[Debbi Driesman unveiling the foundation stone of the Frank & Debbie Islam management Complex. Frank Islam is also seen along with AMU VC Lt. Gen. Zameer Uddin Shah and others.]
Aligarh: Noted entrepreneur and AMU alumnus, Frank F Islam, Chairman and CEO of FI Investment Group, USA and his wife Debbie Driesman on Friday laid the foundation stone of Frank and Debbi Islam Management Complex to be built near Sir Syed House inside the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) campus.
At a press conference following the foundation stone laying ceremony, Frank Islam showered praise on his alma mater and said that he is in AMU because of a common commitment and a shared belief with the rest of the AMU community.
“Without AMU, I would not have been where I am today,” Frank Islam said while stating that his donation of US$ 2 million to build the new School of Management Complex and endow a ‘Chair for entrepreneurship and innovation at AMU’ is his way of paying back to AMU.
He added that Sir Syed Ahmad Khan once said that ‘from the seed which we sow today there may spring up a mighty tree’ and with the quote, Islam assured the gathering that this Management Complex will one day become that tree and its branches will spread everywhere.
Islam said that this is a kind of university we can build and expand together and one day the students of this Management Complex will be future leaders. “However, all of this was not possible without the support and determination of AMU Vice Chancellor, Lt General Zameer Uddin Shah (retd)”, he said.
He further said that this new building with modern architecture will be the home for AMU Business Faculty and educational empowerment for its students from where will come the future leaders of India and the world.
He pointed out that the ‘Chair for Entrepreneurship and Innovation’ at the Management Complex will train the students for striving and grasping the underlying phenomenon of the entrepreneur.
“This new Complex will provide fascinating success stories and educators will develop exciting new approaches, and researchers will set themselves for tackling the challenging opportunities ahead,” he said, adding that this institute will provide opportunities for thousands of people in India and abroad.
At AMU, Frank Islam is accompanied by Syed Ali Rizvi, Chairman Board of Trustees, Federation of Aligarh Muslim University Alumni Association, Boston, USA. Rizvi has been instrumental in the engagement and commitment of Frank Islam to the Frank and Debbi Islam Management Complex, AMU.
While introducing Islam to the gathering at the press conference, Ali Rizvi said that besides being an entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist, Frank Islam serves on number of boards and advisory councils including the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees, the U S Institute of Peace, the Woodrow Wilson Center, and the Brookings Institution.
"Frank Islam also serves on various boards and councils at more than half-dozen universities including Johns Hopkins, University, American University, and George Mason University", he added.
He also pointed out that Frank Islam has written two well regarded books on the American condition, Working the Pivot Points: To Make America Work Again (2013) and Renewing the American Dream: A Citizen’s Guide for Restoring Our Competitive Advantage (2010).
AMU Vice Chancellor, Lt Gen Zameer Uddin Shah (retd) recalled that during his first visit as the Vice Chancellor to the Management Faculty, “the teachers told me about this project. I replied the teachers that the New Management Complex will soon be a reality”.
He informed the gathering that new academic session of the Department of Business Administration will start in the new complex.
The Vice Chancellor further said that today we need to have hundreds of Frank Islam and leaders, and this new Management Complex will act as an inspiration.
The Vice Chancellor stated that since generations of his family members have become successful after attending AMU, it is his time to pay back the university. He urged students to imbibe sufficient education to become success stories like that of Frank Islam.
The Vice Chancellor also urged the students to perceive themselves as future leaders of this country and work hard on fulfilling their aims.
Frank Islam will also address the 63rd convocation of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) to be held on Saturday February 27, 2016.
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