King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, appointed four new university presidents on Thursday. According to the Royal Order, Abdullah Al-Rabeesh was appointed as the President of the University of Dammam, Abdulrahman Al-Asemi as the President of the University of Al-Kharj, Saeed Al-Mullah as the President of the University of Shaqraa, and Khaled Al-Miqren as the President of the University of Al-Majma'h. The new universities were founded by the King last September. Newly-appointed President of the University of Dammam said that his university, with its 25 colleges, was previously annexed to and supervised by King Faisal University in Ahsa. “Now the University of Dammam is fully independent,” Al-Rabeesh said, following his appointment. The new university, however, will maintain its original mission of advancing the studies of science, health, administration, and humanities, he said. The University of Al-Kharj, which has started from scratch, will work to accommodate the high school graduates of the region, said Al-Asemi, its new president. The university hopes to decrease the migration of locals to metropolitan cities for higher education, he said. “The university will create its departments based on the needs of the labor market,” he added. Meanwhile, the King appointed Abdullah Al-Battal as the Undersecretary of the Interior Ministry, on Thursday.
