Ribbon cutting & symposium mark opening of 19 Washington Square North

NEW YORK (14 November 2009) - 19 Washington Square North, which will serve as New York University’s gateway to its new campus in Abu Dhabi, officially opened its doors today, following a ribbon-cutting ceremony with dignitaries from the United Arab Emirates and officials from NYU and NYU Abu Dhabi.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony was attended by the following:

Representatives from New York University/NYU Abu Dhabi
• Martin Lipton, Chairman, NYU Board of Trustees
• John Sexton, President, NYU
• Al Bloom, Vice Chancellor, NYU Abu Dhabi
• Mariët Westermann, Provost, NYU Abu Dhabi
• Hilary Ballon, Deputy Vice Chancellor, NYU Abu Dhabi

Representatives from the United Arab Emirates
• HE Yousef Al Otaiba, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the United States and Mexico
• HE Waleed Al Mokarrab Al Muhairi, Chief Operating Officer, Mubadala Development Company and member of the NYU Abu Dhabi Executive Committee
• Rima Al Mokarrab, Manager, Strategic Affairs, Executive Affairs Authority of Abu Dhabi

The newly renovated townhouse includes space for NYU Abu Dhabi-related events, a welcome center for prospective students, a global seminar room that is connected via state-of-the-art videoconferencing equipment to comparably equipped rooms at NYU’s downtown campus in Abu Dhabi (opening this December), faculty and administrative offices, a computer lab, and meeting rooms.

NYU Abu Dhabi Vice Chancellor Al Bloom said: “19 Washington Square North will ensure the deep connections between NYU Abu Dhabi and NYU in New York that are so integral to the long-term success of our institution.”

John Sexton, President, NYU, Ambassador Al Otaiba, and Martin Lipton, Chairman, NYU Board of Trustees at ribbon cutting
HE Yousef Al Otaiba, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates to the United States and Mexico, said: “Alongside the many social, cultural, and economic partnerships established in recent years between institutions from the United States and the United Arab Emirates, the opening of 19 Washington Square North and the establishment of NYU Abu Dhabi will contribute significantly to the rapidly deepening relationship between our two countries.”

Following the ribbon-cutting, NYU Abu Dhabi hosted an opening event in the new space, The Cosmopolitan Idea, featuring Vartan Gregorian, president of the Carnegie Corporation, Craig Calhoun, NYU University Professor of Sociology, and Jeremy Waldron, NYU University Professor of Law. The discussion was the first in a year-long series which will explore issues including the values and challenges of cosmopolitanism, and the tensions between its global orientation and local communities.

19 Washington Square North was designed by Murphy Burnham & Buttrick Architects, a New York City-based architecture and interior design firm.

About NYU Abu Dhabi

NYU Abu Dhabi will consist of a highly selective liberal arts and science college (including engineering), distinctive graduate programs, and a world center for advanced research and scholarship -- all fully integrated with each other and connected to NYU in New York. Together, NYU New York and NYU Abu Dhabi will form the backbone of a unique Global Network University, with faculty and students from either New York or Abu Dhabi spending semesters away at one or more of the numerous study abroad sites NYU maintains on five continents. NYU Abu Dhabi’s first students will arrive in fall 2010.