By Ross Jackson/Staff Reporter
Texas A&M University at Qatar (TAMUQ) has bestowed an honorary doctorate upon HE Abdullah bin Hamad al-Attiyah, Deputy Premier and Chief of the Emiri Diwan, in recognition of his 30 years serving the oil and gas industry, his patronage of academics and the pivotal role he played in bringing Texas A&M to Qatar. Speaking at TAMUQ’s commencement event yesterday evening, Texas A&M at Qatar dean and chief executive Mark H Weichold said: “Texas A&M at Qatar is honoured to recognise His Excellency Minister al-Attiyah for his enduring support of the University. He has distinguished himself for his significant contributions to the development of Qatar and its energy and industrial sectors, particularly in building Qatar’s engineering community and creating the strong educational support needed to produce quality engineers. We wish to thank him for his steadfast patronage.” The deputy premier described how TAMUQ came to be.“(Wife of HH the Emir) HH Sheikha Moza (bint Nasser) asked me to visit College Station (Texas A&M Campus) to meet them (the Texas A&M administrators) and to convince these guys to come to Qatar.“So I went in 2003. I tried to convince them, to give them the message from Her Highness, ‘Why don’t you come to Qatar?’ They started to [tell] me, ‘how about technical services or research?’ And I tried to pretend not to hear them.”Al-Attiyah continued: “In the tour of the university, I was astonished to see they have one of the best safety colleges in the world, and I decided ‘why not have one in Ras Laffan?’”Upon returning to Doha, al-Attiyah met the relevant advisers and leaders.“I’m very proud that today, we’ve built one of the best safety colleges in the Middle East, and I hope that it will be the best in the world too.”The college will be in operation next year, in partnership with Texas A&M. Texas A&M president R Bowen Loftin marked the importance of the nomination, which came with tremendous faculty enthusiasm, by saying: “Universities around the world hold the degrees they grant as their most sacred asset. “On special occasions, universities present a degree of honour to individuals whose achievements are truly extraordinary. Such is the case with tonight’s honoree.”Quoting the nomination letter, he said: “He is a role model and a source of inspiration for our students. He is an employer of our graduates, he is a patron of our research and he is a benefactor of many university outreach and engagement programmes.”