An anonymous donor has given 500,000 dollars to the American University of Beirut for a doctoral engineering fellowship in the name of slain Industry Minister Pierre Gemayel, the university said Thursday.
“The donor felt it would be a good idea to donate to the engineering program since Pierre Gemayel used to be the minister of industry,” media relations officer Maha al-Azar said.

The donor said in a statement that “this gift promotes the interests of Lebanon and its future and honors Pierre Gemayel,” and added that he wanted to “help qualified students who want to pursue their PhD program at AUB.”

Students admitted into any of the AUB’s three PhD programs in engineering — electrical and computer engineering, mechanical engineering, and civil and environmental engineering — will be eligible for the fellowship.

Gemayel, 34, was killed by unidentified gunmen in the north Beirut suburb of Jdeideh on November 21. He was the son of former president Amine Gemayel and was the sixth critic of Syria to be killed over the past two years.(AFP)

Beirut, 07 Dec 06, 20:57