NYU has chosen Saadiyat Island as the future location of the university's Abu Dhabi campus, officials announced last week.
Earlier this year NYU declared its partnership with the sheikhdom of Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, and its plans to build NYU Abu Dhabi, or NYU AD - a four-year degree-granting NYU campus in the Gulf state.
According to Hilary Ballon, NYU AD's associate vice chancellor for academic programs and campus planning, the Saadiyat Island demonstrates the Abu Dhabi government's high esteem of the NYU AD project.
"Saadiyat Island is probably the most prestigious location in Abu Dhabi," she said. "With four new museums, including the Guggenheim and the Louvre, it will be a magnet of cultural activity."
AME Info, a Middle East online business publication, reported that NYU President John Sexton met with H.E. Khaldoun Al Mubarak, chairman of Abu Dhabi's Executive Affairs Authority, and exchanged gifts commemorating the announcement.
"For Abu Dhabi, the partnership with NYU delivers an ability to enhance the educational opportunities for our students," Al Mubarak said.
NYU spokesman John Beckman said the project was an important one for NYU and that "the selection of a site advances the concept of NYU Abu Dhabi toward reality."
In an e-mail, Ballon said the campus will house state-of-the-art facilities, including academic buildings, libraries, laboratories, theaters and gallery space, a student center, residences for students and faculty, a gym and athletic fields.
"The campus will reflect the urban character of NYU but respond to the climate and context of Abu Dhabi," she added.
Although NYU has not yet provided an estimated cost for the new campus, the government of Abu Dhabi has promised to foot the bill as part of its agreement with NYU.
The master planning process has begun for the new campus and it is expected to be completed by summer 2008, Ballon said. The first class at NYU AD is expected to begin in the fall 2010 semester.
Environmental sustainability, the objective driving many recent projects at NYU, will also influence plans for the NYU AD campus, Ballon said.
"Environmental sustainability is a core principle guiding development of Saadiyat Island," Ballon said. "We're likely to have programs in environmental studies and related fields that take advantage of our location."
Jeremy Friedman, project administrator for NYU's Environmental Sustainability Task Force, said he saw NYU AD as a real opportunity to think further about environmental issues.
"It seems like a really positive step, when we're working to green our own campus here at NYU, to be thinking about sustainability anywhere we are," Friedman said. "And I'm certainly very supportive of any efforts that those planning the Abu Dhabi project are taking."
Catherine Manfre is a staff writer. E-mail her at news@nyunews.com.
Be the first to comment on this article!