AUC Signs Agreement with Hadhramout Foundation to Provide Scholarships for Yemeni Students

The American University in Cairo (AUC) recently signed an agreement with Hadhramout Foundation for Human Development to establish the Hadhramout Foundation Scholarship for Yemeni Students, supporting 27 high-achieving Yemeni students —15 undergraduates and 12 graduate students — starting Spring 2020, as well as the Hadhramout Foundation Fund at the School of Continuing Education. The latter will support 20 Yemeni learners to take the English for Effective Communication Program and the Certified Public Accountant certification. The signing ceremony was attended by Engineer Abdullah Bugshan, Chairman, Arabian Bugshan Group and AUC President Francis Ricciardone.

 “For 100 years, AUC has assumed a leadership role in supporting and empowering bright and ambitious students who are seeking to shape the world around them,” said AUC President Francis Ricciardone. “We are proud to announce that through this scholarship initiative, Yemeni youth in Egypt will be given the special opportunity to receive a world-class education.”

Addressing the Hadhramout Foundation for Human Development, Ricciardone added, “We at AUC are focused, and you are helping us focus. Thank you for all the good you are enabling us to do.”

The Hadhramout Foundation for Human Development is a charitable organization operating in the Hadhramout region of Yemen that aims at building human resources among disadvantaged Yemeni populations. The organization funds a range of initiatives that include skills programs and two English language institutes, as well as supporting opportunities for continuing education.

“A few years ago, it was a dream that our foundation would send people to AUC,” said Engineer Bugshan, CEO of House of Invention International and president of the Hadhramout Foundation for Human Development. “Hopefully, we will see big numbers of students coming to AUC.”

Engineer Bugshan is a businessman and philanthropist from the Hadhrami diaspora who has a history of giving back to his homeland. He has given more than $10 million throughout his lifetime to a range of causes including initiatives in health, human services and cultural heritage. In 2012, the Arab Economic Forum recognized Eng. Bugshan for his pioneering achievements in the economic and investment fields in Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries.

“This is a University with a good reputation,” said Saleh Awadh Aram, CEO and Board of Trustees member of the Hadhramout Foundation for Human Development. “It’s a good opportunity for our students to come here and get higher education from this University.”

The scholarships are part of the $100 million AUC Centennial Campaign: A New Century of Impact, which has now reached 80 percent of its target. The campaign is part of AUC's vision for greater impact in the next century. The campaign priorities are fostering a global experience, creating centennial scholarships that give the most deserving and talented students access to an AUC education, nurturing arts and cultural programs, charting a way forward for the MENA region and building a culture of philanthropy.

AUC offers more than 90 named scholarships supported by individuals and corporations. In celebration of the University’s 100 years of excellence, innovation and service, the University recently launched AUC Centennial Scholarship Fund, which offers partial/full support for undergraduate Egyptian and international students who demonstrate outstanding academic qualifications, financial need and are committed to majoring in liberal arts at AUC.

AUC also launched recently the AUC Liberal Arts Scholarship, which will provide 20 partial and full scholarships to students from Egypt, the region, and the US to study humanities and social sciences at AUC. In 2018, students from 26 Egyptian governorates were selected to receive scholarships at AUC and over 550 students receive full and partial scholarships at AUC.