The newly launched Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud Center for American Studies and Research (CASAR) has the dual challenge of creating more understanding of American culture and society and dispelling misconceptions in a world that views the United States with a high degree of skepticism.

Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal, whose gift served as a catalyst for the establishment of the center, described it as “one pillar of a bridge connecting the divide between the United States and the Arab world.”

The center will serve as a catalyst for independent research in American studies both within the university and with the outside community through an outreach component.

In addition to organizing conferences, lectures and short courses on various features of American society and culture, the center plans to expand the academic curriculum at AUC in American studies and create an information resource tool.

The outreach component of the center includes the education and training of coming generations of Egyptian and Arab scholars, diplomats, journalists and citizens so that they will be better equipped to understand various facets of American society, culture and politics; to provide intellectual and information resources to support those wishing to study the United States more fully; and to provide and facilitate informed, intellectual exploration of American phenomena by various groups and individuals in Egypt and the Arab world.