Georgetown University announced last week that the new building now being completed for its McDonough School of Business will be named in honor of a late Lebanese leader thanks to a generous gift made to the school.
McDonough received a $20 million gift to name the new building in memory of the late Rafik B. Hariri, a two-time prime minister of Lebanon who was a renowned philanthropist and dedicated supporter of education. The gift was made by Hariri’s son, Saad Hariri, the newly designated prime minister of Lebanon and a 1992 McDonough alumnus.
The gift will help cover final construction costs for the building, which will open for classes for all business school students this September. The gift also will create two endowed scholarships, one each for an undergraduate and graduate student.
“This gift will make a tremendous difference in our ongoing efforts to enhance Georgetown’s global business education programs,” Georgetown President John DeGioia said in a statement. “I am deeply grateful to the Hariri family for their generosity in supporting two of our most important priorities — building and maintaining first-class facilities and providing financial aid for students to study at Georgetown.”
Rafik Hariri was a dominant figure who sought for decades to bring peace and democracy to Lebanon before his assassination in 2005. He served as prime minister from 1992 to 1998 and again from 2000 to 2004, during which time one of his primary achievements was ensuring that Beirut, the capital, was rebuilt and restored after Lebanon’s 15-year civil war.
A self-made billionaire who made his fortune in the construction industry, Rafik Hariri also was a dedicated philanthropist and supporter of education. Thirty years ago he founded the nonprofit Hariri Foundation, which has helped tens of thousands of Lebanese students attend institutions of higher learning at home and abroad. The Hariri Foundation-USA, located in Bethesda, MD, has helped thousands of Lebanese scholars advance their studies at more than 300 colleges and universities in North America.
“Saad Hariri’s generosity to Georgetown will establish a lasting tribute to his father and result in a world-class facility for our business students and faculty,” George Daly, dean of Georgetown’s McDonough School of Business, said in a statement. “We are excited about the opportunities this new state-of-the-art building will provide to our community members as they engage in the many facets of a business education.”
The new Rafik B. Hariri Building, a 179,000-square-foot facility located in the center of Georgetown’s campus, will be home to the McDonough School of Business beginning this fall. It will feature seminar, lecture and conference rooms; a 400-seat auditorium; eight case rooms and common areas for both undergraduate and graduate students.
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