from scholarships including archaeologists, environmentalists, geneticists, linguists, musicians, nurses, water engineers and university professors. 

Waseem Kotoub, Wafic Saïd, Nadine Haddad and Ahmad Habash at the KRSF annual dinner 2008

This year prizes were awarded to the following outstanding alumni:

Certificate of Excellence: Waseem Kotoub from Syria, an accomplished musician and qualified medical doctor, who completed a Postgraduate Diploma in Piano Performance at the Royal Academy of Music. Since returning to Syria he has, amongst many other activities combining his medical and musical skills, established the first music therapy centre in Syria.

Certificate of Distinction: Ahmad Habash from Palestine who obtained an MA in 3D Computer Animation from the University of Bournemouth. He achieved the highest mark ever given to an animation student for his final project, a short film entitled “Red Feather”. Back in Palestine Ahmad has been working on a film for the World Health Organisation and as a creative consultant for the municipality of Ramallah.

Certificate of Merit: Nadine Haddad from Jordan who completed an MSc in International Management at Oxford Brookes University. Nadine has now returned to Jordan where she is working for the Jordan River Foundation on their "Safe Schools Programme”, a national initiative which aims to turn 500 Jordanian government schools into safer environments.

Mr Saïd commented: “We firmly believe that one of the best ways we can help our region is through the education of its young people and I mean education in its widest sense, not simply academic qualifications. Our aim is that our scholars will not only distinguish themselves academically but will also work to counteract negative stereotypes of the Middle East and return home to make valuable contributions to their countries.

Our Scholars do not have an easy time. They have to adapt very quickly to a different country, to a different culture, and on top of that learn in a different language and obtain a Master’s Degree, all in one year. But our students do not simply cope, they excel. 

I have no doubt that all three of tonight’s winners will continue to distinguish themselves. Nadine, Ahmad and Waseem, we are proud to have you as members of our alumni group - you are the future and that gives me hope for our region.”

10th Anniversary of the Naming of the Saïd Business School

The School celebrated the 10th anniversary of its naming with a series of events held on 16 January 2008. These included presentations by Professor Tim Morris, Professor Alan Morrison, Dr Linda Scott and Dr James Taylor on current research highlights and a Gala Dinner.

Wafic Saïd and the Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University

Wafic Saïd, the School’s founding Benefactor, spoke to an audience of top businessmen and women, University faculty, staff, alumni and students. He recalled the “unlikely start” of the School in an old hospital, the Radcliffe Infirmary, and the huge advances that had been made since that time:

“What a difference a decade makes. Today, this School is in the top 20 of the world’s business schools. It has exceeded the hopes and dreams of its supporters. It has overturned the objections of its detractors and repaid the faith of its early pioneers. This is not, of course, because of this building…it is thanks to the quality, dedication and hard work of the students, faculty and staff who have come here. It is thanks to the leadership of Anthony Hopwood and, now, Colin Mayer. It is thanks to the support of the University and to the donors who have founded centres and funded posts. In short, it is thanks to the excellence and commitment of its people.”

Wafic Saïd went on to describe how he sees the agenda for the future of the School and his ambition that the School should become one of the very best business schools in the world:

“We owe to the students, who give up a year of their lives to be here, the certainty that their liveswill improve as a result.  That means giving them the best faculty and the best careers support. We owe to the faculty, who bet their careers on coming here, the salaries, support and opportunities that make that decision worthwhile. We owe to the staff, often the unsung heroes, the recognition and rewards they deserve. We owe to the business community, which judges and supports us, not only our world class alumni but also guidance on how business can improve its performance. We owe it to society, which has the right to expect great universities to provide thought leadership in all walks of life, to help business find solutions to the many problems society faces. This means making the School a hub that links business with the wealth of learning in this great University on so many of the key issues of the day.”

He also spoke of the example of his father:

“Over 80 years ago, my father started Syria’s first university. The achievements of most of his contemporaries, who played a political role, are now forgotten. But he is still remembered as the man who brought higher education to Syria. I have lived my whole life with his example and have understood from it that every society needs wise and objective scholarship to guide and inform it, and every individual has the right to improve his or her life through access to higher learning. That is why this School is important. Because it can make a difference, not only to the lives of its students, but also to the ability of business to help meet society’s needs and aspirations.”

Archive

The Karim Rida Saïd Annual Dinner 2007

On 14 April 2007, Wafic and Rosemary Saïd hosted the thirteenth Karim Rida Saïd Foundation dinner at the Institute of Directors. The dinner is an annual celebration of the achievements of the Foundation’s talented students.

In his speech, Mr Saïd noted that: “The last academic year was one of the best ever. More than half of our Masters’ students graduated with distinction in all or part of their studies – a remarkable achievement when you consider that they complete their studies in a totally different language, educational system and culture.”

Mr Saïd awarded prizes to three outstanding alumni.

1. Mahmoud Natout from Lebanon completed an MSt in Scienceand Religion at Oxford University where his commitment to interfaith dialogue and toleranceled him to co-found the Religious Studies Society. Since his return to Lebanon, Mahmoud has begun a PhD in Christian/Muslim dialogue in the Lebanese context and will soon begin teaching at the Lebanese American University.
2. Mona Jebril from Gaza was the best performing student on her MSc course in Higher Education at Oxford University. Back in Gaza, Mona teaches English at secondary school level and trains newly qualified teachers.
3. Mazen Haffar from Syria completed an MSc in Information Systems, Organisation and Management with distinction at Manchester University. Since his return to Syria, Mazen has co-founded the Syrian Young Thinkers Association which seeks to help equip young Syrians for an increasingly challenging job market.

Mazen Haffar, Mahmoud Natout and Mona Jebril with Wafic Saïd at the KRSF annual dinner

Addressing the Foundation’s scholars, Mr Saïd said: “Why do we invest a substantial part of our resources in bringing you to further your education at universities in the UK? It is not for the particular skills and knowledge that you gain here. There are excellent universities in the Arab world where you can study the same subjects. In essence, it is to expose you to western culture, to western ways of thinking and learning – not because we think they are better and want to impose another culture on you, but because we believe that it is of vital importance for you to learn about other cultures to learn about tolerance, and respect the views and beliefs of others. We seek to promote in you, our Scholars, greater insight into our common humanity and the critical skills to defend that insight against those who prefer to attack it.”

Franco-British Student Alliance Summit

Wafic Saïd was the lead sponsor of the Franco-British Student Alliance Summit which took place from 14 to 16 December 2006. Students from the Alliance’s three leading British universities (Oxford, Cambridge and LSE) and three Grandes Ecoles (Sciences Po, HEC and the Ecole Polytechnique) were hosted in London at the House of Commons, by the French Ambassador and by the Government at Lancaster House before debating the globalisation of higher education at Oxford University’s Saïd Business School.

The Queen and the President of the French Republic are joint patrons of the Alliance. Its objectives are to foster Anglo-French collaboration, to encourage exchanges and initiatives between its students and alumni and to enable young leaders to voice their concerns about the challenges of the future.

Speaking at Lancaster House, Wafic Saïd recalled the dual cultural influence of his French education and his English connections. In his letter to the participants he said:

“At the centre of your mission is a spirit of collaboration that seeks to transcend differences to nurture a shared vision of how to address the great challenges facing your nations, continent and world. As a Muslim educated in Lebanon by Jesuits, the belief was passed to me that, through education, we can learn to see, understand and respect those who are different from us and that, together and only together, we can build a better future for us all. You are the leaders of tomorrow. Take from this Summit the French tradition of “fraternité” and the British tradition of tolerance. We look to you to use your spirit of collaboration and the exceptional education you have been privileged to receive to build a more prosperous and peaceful world.”

The proceedings of the Summit will be published on the Alliance’s website: www.fbsalliance.com

First Saïd Graduate Scholarships in Business Studies awarded

Wafic Saïd has endowed The Saïd Graduate Scholarships in Business Studies at Trinity College, Oxford. The endowment will fund the college fees of three students resident at Trinity and studying for an MBA at the Saïd Business School. The first scholarships were awarded in October 2006 to students taking their MBAs in the 2006/07 academic year.

Wafic Saïd commented: “Trinity has a long and distinguished academic tradition dating back to 1555. But it is also forward looking and has for some time recognised the important place that business studies play in a modern university curriculum. It has built a number of links with the Saïd Business School. In endowing these scholarships, I am delighted to be able to provide support both to Trinity and to the School.”

Wafic Saïd is an Honorary Fellow of Trinity College and the founding Benefactor of Oxford University’s Said Business School.

Wafic Saïd pledges £15 million for Phase II of the Business School

On 3 October 2006 the Saïd Business School at the University of Oxford announced an ambitious fund-raising campaign to raise £30m to build a new facility for the School. The new building will provide the world class facilities required for a significant expansion of the School’s activities. Wafic Saïd has pledged £15 million for the new Centre.

Professor Colin Mayer, Dean of the Said Business School, commented: “Our intention is to bring together academic, business and political leaders from around the world and to help them identify how, what and who they should manage to provide effective, visionary leadership. At Saïd Business School, we want to inspire and educate the leaders of tomorrow’s businesses. We are extremely grateful to Mr Saïd for his ongoing and generous financial support of business education at Oxford. The gift will help us realise our vision for executive education at Oxford and is a very significant step towards our fundraising goals.’

The Vice-Chancellor of the University, Dr John Hood, commented: ‘The School is uniquely placed, at the heart of the University, to respond to developments in business education, and indeed fundamentally to shape them. The School will be able to draw upon its clear strengths in research and teaching, linking leading-edge thinking with practice, to create new executive education programmes for the business leaders of the future. We intend to build facilities to match that ambition.’

Wafic Saïd commented: “I have watched the startlingly rapid and successful development of the Said Business School with great admiration. The School’s community of faculty, staff and students have demonstrated beyond doubt that they have all that it takes - ability, ambition, energy and vision – to create Europe’s premier business school. I am delighted that the next major step forward is about to be taken with the Phase II building. The architects, Jeremy Dixon and Edward Jones, whose design for the existing building did so much to regenerate the railway station area of Oxford, can be relied on to ensure that the new Centre further enhances this gateway to the city. It is a pleasure to be able to support this exciting and important development.”

Building work is scheduled to begin in 2008, with the building due for completion in 2010.

The proposed design for the Phase II building as seen from the Said Business School’s garden

Karim Rida Saïd Foundation’s sponsored walk for Gaza and Lebanon

On Sunday 17 September, 75 volunteers walked on behalf of British charity the Karim Rida Saïd Foundation (www.krsf.org) from Richmond to Kingston to raise funds for children and young people with asthma or disabilities in Gaza and Lebanon.

Wafic Saïd, who walked along with other members of his family, commented: “The recent violence in the Middle East has exacerbated the immense hardship for children and young people in the region. Children with chronic conditions such as asthma are having great difficulty obtaining vital medication. Disabled children face particular obstacles when displaced, and, due to the conflict, an additional number of children now face the trauma of living with a permanent disability. The KRSF is determined to help make a difference in the region and this sponsored walk is one small example of the tremendous commitment of the Foundation’s staff and supporters.”

Over £50,000 has been raised. The Karim Rida Saïd Foundation will divide this between two reputable, non-governmental organisations in Lebanon and Gaza which are not political or sectarian and which are known for their effective work with vulnerable children:

In Lebanon, the Physically Handicapped Union (www.lphu.org) has been busy distributing food, medicine and disability equipment donated by Oxfam-UK, Christian Aid and others to displaced disabled people. It will use the donations to start reconstructing disability accessible housing and to provide physical and psychological treatment to children and young people disabled in the recent conflict.

In Gaza, Ard al-Insan (Terre des Hommes), a local organisation established in 1984, says the situation in the area has never been as bad. Food assistance is being provided by international agencies but medicines are extremely scarce. Ard al-Insan will use the donations to help families who are very poor or have more than one asthma patient.

Wafic and Rosemary Saïd with other walkers on the sponsored walk

Saïd MBA prize awarded to Rachael Wagner

A celebration was held on Saturday 9 September in Oxford University’s historic Sheldonian Theatre to mark the graduation of the Saïd Business School’s tenth cohort of MBAs. The Chancellor, Lord Patten, gave the keynote speech and the celebration was also attended by the Vice-Chancellor, Dr John Hood. During the ceremony, Rachael Wagner became the third recipient of the Saïd MBA prize. This annual prize of £10,000, endowed thanks to a donation from Wafic Saïd, honours the graduating MBA student who is deemed by a panel to have excelled academically, made an exceptional contribution in the classroom, and contributed greatly to the wider social and intellectual life of the school. Rachael Wagner studied at Harvard where she received a Bachelors Degree (Summa Cum Laude) in Economics and Social Anthropology. She did her MBA at the Said Business School as a Rhodes Scholar. Apart from her excellent academic performance, Rachael also gave her total commitment to the School community as Class Representative for the MBA. In addition, she represented her College, Balliol, in both the Women’s Field Hockey and Squash teams and formed part of the Rhodes House Athletics team.

Opening of the Wafic Rida Saïd Building, Collège de Notre-Dame de Jamhour

On 16 November 2005 Wafic Saïd participated in the inauguration of the building named after him at his old college, Notre-Dame de Jamhour in Lebanon. The Wafic Rida Saïd Building, which he financed along with other benefactors, forms an integral part of the Sports, Social and Cultural Centre at the college.

In his inaugural speech, Wafic Saïd congratulated the Rector, Reverend Father Selim Daccache, on his vision and ambition for the college and said that he was honoured to contribute to its expansion. He was proud to have been a student there and to have had the opportunity to benefit from the knowledge and spiritual wealth of the school’s great educators. Above all, he had learned that education was the key to a better life and the means of eradicating ignorance and reducing differences.

He said that the nostalgia felt by all the alumni in remembering their college days was a force for continuity “which encourages us to look to the future and to give future generations, who are our hope, the means to progress towards a better world, a world which I profoundly hope, will be one of peace, brotherhood and tolerance.”

Click here for photographs and the full text of the inaugural speeches in French.

Wafic Saïd receives Honorary Doctorate from the University of Damascus

In April 2005 Wafic Saïd was presented with an Honorary Doctorate by the Minister for Higher Education, H.E. Dr Hani Mourtada, for his commitment to education and his support for Damascus University.

In his speech of thanks, Wafic Saïd paid tribute to Dr Mourtada and to the University for their role in developing students’ skills. He stressed the importance of education as the spearhead of progress in Syria and as a vital means of promoting tolerance and understanding between cultures, through constructive dialogue and the exchange of ideas.

Damascus University was founded by his father, Dr Rida Saïd in 1923, and Wafic Saïd restored the old national hospital, one of the University’s historical buildings, in his memory. The Rida Saïd Conference Centre (below) was opened in September 2003.

The Rida Saïd Conference Centre