Nidal Karyouti, a member of the Edgo board and representative of the Munib & Angela Masri Foundation, met with Dr Jay Hartzell, President of the University of Texas in Austin (UT Austin), to discuss the longstanding strategic partnership and future development of the relationship between the two organizations. UT Austin’s Senior Director of Development for Principal Gifts, Hafsa Mahfooz and the Dean of the College of Engineering, Dr Roger Bonnecaze were also present at the meeting.
Taking place during the University of Texas’ fifth annual conference in Dubai, UAE, the meeting was a chance to discuss new opportunities for collaboration between MAF and UT Austin, particularly in research and development, as well as in student training in earth sciences and geology.
MAF and UT Austin’s relationship is well established and goes back to the 1950s when MAF’s founders Munib R Masri and his wife Angela were students at the University. Additionally, Mr Masri is the only Arab to have been inducted into the Hall of Fame at the University's Jackson School of Geosciences, as part of a prestigious group of individuals who have made a notable and lasting impact in the field of geosciences. In 2020, the Foundation gave a multi-million dollar gift to UT Austin to create a century-long endowment to provide graduate fellowships to students from Jordan, Palestine and Lebanon at the University’s Jackson School of Geosciences.
The Munib & Angela Masri Foundation is an independent, non-profit organization instrumental in the creation and support of many important educational institutions including the Munib & Angela Masri Institute of Energy and Natural Resources at the American University of Beirut, the Jackson School of Geosciences at the University of Texas at Austin and the Al-Quds Academy for Scientific Research in Jerusalem. Elsewhere in Palestine, MAF has funded the construction of several important institutions including the Munib R Masri Center for Innovation and Excellence at the Palestine Polytechnic University, the Munib R Masri Scientific Research Complex at the Islamic University of Gaza, the Engineering Faculty at Al Najah University, the Information Technology faculty and Center for Innovation and Excellence at Birzeit University and the Business Economics and Scientific Research Complex at the Palestine Technical University-Kadoorie. The Masri Foundation also supports local projects in the Arab world, including the rebuilding of schools in Yemen.