Recently released photos by the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) show King Salman at the King Saud University roughly 40 years ago, as the then-prince assisted in shaping the Riyadh-based University to be what it is today.
King Saud University (KSU) is billed as “the premier institution of higher education in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Prince Fahd was the first Saudi minister of education, and in 1957, announced the founding of King Saud University with Royal Decree No. 17. For some time, it became known as the University of Riyadh, but then reverted back to its original name in 1981.”
KSU’s central library is named after King Salman, and the King also has an entrepreneurship program named after him.
According to KSU’s website, students began studying in the College of Arts in the 1957-58 academic year. Since that time, KSU has gone through many stages of development. Between 1958 and 1960, three colleges were established: the College of Sciences, the College of Business (now the College of Public Administration) and the College of Pharmacy.
The University has a reported endowment of $2.7 billion. The massive King Saud Medical City is affiliated with King Saud university, and is considered one of the top medical schools in the region.