23/10/2009

Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber, made Honorary Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Oxford

The Patron and Chairman of the MBI Al Jaber Foundation, Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber, was elected to the Honorary Fellowship of Corpus Christi College Oxford at a meeting of the Governing Body which took place in June 2009.

This honour is in recognition of his services to higher education in the UK in general and to Corpus Christi in particular including the major donation to the new auditorium at the College, named the MBI Al Jaber Building.

The Fellowship was conferred at a ceremony which also marked the official opening of the MBI Al Jaber Building, on 23rd October 2009. The citation was read by The Right Honourable the Lord Patten of Barnes:

“Sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa al Jaber, whom I now present for admission to an Honorary Fellowship, is a highly successful businessman who has shared the fruits of his labours to promote peace and understanding between the peoples of the Middle East and to advance learning and research in relation to the Middle East at the highest level in the United Kingdom and in other countries. Through his expertise and entrepreneurship he has built up a world-wide chain of hotels, which includes some famous establishments.

He has helped to provide vision and leadership among young Arabs by providing scholarships for them to study at the School of Oriental and African Studies and other institutions of higher learning in London and has been a benefactor to University College London. Sheikh Mohamed has established The Olive Tree scholarship scheme at City University to encourage mutual understanding and to create a community of graduates committed to the pursuit of human rights and economic welfare.

It is for his support for Corpus Christi College that we especially honour Sheikh Mohamed on this occasion. He has made possible the construction of the most important building to be constructed on the main site in three hundred years, the MBI al Jaber Building. I present a man of the highest distinction in business and educational philanthropy.

Admission by the President
You are at once a humane supporter of education and a promoter of peace and understanding. Your services to Corpus Christi College are of the highest distinction. Acting on my own authority and that of the College, I admit you to its roll of honorary fellows.”

Other Honorary Fellows of this ancient college include illustrious persons from all walks of life such as the novelist Vikram Seth and the statesman William Waldegrave. World famous tenor, Dr. Ian Bostridge, is also an Honorary Fellow of Corpus and gave a recital at the opening ceremony.

Photo by Simon Chapman Photography

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