Cal State San Bernardino has received a $200,000 donation that it will use to establish the Edward Said Endowed Lecture Series.
The gift, from local philanthropist Mustafa Milbis and his wife Beatriz, will fund annual discussion by experts on contemporary Palestine, according to a statement on the school’s website.
Cal State San Bernardino’s College of Social and Behavioral Sciences and its Center for the Study of Arab and Muslim Worlds will oversee the lectures, which is named after the late Columbia University professor who advocated for a Palestinian state and was a critic of Israel.
Said, who wrote more than 20 books, was also critical of Islamic governments that acted against their people’s interests. He died in 2003.
Milbis serves on Cal State San Bernardino’s Philanthropic Foundation Board and the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences Development Council, according to the statement.