Kingdoms Apart Alma mater and a T-shirt

 Sometimes cultures are so different that there is no obvious way to bridge the gap. Then you find that humans share such similar traits, feelings, ideas that fundamentally, at some level, we are all the same.

 The formative years that many of the world’s population spend attending colleges and universities are times where gaps can be bridged. Young people share experiences and dreams that plow common ground and build fraternal bonds.  This is one of the great values of welcoming international students and faculty into our universities.  They build friendships that last a lifetime and become ambassadors and bridges to their alma mater and host country.  The gain deeper understanding from fellow students and wonderful mentors and generous hosts who welcome them into their homes.

 No two upbringings could be more different than a bedouin shepherd’s son and a middle class girl from California. We had in common love of science, engineering and running.  We were brought together by links to universities and the power of “alma mater”.  Here’s the story of our friendship.

 The President’s house at Lehigh was just a few yards from the office.  Walking down through “Leadership Plaza” always made me smile remembering some of the wonderful donors who have made Lehigh great.

 Sometimes, on days when I didn’t have a lunch meeting or was not eating in the faculty dining room, the Goose or a student residence, I walked home to grab a quick bite.  One such day, May 28, 2009, the FT was, as it often was, on the kitchen table ready to read. 

 As I put my cheese on sourdough in the toaster oven, Brad came in and said, “You think you have it bad, this guy can’t even go on a jog without the paparazzi taking his picture!”. 

 I looked and exclaimed, that’s our Minister!  That’s Ali Al-Naimi, an alum of Lehigh! 

 His Excellency Ali Al-Naimi was a God in the energy world.  As Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, he had significant clout.  While he never chaired OPEC, when he spoke, the whole world listened.  It was no wonder that photographers swarmed him when he went jogging or on one of his hikes.  He also graduated from Lehigh in 1962.

 My predecessor had tried to invite him to receive an honorary degree at Lehigh to no avail.  I went back and looked at the correspondence.  The “Dear Ali” letter had not even elicited a reply.  I immediately drafted a short note, first looking at the proper salutation for a minister:

He replied immediately with a testament to the “alma mater”:

 Dear Dr. Gast

 Thank you so much for the Lehigh T-shirt and for your kind letter.  It has been ages since I graduated from Lehigh; I still cherish all the nice memories of the University and the friendships I have made during my studies. 

 I hope the opportunity will come soon where I will be able to visit Lehigh and witness the immense changes that have evolved over the many years.

 Please accept my best wishes for success to the University.

 Sincerely,

 Ali I. Al-Naimi

 I wrote back to him expressing my desire to welcome him back to his alma mater... and to let him know that I had been invited to participate in the Global Competitiveness Forum hosted by the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority under the patronage of King Abdulla Bin Abdulaziz in Riyadh in late January 2010.  I asked to meet with him. 

 Not hearing back, I wrote again in December 2009 confirming my trip to Riyadh and asking to meet with him.  He wrote back inviting me to his office at the Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources.

California girl goes to Riyadh: Global Competitiveness Forum

 Thanks to my good friend and dynamic leader Deborah Wince Smith, I was invited  to speak on  “Blessed Unrest: Environmental Sustainability,”  at the Global Competitiveness Forum 2010, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, January 24-26, 2010. 

 Not knowing much about Saudi Arabia, I sought counsel from friends who had been there.  Riyadh was still very conservative at the time and I knew that I would need to cover up upon landing at the airport and to avoid contact with men.  

While in Singapore in early January, I had purchased an abaya on Arab street and a matching scarf.  They showed me how to wrap my head so that no hair showed.  Hiding hair in a black scarf seems to accentuate pink puffy old white-lady complexion.  Feeling old and out of place, I would use it as needed. 

 I checked into the Four Seasons Riyadh and was taken to my nice room.  The view across the city was dusty, smoggy and showing lines of traffic.  Those traffic lines seemed to persist day and night. I thought of going for a jog although realised that would be illegal.  I couldn’t go out by myself and couldn’t wear workout clothes.  The advertisements for the gym and spa were clearly aimed at men.  There was, at that point, nowhere to workout nor to relax except my room.  Years later I would use the Four Seasons “gym” for women - a small converted room with weights, mats, tea and blaring MTV.  The nearly obscene videos on MTV were ironic considering our isolation and their mores.

 I was certain that the conference itself would be more liberal and so I put on my most conservative suit, longish skirt and long sleeves, and put my abaya on top of it.  The ground floor was bustling with men in thobes and business suits.  I made my way into the main hall.  The religious police at the time had a muddy khaki coloured uniform with deep maroon trim and niqab for the women.  There eyes were stern and imposing.   I scooted past them in a group of people. 

 I found a table with another woman (there were about 5 of us western women at the conference) and found out that there was a women’s side to the auditorium and we were supposed to sit there.  The police came and asked us to move.  We refused. 

It was clear that, while I could force my way into the “mixed” side of the auditorium, there would be no removing my abaya.  I was dripping sweat by now and retreated back to my room to remove my suit and cool off.  Returning with abaya over underwear, I was more comfortable. (Years later on another visit to Princess Nourah University, all the women took off their abayas and I had only underwear so had to keep mine on!!) Live and learn?

 The conference was fairly interesting.  I also learned about their investment authority and their work to foster new enterprises and entrepreneurs. It was thrilling to see women winning the “fastest growing small business” award.  It was moving when they announced the winner and eyes welled up with tears as she took the stage.

Realising that we could do things as long as two of us women were together, a woman from the Sierra Club and I ventured out in a taxi to see the “old town” palace.   Old Riyadh is called Diriyah.  The mud-brick construction brings to mind the scenes of Elbonia in Dilbert.  There was a self-guided path through one of the buildings and we were the only tourists awakening a few guards along the circuit.  It was a bit creepy, the site of treachery and intrigue.  We kept our scarves on and explored.

The power of alma-mater

On the second day of the conference, I sat at a mixed table and met a kindly man who worked at KACST (King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology), their version of the NSF and National Labs.  Upon talking, we found that we both graduated from USC, he a few years after me in civil engineering.  He immediately invited me to dine with his family that evening to meet his wife and daughters.  Alma mater trumps Saudi protocol!

I also enjoyed sitting for part of the meeting on the women’s side.  We chatted at coffee breaks.  One very impressive young woman had recently graduated from Brown University and was glad to be back in the Kingdom pursuing a career in a small company.  She explained to me how she liked wearing an Abaya and sitting separately from the men.  She said it worked much better to be “under the radar screen” as you could get things done and the men didn’t concern themselves with you.  She worried that working side by side men would get more competitive and difficult.  What an enlightening opportunity to see her side of the culture.

So the time comes for me to meet His Excellency Minister Ali Al-Naimi.  I get my Abaya straightened out, work on wrapping my headscarf in some way that looks respectful but not like an old white lady pretending to be muslim.  Stray wisps of hair are a problem as well as it always slipping down.  I take the nonchalant beat reporter attitude that it can slip off a bit now and again.  I get in a black limo and head for the ministry. 

Greeted warmly by one of his right hand men, and escorted through wood lined corridors into an outer office, and nearly immediately welcomed by Naimi.  His warm handshake set me at ease and his enthusiasm and smile filled my heart. We sat in the corner of his office set up like a majalis with chairs all around.

 Naimi was effusive about KAUST,  King Abdullah University of Science and Technology, the first co-educational university in the Kingdom.  He was the King’s right hand man.  He was charged with building a new science and technology university to compete on the international stage. 

 He wanted my advice.  He wanted me on the President’s Advisory Committee and arranged for me to meet the Founding President, Choon Fong Shih, while I was in Riyadh.  He was excited about the connection between his alma mater and KAUST.

 Bedouin Shepherd boy

Ali Al Naimi’s story is a remarkable one.  His autobiography, Out of the Desert, is worth reading.  Even before he gathered his history into the compelling book, the anecdotes about him were legendary.  As a bedouin shepherd boy he went to school at Aramco got a job serving tea in the Aramco village. 

As he pursued various office jobs at Armco, he saw application to send children of employees to university.  He applied on his own behalf and went first to the American University Beirut, then to Lehigh for his degree in geology and on to Stanford for his Master’s degree.

His leadership in the Kingdom was pivotal. From his work on challenging Aramco projects like the giant oil fields of Shaybah in the Empty Quarter, through his path leading Aramco to his two decade long role as Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, Al-Naimi made a tremendous difference to the world. 

He was now in a whole new world, building a new co-educational science and technology university in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.  It was bold, daring, ambitious and challenging.  Al-Naimi mustered an excellent team from the Kingdom and around the world.

 I agreed to help with KAUST, joining the President’s Advisory Committee and then the Board of Trustees. 

 My goal at that visit with Al-Naimi in 2010 was to get him to agree to be our graduation speaker.  If planned for 2012, it would be his 50th reunion and his classmates were eager to see him.  It would also be a chance for Lehigh to celebrate one of its most successful and influential alumni.  Also, Ali Al-Naimi could enjoy seeing Lehigh again and sharing memories of his time there.

 Graduation speech

 I formally invited him to be our commencement speaker in 2012, and to celebrate his 50th reunion with us.  When announced, there were concerns.  We had just celebrated Lehigh’s 40th anniversary of admitting women in 1971.  We had enjoyed having Ellen Kullman of DuPont as the commencement speaker.  Never mind that, people said I couldn’t have a Saudi come on our anniversary (2011 was the true anniversary but the celebration team didn’t get organised until that Fall so were extending the festivities into 2012).

 I invited those protesting his selection to my office.  They said we couldn’t have a member of the Saudi Royal family as speaker.  We should boycott the ceremony.  I replied that he is not royal, he’s a bedouin shepherd boy who worked his way to tremendous leadership positions.  He is working tirelessly to build a coeducational science and technology university in the Kingdom. If you don’t support those trying to change the Kingdom you’re doing the world a disservice.   He is not coming to represent the Kingdom, he coming as an alumnus on his 50th reunion, speaking to fellow students graduating fifty years after him.

I predicted that they would love him. Fortunately, no protests were staged and, indeed, as I introduced him to many of the faculty as we gathered to prepare to march into the stadium, his warm charming diminutive persona captured their hearts.  Everyone did love him.

 We had a wonderful visit the bright sunny day before graduation with a tour of campus and Al-Naimi’s old residence and reunion with some fellow geologists.  Al Naimi told some stories about his classmates and a wonderful family who took him in over holidays. 

Graduation morning arrived.  It was pouring rain with the threat of thunder and lightning.  I found out that we had no contingency plan using the field house.  We already had seating for people needing assistance in the field house but no way to move the ceremony.  That’s the last year that was going to be the case... It was about to be called off when, studying weather maps, we could see that is was passing.  We went ahead. 

As I opened the ceremony, I started by saying  “it can stop raining now”.  It did.  We had a wonderful ceremony, and Al Naimi directed his message to the couple thousand students in front of him.  He sent them off telling them to “go make a difference”.  It was joyous.

 After the ceremony I joined a group from the KAUST board in a helicopter (we rarely let helicopters land at Lehigh but there was plenty of room on Mountain Top).  We headed into New York to work on the search for the next KAUST president.  My visits to the Kingdom and work with KAUST and NEOM, riding on a camel in Shaybah, visiting Nabatean sites in the North were incredible experiences.  I’ll post those stories soon.