Board of Trustees approves AED 236 million budget

His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qassimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, Founder and President of the American University of Sharjah (AUS), has expressed satisfaction with the financial progress of AUS, said Chancellor Dr. Winfred Thompson in a statement made at the end of a meeting of the university's Board of Trustees held earlier this semester on campus.

“His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah was pleased that the trend in the university budget has been favorable,” the Chancellor said. The board approved the AED 236 million budget for fiscal year 2005–2006, which starts in June 2005. This is an increase of AED 32 million from the current year's budget and reflects the costs of additional faculty and staff members as well as the increase in the allocation of financial aid for students. The board also approved an investment policy for the university's endowment fund.

The board's academic affairs committee approved a resolution directing the administration to establish goals and objectives for faculty compensation. The AUS Board of Trustees also approved recommendations by the academic committee suggesting that the chancellor should work with the faculty senate to develop proposals for appropriate faculty honors, to be referred to the board for further action.

Members of the AUS Board of Trustees are Lord Broers, President, Royal Academy of Engineering, UK; Ms. Leslie E. Bains, President, AFS Intercultural Programs, USA; Mr. Abdul Jalil Yousuf Darwish, Chairman, UAE Enterprises Group, UAE; Mr. Arthur T. Downey, Attorney at Law, Maryland, USA; Dr. Skip Fletcher, Director for Aerospace at NASA Ames Research Center and Professor of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University, USA; Mr. Thomas J. Foley, International Management Consultant, Middle East Specialty, Michigan, USA; Dr. Roderick S. French, Director, American University of Sharjah Washington Office, USA; Mr. Hamid D. Jafar, Chairman and CEO, Crescent Petroleum Company, UAE; Dr. Benjamin Ladner, President, American University of Washington, USA; Baroness Onora O'Neill, Principal, Newnham College, Cambridge University, UK; the Honorable John R. Petty, Chairman, TECSEC, Inc., USA; Mr. Maroun A. Semaan, President and CEO, Petrofac International Ltd, UAE; and Dr. Winfred L. Thompson, Chancellor, American Universty of Sharjah, UAE.