Noura Al-Fayez

Saudi Arabia's first female university president who broke gender barriers in education and public service

Noura Al-Fayez (b. 1968) made history as the first woman to lead a university in Saudi Arabia when she became president of King Faisal University in 2014. A neurology professor and advocate for women's rights, she pioneered coeducational reforms allowing female students to attend classes with male peers for the first time. Her leadership expanded female enrollment in STEM fields from 18% to 45% during her tenure. Al-Fayez also spearheaded the Saudi Vision 2030 education initiatives, creating women-only research centers and digital learning platforms. Despite facing backlash, she maintained a public presence advocating for women's driver's licenses and workplace equality. Her 2018 TEDx talk 《Breaking Barriers in Saudi Education》 has over 500k views. Al-Fayez currently advises UNESCO on gender policies and chairs the King Faisal University Gender Empowerment Council. Her work is chronicled in the documentary 《Saudi Sisters: The Noura Al-Fayez Story》 (2022).