Why I Give: George Faris
George Faris takes LAU’s mission seriously. He was drawn to LAU because it is “a student-centered university where fairness, social justice, coexistence and democratic values are taught and practiced.” That LAU offers its students an “American college education without regard to the student’s social background, ethnicity or religion,” is especially meaningful to Dr. Faris. Passionate about education, he has been directly involved in steering LAU towards institutional excellence for over a decade. Dr. Faris has served as chairman of both the Board of Trustees and Board of International Advisors, first becoming involved when Dr. Nassar was president of the university.
While a long-time resident of New York, Dr. Faris’ roots are Lebanese. He was born in Jadayel, a small town outside of Jbeil and left Lebanon in 1958 to attend Purdue University, where he received degrees in aerospace and mechanical engineering. He worked in the oil industry for most of his career but, after retiring in 2002, he founded Hudson Financial Partners, an investment banking firm where he acts as chairman. Dr. Faris and his wife, Claudia, reside in New York City and have two children, Ron and Danielle.
Having just completed a term as Chairman of the Board of Trustees, Dr. Faris continues to be an active member of LAU’s Board, serving as chairman of the Audit Committee. A generous donor to the University, he is committed to making a premier LAU education available to as many students in the region as possible. “The future of our world depends primarily on our youth,” he said, and “providing our youth with a first-class American education” has been a major motivation for his involvement with LAU. “LAU is positioned to play a big part in this endeavor and I am pleased to have taken an active role for so many years.”
