Ismail Serageldin

Honorary Degree Recipient

Doctor of Laws

College of Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Sciences, March 24, 2005

Ismail Serageldin is described as a distinguished internationalist who has worked tirelessly to improve the lives of poor and hungry people in the less developed parts of the world. Born in Egypt, educated at Cairo University and Harvard University, he has worked in a number of capacities at the World Bank since 1972. His first appointment was as an economist in the area of education and human resource development. Later, he was appointed as Division Chief for Technical Assistance and Special Studies and then as Vice President for Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development. As Vice President, he chaired an international consortium (Consultative Group on International Agriculture Research) responsible for the funding and management of a system comprised of 15 international agricultural institutes. He founded the Global Water Partnership and the World Water Council. He served as chair of the World Commission on Water for the 21st Century. He also founded the Consultative Group to Assist the Poorest (CGAP), a large multi-donor program established to promote best practices in provision of micro-finance services for the poor. Currently, he serves as the Director of the Library of Alexandria where he has succeeded in transforming it into a modern center of knowledge, learning, scientific and cultural understanding. He is the author of numerous books, monographs, papers, journal articles, and book chapters. He has received honorary doctorates from over 15 academic institutions and is the recipient of many other prestigious awards.

Biographies are as-of time of award presentation.