NYU (New York University) has completed an agreement with representatives of the Emirate of
Abu Dhabi to create “NYU Abu Dhabi,” the first comprehensive liberal arts campus
to be operated abroad by a major U.S. research university.  This campus, when
completed, is expected to serve upwards of 2,000 students, principally from the
Middle East, South Asia, Central Asia, and Europe.  Site selection and campus
planning will begin soon, and we expect to start operations at the campus in 2010.

The commitment by both parties is to build a U.S.-style, research
university-focused, educational experience.  NYU Abu Dhabi will be a residential
research university overseen by New York-based faculty and senior administrators
and built with academic quality and practices conforming to the same standards
as those at NYU’s Washington Square campus, including our standards of academic
freedom.  A state-of-the-art campus – including classrooms, library and
information technology facilities, laboratories, academic buildings, faculty
housing, dormitories, and athletic and performance facilities – will be
developed by the Executive Affairs Authority of Abu Dhabi to designs and
standards agreed upon by NYU.  The costs of planning, designing, and building
the campus and all expenses related to the operation of NYU Abu Dhabi will be
assumed by the government of Abu Dhabi. 

While the programs will follow a liberal arts model, this is not to say that we
will feel compelled to replicate every detail of the current program at
Washington Square.  Rather, working with our faculty, we have the opportunity to
create an innovative educational experience true to our ideals and standards.
And Abu Dhabi officials are committed to working with us on building research
opportunities and graduate programs at NYU Abu Dhabi.

NYU Abu Dhabi will also present new research and teaching opportunities for our
faculty, and it will keep us in the forefront of intellectual, cultural, and
educational institutions, many of which have been drawn to this region of the
world.

NYU President Sexton