Talat Othman, one of the chief donors and organizing forces behind the lectureship, spoke of the significance of the award for speakers of Arabic outside academia. With his fellow donors Antoin Rezko, Albert Joseph and Jamal Alwattar listening, Othman explained that the Arab-American community is entering a more settled stage where “they feel comfortable contributing, more than ever, to society.
http://chronicle.uchicago.edu/020509/ibnrushd.shtml