DAKRI FAMILY GIFT SUPPORTS UH’S NEW CENTER FOR ECONOMIC INCLUSION

DAKRI FAMILY GIFT

SUPPORTS UH’S NEW CENTER FOR ECONOMIC INCLUSION

The Dakri family has pledged $4 million to support the University of Houston’s new Center for Economic Inclusion (CEI) in the C. T. Bauer College of Business. Launched in May, the CEI’s programs build on Bauer’s award-winning SURESM program (Stimulating Urban Renewal through Entrepreneurship), which trains students in business development while simultaneously educating and enabling under-resourced entrepreneurs in the community to launch businesses. In recognition of the gift, the center will be called the Musa and Khaleda Dakri Center for Economic Inclusion. The gift establishes an endowed chair to support the center’s chair/director position and an endowed professorship to expand the institute’s research priorities, which includes research on small business entrepreneurship. It also provides significant support for research costs and graduate research fellowships for students. “We are honored to offer our support for the Center for Economic Inclusion. The work done by Dr. Saleha Khumawala and the University of Houston has been life changing for so many in the Houston area. We hope that this gift will allow countless others within our community to achieve their goals regardless of their socioeconomic status,” said Asif Dakri. Longtime supporters of the University of Houston, the Dakri family is committed to helping solve problems across ethnic boundaries, working for the betterment of the African American, Mexican American and South Asian communities. An endowment in UH’s Center for Mexican American and Latino/a Studies named for Musa and Khaleda, for example, provides support for student scholarships, research and more.