By Bruce Gerson

The celebration began like many others at Carnegie Mellon as alumnus Patrick Regan (A’96) opened the festivities by playing the bagpipes dressed in a kilt and full Scottish regalia. But this gala, 8,000 miles from the Pittsburgh campus, was unlike any in the past. It marked the inaugural celebration for Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar, the university’s first international branch campus.


A 75-member delegation from Carnegie Mellon in Pittsburgh traveled to Education City in Doha, Qatar, in early March to participate in two days of activities that included a tour of Education City, a leadership symposium in which several Carnegie Mellon faculty experts discussed their latest research in information technology and international business, and a dinner attended by Her Highness Sheikha Mozah Bint Nasser Al-Missned, wife of His Highness the Emir of Qatar and chair of the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development.

“The inaugural gala paid tribute to the far-sighted vision of Her Highness Sheikha Mozah and recognized the honor bestowed on Carnegie Mellon in being invited to join with other institutions at Education City to create a world-class center for education and learning,” said Carnegie Mellon President Jared L. Cohon. “We share with Her Highness the firm belief that knowledge can bridge cultures and promote peace and prosperity.”

During the dinner, students from the School of Music performed a piece composed by Alan Fletcher, head of the school, called “Fanfare for the Future: Celebrating the Vision of Education City.”

“It was so inspiring to play the fanfare at the inaugural gala,” said flutist Elisabeth La Foret, one of a dozen Carnegie Mellon students who traveled to Qatar for the celebration. “Over there everyone certainly knows about the business and computer science programs we have, but it was great to be able to play a piece for them by a Carnegie Mellon composer and faculty member. It was a reminder of how excellence, innovation and invention at Carnegie Mellon doesn’t begin and end with the technology and business schools.”

Chuck Thorpe, dean of the Qatar Campus, said the event was a great celebration of Carnegie Mellon’s partnership with the Qatar Foundation. “We put the Pittsburgh delegation to work, meeting with government ministers and corporate leaders and creating the foundation for research and education projects that will help Qatar grow," Thorpe said.

At the invitation of the Qatar Foundation, Carnegie Mellon began offering its internationally recognized undergraduate programs in business and computer science in August 2004. Forty-two students, mostly from the Gulf Region, are enrolled—22 in computer science and 20 in business. Thorpe, former director of Carnegie Mellon’s world-renowned Robotics Institute, leads a contingent of more than 40 faculty and staff, many of whom have relocated from Pittsburgh to establish the university’s first residential undergraduate campus outside of Pittsburgh.

At the gala Her Highness Sheikha Mozah acknowledged Carnegie Mellon’s interdisciplinary, problem-solving approach to education and research, and its impact on the world.

“Carnegie Mellon has always been innovating, crossing boundaries and creating new frontiers. We have been assured that our confidence in Carnegie Mellon has not been misplaced,” she said.

“With its excellent programs in computer science and business administration, Carnegie Mellon University is certain to make a great contribution to Education City, to Qatar and the Gulf Region,” said Charles E. Young, president of the Qatar Foundation.

Fahad Al-Jefairi, president of the Class of 2008 in Qatar, thanked Her Highness Sheikha Mozah for helping him to attend “this great American university while staying here at home,” and said he looked forward to visiting the Pittsburgh campus.

“It’s this kind of exchange, this kind of dialogue, that will make me not only a better educated individual, but a better citizen of the world,” he said.


Part of the gala event included the presentation of the Mozah Bint Nasser Chair of Computer Science and Robotics to Raj Reddy, the Herbert A. Simon University Professor of Computer Science and Robotics in Carnegie Mellon’s School of Computer Science, who was instrumental in establishing the Qatar campus. The endowed professorship was a gift of the Qatar Foundation in honor of Her Highness Sheikha Mozah.

Reddy, a world leader in computer science and robotics for more than 25 years, is an expert in human-computer interaction and artificial intelligence. His current research projects include universal digital libraries, distance learning on demand and the pcTVT, a low-cost personal computer/television aimed at bridging the “digital divide” between the world’s poorest and richest countries.

“Her Highness Sheikha Mozah, through her wisdom, vision and leadership is transforming Qatar into a beacon of light in the region,” Reddy told the Gulf Times in Doha. “Her Highness Sheikha Mozah embodies the spirit of compassion and sacrifice. I salute her untiring efforts to improve the world we live in.”

While classes are currently being held in the Weill Cornell Medical College in Education City, plans are under way for a three-story, 400,000 square foot structure that will house Carnegie Mellon’s School of Business and Computer Science. The internationally renowned architectural firm Legorreta + Legorreta has been selected by the Qatar Foundation to design the facility. Principals of the firm are Ricardo Legorreta and his son Victor.


“Legorreta uses rich saturated colors for his designs for the sunny climates of Mexico and California, but has done projects all over the world,” says Kevin Lamb, assistant dean for planning operations at Carnegie Mellon in Qatar. “Legorreta’s architecture is at home in the Gulf Region.”

Lamb says the building, which is expected to be completed in fall 2007, will be constructed over a major pedestrian walkway on the Education City campus to engage faculty, staff and students from Carnegie Mellon, Cornell University, Virginia Commonwealth University and Texas A&M University, schools which have established branch campuses in Doha. A three-story atrium will include a coffee shop, bookstore, library and University Admissions office.

“In response to both the hot climate and Gulf building traditions, the new structure will be largely opaque on the south, east and west elevations,” says University Architect Paul Tellers. “Windows will face three-story landscaped courtyards that will be carved out of the mass of the building, and deep beams will span over the courtyards and the common areas to keep them in constant shade. The east and west entrances to the pedestrian commons will include water features, another Muslim building tradition.”

In keeping with the Education City master plan, Lamb says strong vibrant colors will not be used on the exterior of this Legorreta design. “The exterior walls will be clad in stone in a muted color to extend the campus feel of Education City, but inside we anticipate a lot of the rich color for which Legorreta is well known,” he says.


Related Links:
Carnegie Mellon in Qatar
Raj Reddy
New Campus Opens in Doha
University Pioneers Adjust to New Culture
Life in Qatar by Christina England