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A foundation started by prominent Indian-American IT entrepreneur Frank Islam and his wife Debbie Driesman will fund a fellowship in the US for a mid-career journalist from India for six months in 2017.

The Frank Islam & Debbie Driesman Foundation, whose mission is to promote education, art and culture and peace and conflict-resolution, is joining hands with Alfred Friendly Press Partners, a leader in transforming journalists from information hungry societies, for the fellowship .

Close on the heels of his appointment three months ago as a member of the Advisory Board of the Export-Import Bank, Indian American entrepreneur and investor Frank F Islam has been appointed as a member of the Obama Administration’s Industry Trade Advisory Committee on Small and Minority Business.

Commerce Secretary Gary Locke and US Trade Representative Ron Kirk, in a jointly-signed letter said his appointment would be for four years, said, “We look forward to working with you in developing and implementing trade policies that serve your industry and the national interest.”

The ITAC jointly administered by the Commerce Department and USTR- provides a public-private forum “to ensure that industry has a voice in formulating the trade policy of the United States.”

Islam told rediff.com that “I am just elated, honoured and humbled to serve on this Committee because it is a great opportunity for an Indian American in the private sector to offer advice on and be a part in helping to shape trade policies of the Obama administration.” Read More

Noted entrepreneur and AMU alumnus, Frank F Islam, Chairman and CEO of FI Investment Group, USA and his wife Debbie Driesman on Friday laid the foundation stone of Frank and Debbi Islam Management Complex to be built near Sir Syed House inside the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) campus.

At a press conference following the foundation stone laying ceremony, Frank Islam showered praise on his alma mater and said that he is in AMU because of a common commitment and a shared belief with the rest of the AMU community.

“Without AMU, I would not have been where I am today,” Frank Islam said while stating that his donation of US$ 2 million to build the new School of Management Complex and endow a ‘Chair for entrepreneurship and innovation at AMU’ is his way of paying back to AMU.

He added that Sir Syed Ahmad Khan once said that ‘from the seed which we sow today there may spring up a mighty tree’ and with the quote, Islam assured the gathering that this Management Complex will one day become that tree and its branches will spread everywhere.

Islam said that this is a kind of university we can build and expand together and one day the students of this Management Complex will be future leaders. “However, all of this was not possible without the support and determination of AMU Vice Chancellor, Lt General Zameer Uddin Shah (retd)”, he said. Read More

ALIGARH May 22: A US based non-profit organization “The Frank Islam and Debbie Driesman Foundation” (FIDDF) has released a sum of Rs. 1.5 crore as the first installment to the Aligarh Muslim University for the construction of a new Management Complex which will house Frank and Debbie Islam Department of Management and Faculty of Management Studies and Research. Mr. Frank Islam is an alumnus of this University.

AMU has already earmarked three acres of land near its founder’s house. The total project including the establishment of an endowed chair for entrepreneurship, innovation, corporate responsibility and business etc is estimated to cost 3 million dollar of which one million dollar will be contributed by the Aligarh Muslim University and two million dollars will be contributed by FIDDF in nine installments. The Aligarh Muslim University has already signed a Memorandum of Understanding with FIDDF to this effect.Read More

In a rapidly changing, global marketplace, the Smith School is preparing savvy business leaders who think critically and creatively, work collaboratively and improve the markets and communities they serve. It’s home to outstanding faculty with real-world experience, cutting-edge research and lots of connections. Your support helps the school challenge students to become entrepreneurs and to open them to a world of opportunities, such as an internship at a Fortune 500 company, a startup, one of its respected research centers on campus or a D.C. consulting firm. Smith School students graduate ready to become agents of economic prosperity and social change.

The Frank Islam and Debbie Driesman Foundation is providing a $15,000 grant to the Montgomery College Foundation to support the 2013-2014 Athenaeum Symposia, an annual lecture series held at the Germantown Campus. The grant funds will enable the College to bring nearly a dozen nationally known experts to talk about timely issues in international affairs, the arts, politics, and economics. To recognize the generous support of the foundation, the lecture series will be named the Frank Islam Athenaeum Symposia for the 2013-2014 academic year.

Islam will give the first lecture, “Working the Pivot Points: To Make America Work Again,” at 7 p.m. on September 10, 2013, and will be followed by a reception. The lecture will take place in Globe Hall located in the High Technology and Science Center.Read More