PRESS RELEASE
Haigazian University
Mira Yardemian Public Relations Director
Mexique Street, Kantari, Beirut
P.O.Box. 11-1748
Riad El Solh 1107 2090
Tel: 01-353010/1/2
01-349230/1
Haigazian University receives a USD700,000 grant from USAID
Beirut, 06/06/2008- On Thursday the 5th of June, U.S. Charge d’Affaires
Michele J. Sison presented a check of USD700,000/- to Haigazian
University President, Rev. Dr. Paul Haidostian, to finance scholarships
for deserving students. This funding provided by the United States
Agency for International Development (USAID), will support needy
undergraduate students, in addition to establishing a new fund for the
graduate studies program.
Ambassador Sison, accompanied with USAID Director, Raouf Youssef met
with a number of students, faculty and administrators.
"One of the United States core values is education, and Haigazian
University has grown in size and academic offerings, becoming the place
of world class education, right in the heart of Beirut", noted Sison.
Sison considered that the educational funds allow students from
throughout Lebanon to study and contribute to the continuous development
of Lebanon. "Our support to Haigazian University, assists students as
they make Lebanon, the region and the world a better place", Her
Excellence commented.
With a feeling of fulfillment, President Haidostian thanked the
delegation, and considered this event as a historic celebration of
partnership between Haigazian University and the USAID.
"Partnerships are usually not accidental. Good partnerships are based on
values that transcend the instant situations. They point to a quality of
relationship, a meeting of a developmental outlook, and a plan to match
needs and resources," Haidostian noted.
Haidostian also stressed the nature of the donation, highlighting the
motto of the USAID "From the American People" saying, "even though
leaders of countries, organizations, and universities plan, manage, and
implement various types of support, the long term impact is created when
people help people."
Haidostian shared the example of Elizabeth Webb, an American
congregational missionary, whose house on the University’s street became
a 10-room-college named Haigazian in 1955. He also gave tribute to such
families as the Mehagians and the Philibosians, who, following the
unimaginable hardships of the Armenian Genocide, became part of the
American social and cultural fabric, and turned a history of disaster
into a story of service, thus becoming instrumental in establishing
Haigazian University.
"I cannot help but see today’s support for our students and university
through USAID as a continuation of the same benevolence and culture of
reaching out to others on their journey of development", Haidostian
concluded.
The delegation enjoyed a tour in the Barsoumian Library, followed by a
reception.
Following this occasion, President Haidostian noted with thanks the
ongoing and direct support of major organizations such as the AMAA, the
Philibosian Foundation, The Haigazian University Women’s Auxiliary, the
WCM, as well as the generous financial aid to students provided annually
by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, the Vatche and Tamar Manoukian
Fund, the Robert Boghossian and Sons Foundation, and the Marash
Patriotic Union, and others. He further called upon all to join
Haigazian’s drive for excellence in education and service.