ARAB UNIVERSITIES AND SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Abstract

The concept of social responsibility is no longer limited to charitable and voluntary activity, but in fact it has become a broader and more comprehensive concept that includes solutions to the eco-nomic, social and environmental problems of societies. Moreover, sustainable development cannot be achieved in isolation from the close relationship between higher education, its institutions and society. Universities are essential as a pillar of society, as they play a pivotal role in raising awareness of social responsibility among their students, faculty and other employees, in a way that causes them to act as so-cial personalities who defend collective perspectives and do not choose to embrace individual thinking.Accordingly, the current research paper aims to provide a conceptual framework that clarifies the role of social responsibility of universities in sustainable development, dealing with the concept of social responsibility and its various aspects. The paper presents a number of recommendations that ensure that universities are strengthened in the social responsibility that is expected to achieve and support sustain-able development efforts.The programs provided as an example to Future University in Egypt must also meet social needs, instead of expressing a purely economic perspective, they should contribute to the sustainable develop-ment of the context in which the university operates.

Keywords

• social responsibility
• universities
• institutions of higher education
• sustainable develop-ment
• social responsibility of the university
• education
• quality of education
• voluntary commitment