AUS Chancellor highlights Sharjah's leadership in compassion-based research at Muhammad Ali Center

Chancellor Tod Laursen joins Lonnie Ali in Louisville to discuss crisis leadership and share early regional insights from the Muhammad Ali Index

Sharjah, UAE, 2 September 2026 — American University of Sharjah's (AUS) Chancellor Dr. Tod Laursen recently joined Lonnie Ali, Co-Founder, President and CEO of the Muhammad Ali Center, for a high-level conversation in Louisville, Kentucky, exploring how compassion can shape leadership, institutional decision making and civic wellbeing during periods of conflict and uncertainty.

Hosted at the Muhammad Ali Center for an audience of civic, business and community leaders, the event marked the latest milestone in a partnership formalized in February 2026 in the presence of Her Highness Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, President and Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of AUS. The partnership brought Sharjah into the center's global network as the first international city to contribute to the Muhammad Ali Index, a research-and-action platform that measures and strengthens compassion in everyday life. 

Launched in 2025 as a 12-city US pilot, the index combines original research, AI tools, local insight and its proprietary Net Compassion Score to assess how compassion is experienced, how trust is built and how communities come together across differences. In 2026, the index expanded to 20 US cities, with Sharjah becoming its first international city partner.

Through the partnership, AUS and the Muhammad Ali Center are advancing joint research and a dedicated compassion report for Sharjah. The work will generate internationally benchmarked insights designed to help leaders, institutions and communities strengthen trust, inclusion and social cohesion.

During the conversation in Louisville, Chancellor Laursen reflected on the responsibility of leading a diverse university community in a region where experiences of conflict vary widely.

"Part of it was realizing that you had a range of emotions out there, a range of experiences, and people's feelings were very different," said Chancellor Laursen. "Having the flexibility as a leader to be empathetic, to hear out what's bothering them and try to be responsive where you can, is important in all this."

The conversation also provided an early look at findings from the Muhammad Ali Index's international study, which is scheduled to debut as part of the initiative's global launch in 2027. According to the Muhammad Ali Center, early findings across the Middle East and North Africa include the following:

• Faith-based organizations and networks across denominations are serving as reliable crisis-response infrastructure during migration, political instability and economic disruption.
• Gulf states are increasingly directing wealth toward long-term social investment and soft power, positioning themselves as stable, values-driven actors amid global volatility.
• Across the Middle East and North Africa, seeking help is increasingly viewed as a sign of strength, signaling a gradual cultural shift.
• Communities across the region are supporting migrant populations and vulnerable groups through informal safety nets.

Chancellor Laursen said the research aims to equip mayors, civic leaders and sheikhs with data-backed, actionable recommendations that can be applied in culturally responsive ways. He also credited Her Highness Sheikha Bodour for recognizing AUS' ability to translate research into practical impact through its strong relationships across Sharjah.

"She knew that we would have an opportunity as an institution, with our strong relationships across Sharjah, to have this not just be a piece of work that goes on the shelf, but something that we could actually act on and respond to," he said.

Lonnie Ali emphasized the importance of higher education and student engagement in advancing a more compassionate future.

"I think it's through them that we will see a turn in the tide in the way USA is going and the way the world is going, because they don't want to live in conflict all of their lives or at odds with people," she said.

The Louisville conversation reinforced AUS' role in connecting globally benchmarked research with the values, institutions and lived experience of Sharjah, while extending Muhammad Ali's legacy of compassion into leadership, education and civic action.