World swimming chief to be named honorary dean of Olympic graduate school in Seoul

World Aquatics President Husain Al Musallam delivers his speech during the cornerstone laying of the new World Aquatics headquarters in Budapest, Hungary, Oct. 7. EPA-Yonhap

Global swimming chief Husain Al Musallam will be named the first honorary dean of an Olympic-focused graduate school in Seoul this week, officials announced Thursday.

The International Sport Strategy Foundation (ISF) and Kookmin University said they will co-host Friday's ceremony to unveil Al Musallam as the honorary dean of Kookmin's Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) Graduate School of Sustainability and ESG.

The ceremony on the university's Seoul campus will be part of an international forum by ISF and the university, to be held under the theme "The Future of a Sustainable Olympic Movement in Asia."

Al Musallam is president of the World Aquatics, the global swimming governing body, and also serves as director general of the OCA. He will give a keynote speech on Asia Olympic Movement at the forum.

The graduate school is the first educational institution certified by the OCA. It offers one-year master's programs in ESG management or public policy, while teaching courses such as "Strategic Management in the Olympics," "Olympics and International Development" and "Global Administration of the Olympic and Paralympic Games" The school opened after the OCA, ISF and Kookmin University reached an agreement in October 2021 on offering Asian Olympic Academy programs in Korea.

ISF and Kookmin University said Al Musallam's appointment will further strengthen their cooperation with the OCA.