Lights, Camera, Education

An architectural rendering of the studio being built on the upper campus

The studio’s control room is equipped with state-of-the-art technology.

By the grace of God, the Saleh family came forward with the specific desire to endow a studio for Zaytuna College to facilitate the production of a higher level of online content and learning. This gracious gift was made in honor of the late Medhat Toufic Saleh, a son, brother, and dear friend to many in the San Francisco Bay Area. From the outset, the Zaytuna A/V team aimed for flexibility and scalability, so the building of a functional studio space coincided with expanding a dedicated classroom in the Bin Bayyah building on the Upper Campus. This location, in the building that the College uses for most of its classes, means that students near and far can benefit from the enhanced classroom, a beautiful legacy for Brother Medhat. The studio-classroom is designed with a multicamera system, an interactive display for use as a classroom visual aid, and a green screen that will allow for the in-house production of infographic content. The furnishings lend themselves to a variety of uses. The classroom desks are individualized yet designed to come together as a communal table for discussions and group work. The room also features comfortable benches toward the back of the room for observers of classes and presentations. By renovating a classroom into a studio, the College maximizes the use of existing space and, with continued support, can upgrade other classrooms as needed. This state-ofthe-art studio is a critical component of our online learning initiative, which aims to bring Zaytuna to the homes and classrooms of seekers of knowledge across the globe. May God reward the Saleh family for establishing the Medhat Toufic Saleh Memorial Fund, which provided the seed investment to build a high-tech multimedia studio at the College.