Official Opening and Ribbon-Cutting Ceremony of AUK's New Liberal Arts Building

At the official opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony of the new Liberal Arts Building at the American University of Kuwait, President Marina Tolmacheva was joined by the Board of Trustees, and Dr. Imad Al-Atiqi from the Council of Public Universities.

The group, joined by students and faculty and special guests, then entered the new auditorium located in the new Liberal Arts Building, to deliver a few words, and award a group of students for various achievements.

President Tolmacheva welcomed the Board of Trustees, faculty and students, and invited Clifford Chanin, President of The Legacy Project in New York, who earlier in the week had delivered a lecture on "Building the Liberal Arts" ,to say a few more words in this opening ceremony.

Chanin expressed his great gratitude and fortune in being chosen as the keynote speaker and guest of AUK during this important time. He described it as an honor for him as an American, to see the word "American" being chosen as the name of the university. Chanin said in his conversations with important figures at AUK, he discovered that AUK was born to promote the values of critical thinking, of independent thinking, and of freedom- freedom of inquiry, freedom to think, and freedom to become.

President Tolmacheva presented Clifford Chanin with a Certificate of Appreciation. More awards and certificates followed. Professor Mary Queen presented freshman Noor Suliman with the award for "Best Essay on Liberal Arts".

Professor Rawda Awwad presented awards to her Public Speaking team, who had participated in a competition in Dubai, UAE. The students showed a slide show presentation of their trip to Dubai.

Sharifa Al-Adwani , Adjunct Professor at AUK, presented her Model United Nations team with their awards. One of the team members, Mr. Fahad Mohammed won the General Assembly's First Place "Diplomacy Award".

The ceremony concluded, and the Board of Trustees and their honored guests proceeded to have a tour of the new building, followed by lunch at the brand new "Wildcats Diner".