The Goldman Sachs Foundation contributed to AUW a new grant of $1.4 million to support the Access Academy, AUW's flagship program to prepare talented women from socially and economically marginalized settings for admission into the University. This grant marks the second gift to the Academy by the Foundation, and brings the support from the Goldman Sachs Foundation to a total of $2.8 million.
AUW has received an extraordinary gift from a Hong Kong philanthropist. This donor, who wishes to remain anonymous, has given US$5 million toward the construction of the University campus. The gift represents the largest single grant from an individual to AUW to date. We thank her wholeheartedly.
"Overcoming History: Rethinking Rights and Opportunities for Women in Asia" will be the theme of a major international symposium to be held in Dhaka's Radisson Hotel on October 17, in conjunction with the installation of Nancy Dye. Among the key speakers is AUWSF board member Kathy Matsui, managing director chief Japan strategist and co-director of Pan-Asian investment research at Goldman Sachs (Japan).
The sessions will include: "Womenomics and Ethics: The Human and Economic Cost of Discrimination Against Women," and "Inspiring Change: Refelctions on Many Ways of Women's Leadership."
If you are interested in participating in the symposium and/or the installation ceremony, please contact David Pattillo at david.pattillo[at]asian-university.org
The South China Morning Post, Hong Kong's leading English newspaper, has featured a three-part series on AUW and the Access Academy. Reporter Mimi Lau traveled to Chittagong to take part in the opening ceremonies. Click to download and read her articles, in PDF: "Nurturing women to take the lead" (Sat, April 19), "A chance for women to play a leading role" (Sat, April 12), "University to empower Asian women opens" (Sat, April 5).
The Asian University for Women is delighted to announce the arrival of the Access Academy's first incoming class of students on March 28-30, 2008. The Academy is now home to a remarkably enthusiastic group of 130 young women from Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Nepal, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
Students were greeted at the Academy on Sunday morning, March 30, with welcome remarks by Dr. Nancy Dye, AUW's founding Vice-Chancellor & President, Dr. Hoon Eng Khoo, AUW's VP for Academic Planning, and Dr. Dil Afroze Quader, Executive Director of the Access Academy. The welcome address marked the beginning of a weeklong orientation program, that will introduce students to the facilities and resources available to them and help them adjust to life at the Academy. In addition to information lectures and academic proficiency tests, orientation activities include a series of workshops on computing, library research, student activities, self-defense training, health, and safety and security.
The program will culminate with a formal welcoming ceremony to be held at the Theatre Institute, Chittagong on Saturday, April 5.
Dr. Nancy Dye, esteemed women’s historian and President Emerita of Oberlin College, has been appointed AUW's first Vice-Chancellor and President. As chief executive of the University, Dr. Dye will lead the growth and development of all aspects of AUW. Click here to read the full press release
The Office of Admissions is pleased to report an overwhelming response to our student recruitment drive for the Access Academy. For an entering class of 125 students, we have received a total of nearly 1,200 applications from our initial target countries: Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The pool of candidates represents a wide diversity of young women from various backgrounds. The Office of Admissions, under the leadership of the Director, Dr. Regina Papa, and assisted by our network of Recruitment Coordinators in each country, is currently in the process of conducting entrance tests and interviews. For more information please contact: admissions@asian-university.org
Dr. Nancy Dye, AUWSF Senior Advisor and president emerita of Oberlin College, and her husband, Dr. Griffith Dye, recently took a five-day whirlwind tour of Bangladesh. The trip involved a broad range of engagements, including meetings with high profile individuals like BRAC's Chairperson Fazle Hassan Abed and beneficiaries of Grameen's micro-credit programs who have only recently lifted themselves out of abject poverty. (Click here to read the full story in our 2007 year-end newsletter.)
This summer, the Support Foundation finished assembling its "dream team" to design and lead AUW's Access Academy. Motivated by the desire to expand educational opportunities for young women, this experienced multi-national group of individuals put on hold successful professional and academic careers and some even uprooted themselves and their families from their home countries and cities to give shape to this unprecedented program. (Click here to read the full story in our 2007 year-end newsletter.)
Kathy Matsui, AUWSF Board Member and member of the Friends of AUW Japan, hosted a reception on behalf of AUW at Tokyo's Mori Art Museum. "A University of One's Own: Envisioning the Asian University for Women" featured three special guest speakers: Dr Sawako Takeuchi, the first female professor of engineering at Tokyo University and Japan?s nominee last year for the position of Secretary General at the OECD; Dr Rasha Al-Sabah, Under Secretary of Kuwait's Ministry of Higher Education, a niece of the Emir of Kuwait, and one of the leading advocates in the country's recent successful women's suffrage campaign; and Dr Nancy Dye, the President Emerita of Oberlin College in Ohio, USA (which was the first American institution of higher learning to admit women and African-American students).
At the event, the Bangladeshi Ambassador to Japan, H.E. Mr. Ashraf-ud-Doula, welcomed approximately 100 academics and business-professionals, as well as representatives from the media and civil society organizations. Guests were also treated to a private viewing of the Museum's ongoing exhibition, "Le Corbusier: Art and Architecture--A Life of Creativity".
The AUW 2007 Regional Symposium was held at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Center in Dhaka on May 24. The event was organized to highlight AUW's educational and social vision, to showcase the recently completely master plan, and to reach out to the local community.
Click here to read the remarks of Mrs. Rokiya Afzal Rahman, Chairman of the Bangladesh Board of Advisors of the Asian University for Women.
Press Release. CAMBRIDGE, Mass. February, 2007: Supporters of the Asian University for Women (AUW) in Japan now have an added incentive to join the international effort to establish a world-class residential learning community for gifted women across South, Southeast and West Asia.
For the next three years, donors in Japan will enjoy tax-deductions on their gifts to AUW through a partnership launched with the Japan Foundation. The Tokyo-based semi-governmental public organization announced that as part of its Designated Donations Program it would now accept up to US $10 million worth of monetary donations on behalf of the AUW Support Foundation, a US-registered non-profit.
"The AUW initiative is so important to me because I firmly believe that providing women across Asia with an opportunity for higher education will pave the way for more open minds and open societies," explained Kathy Matsui, an AUWSF board member in Tokyo. "AUW will be a beacon of light for what can be done on a multilateral basis and will lead the way towards greater cooperation across the region. That's a goal that we share with the Japan Foundation, and we are grateful that they have lent their support through this program."
Toshiki Ando, a director of the Fund Management Office at the Japan Foundation, affirmed the sponsorship of the AUW Support Foundation: "We are delighted to support AUW's outreach efforts in Japan. The vision of the Asian University for Women resonates powerfully with the Japan Foundation's aims to promote intercultural exchange in order to build mutual understanding and dialogue with different nations in the region."
The application to the Japan Foundation was made possible through the Friends of AUW Japan, a group of volunteers who represent academia, civil society and the business community. The group has been leading efforts to raise awareness of the project, working to build AUW's support base in the country, and facilitating partnerships with foundations and academic institutions.
"Japan's investment in education is undoubtedly a cause for the country's success," said Yasko Tashiro, a member of Friends of AUW Japan. "Japan's partnership with AUW will send a powerful reminder about the ability of education to unlock the full potential of young people for economic and social development."
The Asian University for Women is being created as an institution of higher education dedicated to preparing talented Asian women for leadership in the political, economic, social and cultural spheres. AUW will be based in Chittagong, Bangladesh.
The Japan Foundation was established in 1972 to undertake international cultural exchange in order to promote transfers of Japanese culture, art, language and learning.
More information about donating to AUW in Japan is available online or by calling Amy Paradis at 617-301-4055.
Press Release. CAMBRIDGE, Mass. October, 2006: The Asian University for Women (AUW) announced a $1.4 million grant from The Goldman Sachs Foundation to fund its first academic program on its new campus being built in Chittagong, Bangladesh. The grant will support the launch of the AUW Access Academy, a pre-collegiate program for newly accepted freshman students. The Access Academy is designed for incoming freshmen who will benefit from intensive training in English, mathematics and/or computer science prior to the beginning of their university education. All students attending the Access Academy will do so on full academic scholarship, providing for all their needs, including tuition, room and board, and health care. The Goldman Sachs Foundation grant will support the development of the program, including recruitment of students, Academy faculty and curriculum development.
"We are delighted to support this exciting project," said Stephanie Bell-Rose, President of The Goldman Sachs Foundation. "We share AUW's commitment to creating opportunities for women with the potential to become outstanding leaders and who will encourage intercultural understanding and sustainable human and economic development in Asia and throughout the world."
Jack Meyer, a Boston-based investment manager and Chairman of the Asian University for Women Support Foundation Board, echoed her enthusiasm. "We are proud to have The Goldman Sachs Foundation as a partner in building a world-class university committed to educating talented young women from Asia. We expect AUW graduates to serve as catalysts for addressing gender inequality in the world and this generous gift has given us a strong head start in achieving our goals."
The Goldman Sachs Foundation grant follows a $15 million challenge grant made earlier by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. AUW has also received support from a range of other contributors including the Open Society Institute, USAID, Nike Foundation, Chevron Foundation, Citigroup Foundation, SAB Miller Corporation, Pearl Energy Corporation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and a host of individual contributors from the U.S., Japan and Bangladesh.
Scheduled to open its doors to students in 2007, AUW will be a vibrant residential learning community where highly talented women from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds will develop their intellectual and personal potential. Although it will recruit the majority of its students from South Asia, Southeast Asia and West Asia, AUW will also accept students from the United States, Europe, as well as "stateless students." The University will offer a five-year integrated program leading to a combined Bachelor's and Master's degree. One of the fundamental goals of the Asian University for Women is to cultivate successive generations of women leaders who possess the skills and resources to address the challenges of social and economic advancement of the region. "The University will ultimately serve as a beacon for those striving to raise educational standards, increase opportunities for women, and promote regional cooperation and understanding among the people of Asia," said Kamal Ahmad, President of the Asian University for Women Support Foundation.
The AUW Charter was approved by the Bangladesh Cabinet and ratified in Parliamentary session on September 25, 2006. This exciting progress follows several trips to Bangladesh from AUW leaders including Kamal Ahmad, Lady Judy Moody-Stuart, Jeffrey Lehman, and Jack R. Meyer. They have met with, and are in frequent communication with, Cabinet members and other government officials. All interactions affirm the full commitment of the Government of Bangladesh to the AUW project.
