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Ribbon Cutting and Symposium Mark Opening of 19 Washington Square North

Historic Townhouse To Serve As Gateway To NYU Abu Dhabi

Press Release

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.”

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 is the first comprehensive liberal arts and research campus in the Middle East to be operated abroad by a major American research university. NYU Abu Dhabi has integrated a highly selective undergraduate curriculum across the disciplines with a world center for advanced research and scholarship. The university enables its students in the sciences, engineering, social sciences, humanities, and arts to succeed in an increasingly interdependent world and advance cooperation and progress on humanity’s shared challenges. NYU Abu Dhabi’s high-achieving students have come from over 115 countries and speak over 115 languages. Together, NYU's campuses in New York, Abu Dhabi, and Shanghai form the backbone of a unique global university, giving faculty and students opportunities to experience varied learning environments and immersion in other cultures at one or more of the numerous study-abroad sites NYU maintains on six continents.