On 28 May 2008 the University of Oxford launched “The Campaign for the University of Oxford” which seeks to raise £1.25 billion for: supporting students; academic posts and programmes; and infrastructure and buildings. The University announced a number of significant gifts including from Wafic Saïd who is creating a Strategic Development Fund for the Saïd Business School with a capital value of £25 million. The Fund will support initiatives and opportunities at the School which are of strategic value in its development.
This gift is in addition to the £15 million pledged by Wafic Saïd for the Phase II building at the School which will enable the School to meet its ambitious plans for the expansion of its activities. The design of the new building by world-renowned architects Dixon and Jones has been agreed and construction work will begin shortly.
Professor Colin Mayer, Peter Moores Dean of the Saïd Business School, said: “We are enormously grateful to Mr Saïd for his generous ongoing support of the School. This Strategic Development Fund will allow us to advance our goal of establishing the School as a truly exceptional institution. The Business School is an integral part of one of the best known universities in the world and as such it is able to provide a depth and breadth of education and research that few other business schools are able to match. This Strategic Development Fund will ensure that it is able to offer its faculty, students, staff and corporate partners the excellence in service that can be expected of a leading global school.”
Wafic Saïd commented: “The Business School is hugely successful but compared to other world class business schools it is still in its infancy. Its alumni body is too small and too young to provide the critical support which the School’s competitors receive from their alumni. The new building will play a vital role in the School’s development but I am conscious that there are other important projects which need funding. The purpose of the Strategic Development Fund is to provide seed money for initiatives which will make the greatest difference to the School’s successful development.”