VCU news

By Majodleen Till and Pamela DiSalvo Lepley

DOHA, Qatar – Graduates of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts in Qatar were told today that they are a part of a large vision for Qatar and the Gulf Region.

“All of us continue to be very excited about the VCU School of the Arts in Qatar,” said VCU President Dr. Eugene P. Trani.  “This school, and your class – the third graduating class – are an inspiration for higher education and the benefits of collaboration everywhere.”

VCU-Qatar is the result of a partnership between VCU and the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development, which is building an Education City in Doha, a private university with branch campuses of some of the world’s top universities.  VCU, with one of the leading arts and designs schools in the United States, was chosen to establish a program at Education City to place women at the forefront of the design industry of the region by offering degrees in fashion design, graphic design and interior design.

Sporting the sophisticated academic regalia of VCU-Qatar, which combines Western and Arabic traditions and which was designed by the first graduating class of the fashion design program, 29 students received their Bachelor of Fine Arts Degrees.  There are 150 students enrolled at VCU-Qatar, all from the Middle East and all female.  They are taught by 26 faculty, most of them from the VCU main campus in Richmond, Va.

“VCU-Qatar was the first university to establish a campus at Education City, and our partnership has once again born fruit through the achievements of these young women who will be a great asset to our society in the years to come,” said Mohammed Al Henzab, acting managing director of the Qatar Foundation. 

VCU-Qatar focuses on providing market sensitive education to its graduates to integrate them into the design industry of the region.  VCU officials said today’s graduates already have an opportunity to put their education into practical use.  “The 2004 graduates are perfectly placed to make a major contribution to the design of the Asian games in Doha.  All areas of design are needed for the Asian games and VCU-Qatar feels fortunate that such an opportunity is available to our graduates,” said Dr. Richard A. Toscan, dean of the VCU School of the Arts and vice-provost of VCU-Qatar.

The commencement speaker for the event was Sylvia Harris, a renowned information design consultant, who is a VCU alumna with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Master of Fine Arts from Yale University. 

VCU-Qatar operates under approvals of the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia (SCHEV), the Virginia General Assembly and the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools’ Commission (SACS).