His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin MohammadAl Qassimi, Supreme Council Member, Ruler of Sharjah and President of AmericanUniversity of Sharjah (AUS) approved today the immediate start of several AUSdevelopment projects, as part of the university's efforts to meet increasingdemands. The new projects are part of the AUS strategic initiative to enhancestudent life experience on campus and develop campus facilities - includingfacilities for students with disabilities - in line with standards adhered to bytop international universities.

In a meeting held today in his office atthe AUS Main Building, Sheikh Sultan inspected artist impressions of theseprojects, listened to descriptions of the projects by university officials andgave his instructions and comments on them, according to AUS Chancellor Dr.Peter Heath.  

"His Highness was particularly happy withthe fact that we are modernizing our student facilities," Chancellor Heathsaid. The chancellor also expressed his gratitude to the Ruler of Sharjah forsupporting the university's high standards and that of its facilities from itsvery inception. "His Highness has approved these additional facilities to meetthe demands of the growing student numbers and to provide them with the bestpossible facilities," Dr. Heath added.

Sheikh Sultan was accompanied on his visitto AUS by Sheikh Khalid bin Abdullah Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Department ofPublic Works in Sharjah; Mr. Hamid Jafar, Member of AUS Board of Trustees; andsenior AUS officials.

The projects approved by Sheikh Sultanincluded four multistory car parks, which will provide over 1,000 additionalspaces on campus. These car parks, to surround the academic campus, will alsoprovide facilities for people with disabilities.

In sync with the university's commitment toenhance campus experience for students, a new women's dormitory building withcapacity for over 170 students has been sanctioned. This new facility will bebased on  a sustainable, efficient green design, which will be comparablein internal architecture, to - and in some cases, surpassing - similarbuildings present on some of the best university campuses around the world,said Chancellor Heath.

The building has also been designed tomaximize operational cost efficiency over its life cycle compared to standarddorms in the region. "When completed, this dormitory building will be one ofthe leading dormitories in the region, using advanced built in technologies andwith facilities for people with disabilities," Dr. Heath said.

Designed in accordance with theInternational Building Code (IBC) and the American Disabilities Act Guidelines(ADAG), the women's dormitory building has an internal court yardarchitecturally designed to encourage student interaction by providing various areasfor communal interface. It is an environmentally-friendly garden requiring lesswater and energy for maintenance.

The approved projects also included theconstruction of a sports pavilion that provides shaded seating for about 700sports fans. Located adjacent to the main football pitch, the sports pavilionwill have a six-lane Olympic running track and all the necessary facilities forthe sports teams and administration.

The university has always placed greatemphasis on the providing a holistic experience for its entire campus communityand these projects are in tandem with its vision and mission.

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