Learn. Live. Hope. A year like no other - American University of Beirut
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10 14 20 28
100 years of women students at AUB A professor explains Lebanon’s A milestone for the University AUBMC’s massive vaccination program
currency crisis Scholarship Program
Fall 2021, Vol. XIX, No. 2
Learn. Live. Hope.
A year like no other.
Aiducation.
Firas Hatoum was raised in Aley, where he attended the
Universal College of Aley. The son of AUB alumni who met
at AUB, Firas grew up hearing stories about student life on
campus and always knew that he wanted to attend AUB.
He also grew up hearing about the Civic Welfare League,
a student club that he now leads as club president.
Firas especially enjoys “meeting other students from
different cultural backgrounds.” He also values the education
he is receiving and the opportunities that AUB provides for
personal growth and development. A third-year student
who is working toward a degree in medical laboratory
sciences, Firas is planning to apply to medical school after
he graduates—moving one step closer to his dream of
becoming a cardiothoracic surgeon. Another dream of his is
“to give back to the community a little of what I was lucky
to get as a recipient of AUB financial aid.”
Firas has received generous support from several
donor‑funded scholarships: the Adib Kouteili Scholarship,
the WAAAUB–Abu Dhabi Chapter Endowed Scholarship,
and the Aziz Stephan Scholarship.
To speak to someone about supporting financial aid, contact us at giving@aub.edu.lb or make a gift at give.aub.edu.lb
MainGate Fall 2021
Contents Vol. XIX, No. 2
2 Views from Campus
Letter from the President
Inspiration & Discovery 4-26
AUB people, student life, the liberal arts,
and research
Back to school with fresh and familiar faces; AUB’s first
female Vice President of Administration and Chief
of Staff; Women making history at AUB; Making sense
of a currency in crisis; The rich legacy of Lebanon’s cedar
trees; Changing lives with scholarships and financial aid;
Arabic calligraphy in design
Health and medicine
Health and Wellness 27-32 AUB fights COVID-19 one shot at a time; What to do
about sudden cardiac arrest; Developing medicine for
genetic disease
Community 33 Featured alumni, class notes
In Memoriam 42
Letter from the president 2 3
Inbox
8 18 22 42
Volunteers step in with everything The handling of Phoenician glass Restoring and rebuilding Beirut’s The psychological complications
from a broom to engineering expertise shattered by the Beirut Port blast unique cultural heritage of post-traumatic stress
Fall 2021/Winter 2022, Vol. XIX, No. 1
Learn. Live. Hope.
A year like no other.
Dear MainGate readers,
We’re delighted to present this fall issue of The MainGate—a reflection on the many facets
of the AUB community. As befits these straitened times, we are publishing in a smaller
more economical format for this and near-future editions, but we hope our far-flung readers
Views from Campus
Cover
will also find their way to the digital edition of MainGate when we launch our new platform Gathering for postponed
Commencement Exercises
in the spring. on the Green Field track;
September 2021
In reading these pages about the complexity of AUB life, you will find both the difficult and Photo by Martin Asser
the sublime, a deep dive into the Lebanese currency crisis and the exuberant opening days
on campus with students once again filling the pathways and robed graduates celebrating
their delayed and much yearned for commencements. You’ll go back in time with the
Dear readers, and we must strive to live up to that, our friends across the globe. Lebanese cedars and Arabic calligraphy as well as see the recent appointment of AUB’s
including doing everything possible The dangerous games played by first female vice president for administration and the herculean effort that has brought the
You can be assured that throughout the
to return our students stranded in political actors in Lebanon and abroad COVID-19 vaccine to almost 100 percent of the community.
crises of the past three years, the board
Afghanistan, to serve our diverse must not be allowed to impair the
of trustees, university leadership, and I With this issue we say goodbye to executive editor, Martin Asser, who was first introduced
learning community during the continuity of AUB’s teaching and
have listened, debated, and deliberated to the magazine after seeing it on his in-laws’ coffee table in London many years ago, and
Lebanese crisis so that it continues healing missions. The severe economic
This letter is how to forge a path forward for this who went on to oversee its publication from 2015-2021. We will miss his gift for storytelling
excerpted from its journey of discovery, all while collapse has left more than 74 percent of
most precious of universities, one whose and his delight over unearthing a particularly rich aspect of university life, and we thank
Dr. Fadlo Khuri’s continuously improving our educational Lebanese below the poverty line; they Back Cover
opening remarks existence provides diversity, hope, him for his elegance in editing. Nicely Hall
standards. We will reinvigorate the are no longer able to pay full tuition for
at AUB on opportunity, purpose, and, indeed, life
September 6, 2021. experience of our students through an their children. We must all shoulder At this time, what MainGate reflects most is endurance and hope, the very fiber of AUB.
to its community.
enriched curriculum where experiential additional responsibilities so those Executive Editor
learning links with the liberal arts outstanding students who are capable With gratitude, Martin Asser
Our path forward starts with careful,
and scientific education that AUB and suited to attend AUB, but whose
critical self-examination and a The editors Features Editors
is rightfully renowned for. Armed parents or guardians live in Lebanon, Alison Freeland
realistic appraisal of our mission. Jennifer Muller
with an AUB education, our students can attend for an affordable price, while
How does one reaffirm purpose to an Alumni Editor
will be prepared and predisposed to those whose parents live and work
enduringly valuable university in a Susanne Lane
serve the beleaguered societies of the abroad render their tuition in a more
time of shifting alliances, malleable Design Coordinator
world, societies challenged by war, stable currency. Oumama El-Chab
perceptions, and alternative facts?
unemployment, an absence of social Features Coordinator
What lessons has history taught us
freedoms, a lack of participation in “In the depths of winter, I finally Leen Baassiri
pertaining to the preservation of that
the governance of their nations and, learned that within me there lay an Associate Dir. of Communications
which is most precious in our society? Najib Chowdhury
most damning of all, a loss of hope for invincible summer,” wrote Albert AUB FAFS HSON MSFEA UAE
And how do we apply these lessons to American University of Faculty of Agricultural Rafic Hariri School Maroun Semaan Faculty United Arab Emirates Copyeditor
a better tomorrow. These societies can Camus. In novels, plays, and essays,
our essential university and the fragile Beirut and Food Sciences of Nursing of Engineering and
UN
Adriana Smith
be transformed by individuals who are the Nobel laureate explored the depths, Abbr. Architecture
nation in which it resides? AUBMC FAS IFI United Nations Staff Writers
privileged to attend our great university, heights, and wonders of our existence. American University of Faculty of Arts Issam Fares Institute OSB
WAAAUB
Eric Eyges
Beirut Medical Center and Sciences for Public Policy and Suliman S. Olayan
such that they too “may have life and This quote was penned in a series of Worldwide Alumni
Barbara Rosica
I have borne many withering critiques CCECS FHS
International Affairs School of Business
have it more abundantly.” essays in which Camus urged humanity Common
Association of AUB Art Direction and Design
and much unsought advice from Center for Civic Faculty of KSA REP AUB Communications
to persevere through adversity, timely abbreviations Engagement and Health Sciences Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Regional Carla Korkmaz, Dir. Creative Services
speculators and politicians alike. But I found in Community Service External Programs
Almost one quarter of our students advice for us today. This lies at the MainGate (MG): FM LAU Amal Sabsabi, graphic designer
have also received support, guidance, Faculty of Medicine Lebanese American SPC Sarah Alameddine, graphic designer
hold non-Lebanese passports, making core of why we at AUB must more fully
criticism, and contemplation from University Syrian Protestant College Original design
AUB the second most diverse university embrace and indeed exemplify our
trustees, alumni, faculty, students, and Communication Design, SAL
by percentage of non-Lebanese and purpose. In the depths of each of our
staff, from colleagues in the field, and, Photography
by far the most diverse university by winters there lies an invincible summer. Hassan Nisr
of course, from my own family. One
For current news nationality across the MENA region. We Though never easy, we must pursue Abbas Salman
inspiration is the constant example of Martin Asser
summaries, read are deeply acculturated in our home. We excellence for the greater good and save University Libraries, Archives and
e-newsletters: our AUBMC physicians, nurses, and
are the American University OF Beirut, lives whose values are immeasurable, Special Collections
President’s staff, who have fought for our patients, The pages of MainGate are printed on 100 percent postconsumer fiber paper and the cover is 30 percent. It is printed using web offset
Perspective not simply the American University all while empowering great minds, Printing
values, and community. They have led process with attention to clean-air operations. Lane Press gets 98 percent of its electricity from sources other than greenhouse gas-
Lane Press, USA
www.aub.edu.lb/ IN Beirut. We serve the peoples of whose futures portend a better, fairer, producing carbon fuel. Inks are bio-derived and low in volatile organic compounds.
in the battle against the pandemic and American University of Beirut
President/Presi Lebanon and the region, and no set of more inclusive world. Now more than Please recycle this magazine. If you prefer to subscribe to the online version of MainGate, please email maingate@aub.edu.lb
dentsperspective/ the near collapse of Lebanon’s health Office of Communications
circumstances, no threat or harm will ever, as Camus also reflected, we must AUB is committed to the principle of equal opportunity and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, age, national or
Pages system despite both overwhelming odds PO Box 11–0236
force us to abandon our sacred charge. mend what we can, band together, and ethnic identity, sex, gender or gender identity, marital status, disability, genetic predisposition or carrier status, alienage or citizenship Riad El Solh 1107 2020
and the all-too-human temptation to status, political affiliation, or any legally protected characteristic, in its programs and activities to the fullest extent permitted by
AUB@Work pledge ourselves to causes far greater Beirut, Lebanon
leave for greener climes. Lebanese law. This includes prohibition against sexual harassment and sexual violence as mandated by Title IX of the U.S. Education Tel: 961-1-353228
www.aub.edu.lb/ As we affirm what has made us great than ourselves. Amendments of 1972. Inquiries or complaints may be addressed to the Title IX Coordinator at integrityofficer@aub.edu.lb, the Dean of
communications/ New York Office, Debs Center
aub@work/Pages
Our students, faculty, and staff expect and transform to meet the current Student Affairs at sao@aub.edu.lb, or the Office of the President, College Hall, Beirut, Lebanon, +961-1-350000. For AUB’s full policies,
visit www.aub.edu.lb/titleix. 3 Dag Hammarskjold
a great deal from this university, challenges, we count on the support of Fadlo R. Khuri Plaza, 8th Floor
New York, NY 10017–2303
www.aub.edu.lb/maingate
Inspiration & Discoveries 4 5
AUB’s 156th
Opening Day,
September 6, 2021
The American University
of Beirut must fundamentally
transform if it is to continue
to persist and thrive.
And persist and thrive we
must. The stakes are simply
too high, and this university
is too important for us to fail.
Inspiration & Discoveries 6 7 Commencement Celebration The COVID-19 pandemic turned the world upside down in many ways. That is certainly true for the Class of 2020, whose graduation was postponed over one year. In a strange twist of events, AUB’s 151st Commencement Exercises for the Class of 2020 actually took place a whole month after AUB held its 152nd Commencement Exercises for the Class of 2021. But the Class of 2020 did--finally--have their moment, with an in-person ceremony on the Green Field held on October 8, and a virtual ceremony held online a week later for those who could not attend in person. For more on student speakers and commencement please see MainGate Digital. Tonight, with your friends by your side, in this incredible campus, think of all that you’ve done and accomplished these past few years. Tonight, even if the electricity cuts, our cars are empty, our wallets light, if nothing else, tonight is all we need to remember to keep moving forward. -Kamel Wehbe (BA ’21, Political Studies)
Inspiration & Discoveries 8 9
Makhlouf Haddadin Mary Jaber Nachar
An AUB stalwart takes a seat in the C-Suite
Can a true Renaissance man retire? years almost all his Colorado Boulder Dr. Haddadin followed up with the
After nearly six decades, a much colleagues needed. the Davis-Beirut Reaction in 2005
honored and highly revered teacher and with his colleague at UC Davis, Appointed in September 2020 as Vice challenges—an attitude that serves her
President for Administration, Mary Jaber well in her new role.
scholar steps away from his day job. A promising career beckoned, which Dr. Mark Kurth and both mechanisms Nachar is the first female to serve the
Dr. Haddadin began at Harvard for continue to provide new and vital university in this role. The challenges Women leaders often face gender bias
AUB has impacted the lives of so two years under Dr. Louis Fieser (the applications. she faces are among the most onerous in the form of additional scrutiny and
many students it can be difficult inventor of napalm), before being in the university’s 155-year history, but criticism. Perhaps AUB’s longstanding
Jaber is the rare individual who can commitment to female empowerment, in
(and perhaps not that useful) to recruited back to AUB in 1964 by Generations of AUB chemists have integrate multiple conflicting views and combination with Lebanon’s complex
identify the quintessential story of Dr. Issidorides. He was promoted to benefited from Dr. Haddadin’s synthesize them into an harmonious cultural landscape have given Jaber
transformation. But one, that began tenured associate professor in 1969 inspiring teaching—with not whole. As the first woman to serve in the some important tools for negotiating
with the arrival in 1953 of a slight, and full professor in 1975. But it only chemistry but Arabic “C-suite”, and the first person to serve as bias. As a pioneering woman in senior
chief of staff, she champions the value administration, Mary realizes the
quietly spoken student on a full was in 1965 that he and his mentor poetry frequently discussed in of a woman’s voice, but insists that each impact of her actions and decisions
Jordanian government scholarship, made the landmark contribution the classroom, and he served in employee be judged on merit. and describes herself as a student of
is surely a candidate.Born in 1935 of the Beirut Reaction, a novel use numerous leadership roles, including institutional organization, someone
in Ma’in, a rural community south- of heterocyclic chemistry (using acting university president in Growing up in Hamra within walking familiar with the challenges of being a
distance of AUB, Jaber says, “We played staff member, and an executive not afraid
east of Madaba, Makhlouf Haddadin ring-shaped compounds) to make 1998–99 and 2015. As he retires after in the Green Oval and the Green Field. For of juggling multiple responsibilities.
proved to be an outstanding new organic compounds. It was 57 years’ service, Dr. Haddadin puts our mother, there was only one choice
chemistry student under Dr. Costas simple, scientifically significant, his longevity to a formula as simple for the future―to attend AUB,” and Mary AUB President Fadlo Khuri notes:
Issidorides and gained his BS (1957) and extremely useful in industry. as the Beirut Reaction. “I love the and her sister set it as their goal. “Mary has a collaborative leadership
style, based on different approaches she
and MS (1959) before heading to Colleagues at Pfizer told Drs. place. I was made offers elsewhere Later, Jaber had what she calls the full learned from different leaders. She is an
University of Colorado, Boulder for his Haddadin and Issidorides they had but I always preferred AUB, even in “AUB Experience.” She looks back on her excellent listener, naturally empathic,
PhD. He was so well prepared at AUB wiped out 10 years of R&D work its worst days.” student years with fondness and a desire and develops and implements plans
it took only three years to complete at the pharmaceutical giant when for others to experience what she did. which put people first. I am reminded
“I was immersed in campus life,” she of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s observation:
his doctorate, compared with the five they announced their discovery. says. Jaber was one of the founders of ‘The test of a first-rate intelligence is the
the entrepreneurship club, was active in ability to hold two opposing ideas in
the environmental club, and recalls the mind at the same time and still retain
Outdoors experience with a smile. the ability to function.’”
When Jaber received her business Jaber’s work portfolio includes eight
Taking the Helm at OSB
administration degree in 1999, she departments, among them HR and
had big dreams to join a multinational benefits, facilities and physical
company, travel, and see the world. She plant, Title IX, strategic planning and
was slated as a finalist for just such an process improvement, protection, and
opportunity when her father became communications. Jaber says with
seriously ill. “I had to make a choice a laugh, “Of course, I would have
between my parents and my dreams. I preferred to serve and to lead during
This September, Dr. Yusuf Sidani was Sidani has authored a number of my future action to be truly committed thought--my dreams can wait. I will stay better times. However, I am well-trained
appointed to the position of dean of the books, including Business Ethics in the to our mission of enabling world-class in Lebanon.” in crisis situations, having participated
Suliman S. Olayan School of Business Middle East (Routledge, 2018) filling an business research, learning, and in the 2006 evacuations and emergency
Deciding to work and study further at response.” That said, she looks forward
(OSB); he has been serving as interim important gap in the teaching literature knowledge transfer. First, is the ability AUB, Jaber earned her MBA in 2001. She to the time when she will focus more
dean of OSB since October 2020. His connecting global ethical standards to provide world-class instruction started her journey in the internal audit fully on the aspirational aspects of the
selection comes after an extensive and local contexts. In 2015, Dr. Sidani and student experience in the most department before moving to the office university, rather than the operational
international search. received the Abdul Hameed Shoman challenging of situations. Second, of the VP for administration. There she details of day-to-day survival.
was tasked with special projects, and
Award for Arab Researchers in the is to position OSB and AUB as the her attachment to AUB grew by the day. Jaber points to the support of her family
After earning his BBA from AUB in category of values and professional destination of choice for established as critical to her success. She holds
1985, Sidani went on to pursue graduate ethics in the arts, humanities, social and emerging scholars to whom Mentors played a large role in Jaber’s dear her father’s words after the family
life, and she credits them for showing was displaced during the war: “They
studies at Indiana University (MBA ’87) sciences, and education. He also teaching is a calling and research is a her the value of “knowledge transfer” can take away your home and your
and University of Mississippi (PhD ’93). collaborated with Edraak (an initiative passion. Third, to make the OSB culture and guiding her through periods belongings, but nobody can take away
He has extensive teaching and course of the Queen Rania Foundation, Jordan) the finest for all its constituencies: of both crises and growth. “All the your education and what you hold in
development experience in business to deliver several popular online students, staff, and faculty. These are exposure I had was a blessing,” she your mind. That is yours to keep.” It
ethics, leadership, fraud prevention courses (MOOCs) in leadership and indeed hard times, but together we says. “I volunteered for committees and warms her heart when she sees staff
taskforces and moved from department and their children studying and getting
and control, strategic analysis and business. will be able to reach new heights not to department. I have worked with many a degree - an AUB education that both
control, and organizational behavior, constrained by all the noise that is different leaders, learning from their Mary and her husband Pierre hope that
while his research focus also includes Asked about his priorities, Dr. Sidani happening around us.” different approaches and experiences.” their two children, Selena and Mark,
gender and diversity in organizations. stated: “Three things will be driving More than twenty years later, Jaber will be able to fully experience as well.
still relishes being presented with new
Inspiration & Discoveries 10 11
Ahead of the Curve Sara Levy (BS, Pharmacy ’25).
First female graduate.
Zaha Hadid (student, 1968–70).
Innovative architect.
Hadid’s pioneering work reimagined
architecture for the twenty-first century. Made
Dame Commander of the Order of the British
One hundred years of coeducation at AUB Empire in 2012, Hadid was the first woman
to win the Pritzker Architecture Prize (2004).
Hadid designed AUB’s Issam Fares Institute for
Public Policy and International Affairs building
Edma Abu-Chedid (BA ’26, MD ’31). in 2014.
One hundred years ago, acting girls’ schools were flourishing. With while carving out a bold new future. One of the first women to graduate with a
president Edward F. Nickoley reported, higher education degrees, women could Progress is rarely a straight line: bachelor’s degree from FAS, and the first
“Beginning this year, women are aspire to jobs as engineers, architects, the disciplines and year levels open female FM graduate.
admitted as follows: 1) in the Schools scientists, doctors, and diplomats. to women changed throughout the Abu-Chedid championed women’s reproductive
of Medicine, Pharmacy, and Dentistry; 1920s; it was not until the 1940s that rights and health and established free clinics Reem Acra (BBA ’82).
References: 2) in the sophomore class of the School Unlike some of its peer institutions, President Bayard Dodge reported throughout Lebanon. Internationally recognized high fashion designer.
El Cheikh, Nadia, of Arts and Sciences, preparatory to which were wrestling with the that men and women could be Acra’s gowns and ready-to-wear designs have
Lina Choueiri, Bilal
Orfali, eds. One
entrance to medicine; 3) as special question of coeducation, AUB never seated alphabetically in Assembly been worn by celebrities and dignitaries
Hundred and Fifty. students above the freshman year made the spurious argument that Hall and in the classrooms without around the globe. She won the Building
Beirut: American in the School of Arts and Sciences.” women were not suited for or capable embarrassment; and it was not until Bridges Award in 2014 and has been a
University of
It was not until 1969—nearly a half of high-level learning. Women 1967 that women were admitted to Angela Jurdak Khoury (BA ’37, MA ’38). member of the Dubai Design and Fashion
Beirut Press, 2016.
century after AUB—that Harvard, were expected to meet the same the engineering school. The starting Scholar, diplomat. Council since its inception. Acra dreamed of
Anderson, Betty Princeton, and Yale admitted women. standards as men, and there were point for these milestones occurred in AUB’s first female instructor and Lebanon’s first being a fashion designer after putting on a
The American As Elsa Kerr, adviser to women no courses developed specifically 1921, when a handful of courageous female diplomat. Khoury was secretary-general fashion show at AUB Outdoors in 1982.
University of
students, noted in 1947, “This was for female students, such as hygiene young women faced life on campus of Lebanon’s delegation to the UN Conference
Beirut: Arab
Nationalism and indeed a radical step, for in the Arab or home economics. Working with as a highly visible student minority. on International Organization in San Francisco
Liberal Education. countries, coeducation above the the Presbyterian Board of Foreign In recent years, women are in the in 1945 and Lebanon’s representative to the UN
Austin: University of
primary schools had never existed.” Missions in 1926–27, AUB’s board majority at AUB, representing just Commission on the Status of Women.
Texas Press, 2011.
and the American School for Girls over 50 percent of student enrollment. Mariam Dabboussi (BEN ’18).
Following World War I, the end of established a junior college for women While women around the globe Linguist, software developer, and social activist.
Penrose, Stephen B.
L., Jr. That They May the Ottoman Empire, and influential to provide living accommodations continue to struggle for equality, AUB Dabboussi helped to bring Google Assistant’s
Have Life: The Story
new laws related to the emancipation for its female students and to better continues to challenge the status quo services in Arabic to life via laptops, mobile
of the American Mamdouha El Sayed Bobst (BA ’47).
of women in Turkey, there were new educate freshmen and sophomores. on issues of gender bias, promoting phones, smart watches, and home speakers.
University of Women’s health care advocate and
Beirut, 1866–1941. opportunities for educated women That junior college evolved into the female empowerment in the Arab As a student, she led a team of 30 students
philanthropist.
Princeton, NJ:
to work as nurses, teachers, clerical Beirut College for Women, then became world and beyond. in developing 16 solar-powered lamp posts
Princeton University
workers, and support staff. AUB, Beirut University College after accepting Bobst raised public awareness of women’s and 10 solar kits in El Mejdel in northern
Press, 1941.
health issues and helped break the taboo Lebanon, as part of the student initiative
originally known as the Syrian men in 1973. Today it is known as the AUB continues to of cancer throughout the Middle East. She “Light Up a Village.”
Protestant College, had already Lebanese American University.
answered the call for more trained
challenge the status launched the first healthcare system in Libya,
nurses by establishing the region’s AUB introduced mixed-sex higher quo on issues of gender opened its first hospital, and trained its first
bias, promoting female nurses. Bobst established AUBMC’s Mamdouha
Some of AUB’s
first nursing school in 1905. Female education to the region in a move
El Sayed Bobst Breast Unit, the first dedicated
empowerment was on the rise, that took vision and a willingness empowerment in the Arab breast unit in Lebanon and the Middle East.
especially in Beirut, where secondary to adjust to present-day exigencies
world and beyond.
notable alumnae
throughout the
Huda Zurayk (BA ’65).
First female academic dean (1998–2008).
Double-veiled and accompanied by her husband,
Ihsan Shakir (BA ’29) came to campus from Egypt in
Empowering Zurayk is an internationally recognized
decades . . .
years
scholar on reproductive health and Arab
1924 as the first Muslim woman to enroll at AUB. She Women world health issues.
expressed a belief that continues to resonate today:
“The natural contacts that grow out of university life Since 1921
. . . [promote] greater understanding, mutual self-
Ihsan Shakir with respect, and more wholesome relationships.”
her husband,
Ahmad, 1927. COEDUCATION AT AUB
Inspiration & Discoveries 12 13
AUB’s vice president for advancement The fundraising successes that
and business development, Dr. Imad Khuri is referring to have been part
B. Baalbaki, was selected to receive of BOLDLY AUB: The Campaign
the prestigious 2020 CASE Asia- to Lead, Innovate, and Serve–the
Pacific Distinguished Service $650 million fundraising campaign
Award, which is given annually that the university will successfully
and “honors individuals whose conclude in January 2022. The impact
professional accomplishments have of the campaign can be seen in the
made a significant and lasting impact record number of AUB students who
on institutional advancement, and are receiving financial support, in
The Council for whose life and character have earned
the respect and admiration of fellow
the growth of AUB’s endowment,
in renovated classrooms and
colleagues.” laboratories, in expanded research
Advancement and Baalbaki is no stranger to our
funds, at the medical center, and in
numerous outreach initiatives that are
Support of Education worldwide community of alumni
and friends. A proud AUB alumnus
improving the lives of the people of
Lebanon and the region.
(BBA ’85, MBA ’87), he has worked
Recognizes at his alma mater since he returned
to Lebanon after earning a PhD in
AUB trustee emeritus Alexander
T. Ercklentz, who also supported
VP Imad Baalbaki for marketing at the Georgia Institute of
Technology. He has been a member of
Baalbaki’s nomination, noted that
AUB is respected in Lebanon and the
the faculty at AUB’s Suliman S. Olayan region “not just because it stands for
Distinguished Service School of Business since 1993 and was
director of the business school from
freedom of thought and expression,
tolerance, and respect for diversity
1997 to 2000. Baalbaki joined AUB’s and dialogue but also because of its
Office of Advancement in 2001 and professionalism. This is especially true
has led the Offices of Advancement when it comes to advancement. People
in Beirut and North America since throughout the region look to AUB for
July 2016. “This is not a job for me,” guidance on ‘best practices.’”
Baalbaki explains, “but an integral
part of who I am.” “Our university, which I am so proud
During the extreme challenges of 2020, to serve, attracts extraordinary
CASE also recognized AUB with three In a letter he wrote supporting support from its worldwide
Circle of Excellence Awards: Baalbaki’s nomination for the community of alumni, from friends
CASE award, President Fadlo who appreciate the singular role that
AUB4Beirut Disaster Response Khuri commented, “Since Imad’s AUB plays as an American institution
www.aub.edu.lb/advancement/Development/Pages/
AUB4BeirutDisasterResponse.aspx appointment as vice president, our in the Arab world, and—most
advancement team has achieved importantly—from a truly remarkable
enormous success – record-breaking group of trustees,” said Baalbaki. He
Nemr’s star-studded online fundraising event #AUBNecessary fundraising years, building alumni credits President Khuri in particular
www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vuLFNsXKUc
engagement, pioneering new for his inspiring leadership and
initiatives, and expanding the tireless dedication. “I cannot imagine
The AUB Halloween mask awareness video prospect pool . . . The fundraising anyone better to steer the university
www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1152054448524512 successes of the advancement team in through these most challenging of
recent years have been extraordinary.” times. It is a privilege to work with
him and with so many dedicated
colleagues on behalf of our AUB.”
Faculty of Medicine Graduation Ceremony. June 4, 2021
Inspiration & Discoveries 14 15
Comprehending
the Currency Crisis digital money, that is USD deposited
in banks. People are trading bank
I’ve heard that the urban areas are
suffering more than rural ones. Is
be restructured away from services
toward something more balanced.
checks. I give you a $100,000 check, that true? If so, could you elaborate? In my opinion, our salvation lies
you give me around $20,000 in fresh It’s true. While rural areas have in completing land and sea border
USD banknotes, or even less than that. always been neglected, they are more negotiations with Israel-Palestine and
It’s essentially exchanging “lollars,” self-sufficient in terms of agricultureSyria, and producing oil and gas.
What is the true value of the LBP? Lebanon doesn’t have enough land year ago, the pound crashed. No one the USD banks claim to hold, for products, which have become I am confident that many international
And what keeps driving the price to support much agriculture. Mostly wanted to bring any more dollars into actual, physical, unrestricted USD. expensive. So overall, people in investors would be willing to advance
down? we rely on services and tourism for Lebanon. Now foreign exporters want Finally, people are turning to buy gold rural areas have fared relatively well Lebanon sizable hard currencies in
First, no model can accurately generating much of our national advance payment from Lebanese and probably smuggling their holdings compared to those in urban areas. seven-or eight-year loans, which is
determine the intrinsic value of the income. More political instability importers for all goods and services, outside the country. There are no the time it would take to produce and
Dr. Said Elfakhani LBP, or any currency. Hence, the true means less tourism. We used to receive from basic necessities to luxury figures given as to the volume of this. What’s the solution? What can be sell oil and gas. Other steps include
AUB professor a lot of Gulf Arab tourists. That’s items. Meanwhile, importers have a
value or price floor is not currently done to halt the crash right now? developing an independent judiciary
of finance,
accounting, known, but it is certainly not 1,500 all dried up. Foreign aid too is very hard time paying at all because of Money or capital is cowardly, as they and finding a solution for Syrian
and managerial
economics,
to the USD. There is no factual limited because of political issues. So
where will the cash come from?
the financial controls in place. They
need to have a foreign bank account
Faith must be say. Faith must be restored in the refugee, and eventually Palestinian
data that can justify a particular
restored in the
has tracked the Lebanese economy to attract cash. refugee, issues. This is the way
fall of the LBP value, generally, and even less so or to smuggle the money out in bags. But international agencies such as the to recovery. Otherwise, the local
since it unhinged
from the pegged
for Lebanon. Currencies are usually
valued in proportion to one another,
If I’m an importer and I want wheat
sold on the international market in
On the other hand, they will have to
demand dollars for their local sales.
Lebanese economy International Monetary Fund will not productive economy remains weak.
jump in without a clear reform plan. It is easy to destroy, but it is much
dollar rate in
October 2019. He like the LBP to the dollar. Supply dollars, I and all the other wheat Hence, more downward pressure on to attract cash In the long term, the economy must harder to rebuild.
spoke to us about and demand determine price and is importers will be on the hunt for the Lebanese pound.
the mysterious dictated by many factors, like the ratio dollars. We’ll crowd around the LBP
plateaus and
lurches downward of one country’s inflation rate and exchange office. The money changer, And who should bear the losses? It 20,000
that have average per capita income to another, who has a limited amount of dollars, must be the banks and the government,
confounded and government fiscal and monetary policy, will auction what he has. The not the Lebanese depositors. The banks 18,000 210%
impoverished
so many. balance of payment and trade, public importers, and anyone else chasing lent to the government, which defaulted
confidence in the future, respective dollars to buy paint, oil, or food from on the banks, who then defaulted on
interest rates, and the respective abroad, will bid up the price. The depositors. The government is a bad 16,000
reliability of banking systems. money changer will sell his or her debtor. It has run a budget deficit for
dollars to the highest bidder, thus the the past 30 years. And it’s been printing
14,000
The Lebanese Central Bank had new lower price of the Lebanese pound. money to pay its debt, meaning, again,
been trying to defend the 1,500 downward pressure on the pound.
rate by balancing the amount of How can you explain the volatility? 12,000
dollars entering Lebanon against Why the plateaus, the sudden How are people adapting to
those leaving the country (incoming downward lurches, the rebounds? the crisis? How do they
dollars represent demand for LPB, There are all kinds of signals that circumvent the financial controls 10,000
whereas outgoing dollars represent those importers and others standing in and protect themselves against
the contrary). In 2019, Lebanon lines at the money changer are paying the exchange rate?
8,000 36%
imported $20 billion worth of goods attention to. When rumors circulate People are converting their LBP only
and services, but exported $3 billion. that there aren’t enough dollars, the if absolutely necessary, so they can 3%
-7% 1% 2% 3%
This trade balance deficit would, by price of dollars goes up. When the avoid the punishing exchange rates. 6,000
-6% -5%
itself, kill the value of any currency. media announces that there’s still no Sellers only accept LBP at whatever the
But remittances and money attracted government—and by extension no daily market rate is, while some don’t
by high interest rates made up the rescue plan—the price goes up. But accept LBP at all, just to avoid disputes, 4,000
shortfall. Eventually, those cash when Hariri visited Aoun, the price given the fluctuations. Some have
inflows dried up and exposed the fell from 15,000 to 10,500 in an hour invested in real estate with their frozen
2,000
economy’s hollow foundation. on the assumption that government funds, paying via check. Owners were
We don’t produce enough locally to formation is imminent. What’s the accepting those checks to pay down
satisfy local demand, so we need correct USD price? It could be outstanding bank debt, but that’s all 0
to keep importing, but we can’t LBP10,000. It could be 100,000. but dried up now. 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
import as much as before because
of the devaluation; that’s lowered When the government defaulted on On the other hand, believe it or not, PRICE O F 5 SE RVINGS O F FATTO UCH ( FAMILY O F 5) Lebanon Crisis Observatory at AUB
living standards. its foreign debt, now more than a there is a big emerging market for RAMADAN YE ARInspiration & Discoveries 16 17
2. Salma N. Talhouk So begins the fifth tablet of the Epic the building of a temple in Jerusalem. explains: “Ancient civilizations were
et al, Trees of
Lebanon: A Labor of
of Gilgamesh, the world’s oldest major And again in Isaiah 2:13, there is primarily after cedar and other cone-
Love (Beirut: Nature work of literature. Gilgamesh, the mention of the cedars as beings of producing trees such as fir, pine, and
Conservation Center poem’s hero, stands in awe before great stature that must nevertheless juniper because these species produce
at AUB, 2014).
the cedar forests on land that would submit to God’s will. resins that protect the wood from
3. Trees of Lebanon.
4,000 years later form part of modern decay. Tar and resins were also in high
Lebanon. As he enters the forest, he Around the time of the Old Testament’s demand, as they were necessary for
Ecology of Cedars
notices the “luxurious foliage” and the writing, Wenamun, an envoy of the the maintenance and protection of the
shade, which is “good and extremely 20th Egyptian dynasty, traveled to ships and for coating ship equipment
pleasant.” It is a place so hallowed and Lebanon to gather cedar wood for the and food storage utensils. Essential
beautiful that the gods themselves construction of a sacred vessel for oils derived from these trees were used
have made it their home. Sacred and Amon-Re, the sun god. King Zakarbaal to prepare religious and medicinal
A very Long Relationship protected by the demon Humbaba,
the trees are a precious currency, and
for Gilgamesh, the keys to fame and
of Byblos refused to give up the wood, ointments.”3
asking Wenamon: “On what business
have you come here?” Wenamon
fortune. Hence, he has come to chop replied: “I have come after the timber.
them down and bring them back as Your father gave it, your grandfather
bounty to his kingdom. gave it, and you shall also give it.”2
1. Wolf Carnahan,
“The Epic of
They stood at the forest’s edge, Fast forward over a thousand years It was from cedar that the Phoenicians
Gilgamesh: Tablet
V,” The Epic
gazing at the top of the Cedar Tree, and we find mention of the cedars in built their merchant ships to
of Gilgamesh,
accessed August 9, gazing at the entrance to the forest. the Old Testament. In I Kings 5:10: “So
Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and
trade with the rulers of Egypt and
Mesopotamia. A passage from the
2021, http://www.
ancienttexts. Where Humbaba would walk there was fir trees according to all his desire” for AUB publication The Trees of Lebanon
org/library/
mesopotamian/ a trail, the roads led straight on, the
gilgamesh/tab5.
htm. path was excellent. Then they saw the
Cedar Mountain, the Dwelling of the
Gods, the throne dais of Imini.1Inspiration & Discoveries 18 19
4. Trees of Lebanon. The cedar found its way to the heart “The cedars stand in a valley, and not It is unsurprising, given its symbol of Lebanon, an image that is In addition to The Trees of Lebanon, Talhouk is also an ardent supporter of
of the many civilizations that lived in on top of the mountain, and they are physiognomy, that Cedrus libani thought to bridge internal divides. It is Talhouk and her colleagues at AUB a conservation strategy that promotes
5. Pierre Belon, De
Arboribus Coniferis
its orbit, and like so many passionate supposed to amount to 28 in number, has evoked a sense of majesty and the silhouette at the center of the flag, have published numerous articles biodiversity. A policy of single-species
(Paris: Guillaume loves, it was relentlessly consumed though it is difficult to count them, the divine in such a diversity of the tattoo on the cab driver’s arm, the chronicling environmental degradation focus, she says, whether on the
Cavellat, 1553), such that “by the first century AD they being distant from each other a civilizations, each of which has relief on the coin, and the namesake of in Lebanon, including within cedar cedar or any other species, leads to
4, quoted in J. C.
Loudon, Arboretum
Lebanon’s forests had already become few paces. These the Archbishop of praised the tree, then chopped it a 2005 political uprising. The cedar’s groves, and critiquing a Lebanese unsustainable, antiseptic ecosystems:
and Fruticetum, scarce.” The Roman expansion into Damascus has endeavored to prove down. “Lebanon’s cedar forests once charisma has even brought global and international conservation policy “a dead forest.” She notes, with a bit
vol. 4 (London, Phoenicia and Syria, and the building to be the same that Solomon planted covered all the western slopes of media attention from publications that has historically been centered on of cold realism, that the cedars may
1844), 2409.
of ships and fortifications, drove the with his own hands in the quincunx Mount Lebanon at altitudes between like the Guardian and the New York top‑down management from afar. not survive climate change and that
6. Anne Barnard
demand for cedar to such a point manner as they now stand.”5 800 and 2,200 meters. The remaining Times, which ran a front-page story promoting a panoply of species may
and Josh Haner, that a supply bottleneck led to one groves are protected and cover a total on climate-change threat to cedars in Talhouk believes that the key be the best hedge against the wider
“Climate Change Is of the earliest recorded attempts at The cedars of today are the cedars of of 3 percent of the nation’s area,” says 2018: “Climate change could wipe out to protecting the cedars lies in destruction of Lebanon’s natural
Killing the Cedars
of Lebanon,” New
environmental conservation. Emperor history. Since the great bulk of the Alain Daou, director of AUB’s Nature most of the country’s remaining cedar incentivizing and empowering the world.
York Times, July Hadrian “set aside the remaining cedar’s growth occurs before the age Conservation Center (NCC). These forests by the end of the century”6 as local communities living alongside
19, 2018, https:// forests of North Lebanon as his private of 70 and the tree’s lifespan is over groves appear like ink blotches on rising temperatures push the cedars them. This means providing green Science tells us that to some degree it
www.nytimes.
com/interac-
hunting grounds; he had inscriptions a thousand years, we can assume a map within the bounds of nature farther up the mountains in search of jobs to locals, rather than urban is already too late. The rising global
tive/2018/07/18/ engraved on large rocks to mark the that many of the trees standing today reserves like Barouk, Maaser El Shouf, ecological comfort. commuters, and making sure temperatures driving the cedars
climate/ limits of his forest property. Today, appear just as they did when Belon Niha, Ehden, and Tannourine. ecotourism income supports local further up the mountains are a
lebanon-cli-
mate-change-en-
the local community of Ehmej is came upon them. They stand, on Much of the most incisive scholarship communities. foregone conclusion; it only remains to
vironment-cedars. proud to show visitors these historical average, between 40 and 60 feet high. “The cedar is a charismatic species and progressive activism around be seen just how far up they will have
html. landmarks that are found on several Their trunks can reach more than in Lebanon, so it will make a lot of the cedar has come out of AUB. to go and whether there will be any
large stones scattered around the nine feet in diameter. Their bark, noise if anything happens to it,” room left at the summit. Preventing
village lands.”4 sometimes moss covered, is a mosaic says Salma Talhouk, former NCC their total destruction will require
of wood flakes stained with white director and head of the Department unprecedented national and global
Fast forward another 1,300 years and resin; their branches, like massive of Landscape Design and Ecosystem coordination. So that the cedar may
we come across the first early modern arms spread wide, beseech the Management. It is also the national find its way into new literature and
reference to the cedar in a text written heavens. weave its way into the heart of future
by French naturalist Pierre Belon: civilizations who might find new
ways to celebrate it and tell the story
of its grandeur, it might be best for
humanity to treat Cedrus libani not as
a passionate love, but rather as a long-
term partner, a companion with whom
we can live in harmony.Inspiration & Discoveries 20 21
and board, meals, stipend, and graduate, volunteered with the Red
laptop are all paid for in US dollars Cross: “We went to orphanages,
distributed at regular intervals by hospitals, underdeveloped areas. We
the US government to protected bank had political discussions. We played
accounts, helping to insulate them cards. It humbles you.”
from Lebanon’s financial crisis.
The University
Reem would go on to become
Once they arrive on campus, many valedictorian of her class and serve
USP scholars sense a cultural gulf on the University Student Faculty
between themselves and other Committee. “I can’t sum up what I got
students. “It can be a challenge to out of [the USP program] in words.
Scholarship Program
integrate students into a very modern, We had both academic and social or
westernized campus. Many of these behavioral expectations. We had to
students have never been out of their plan ahead of time. I learned time
villages. When they come for a site visit, management, interviewing skills,
Celebrates its
it’s maybe the first time they’ve come to writing skills. I had a support network.
Beirut in their lives,” said Harkouss. USP made sure I had a well-rounded
Duaa Kallam (BSN Expected ’23), university experience.”
Duaa Kallam (BSN Expected ’23), a
scholar from Tyre studying nursing After graduation, Reem traveled to
10 Anniversary
th under a new USP sister program for Dubai, joining Deloitte as a forensic
refugees, remembers her surprise upon technologist. She was fast-tracked for
arrival: “It was a whole new mood. promotion, became a champion for
In Tyre, it’s one color. You don’t meet corporate social responsibility in the
people from different backgrounds. It region, and continued to volunteer,
was like, okay, let’s keep silent. I wanted teaching financial literacy to nearby
to understand how [people at AUB] high school students. She was selected
During California’s COVID-induced Eventually, by dint of hard work and the financially strained. “The public- think. I was just observing.” as one of 50 delegates to represent
lockdown, Khaled Al Kurdi (BS ’16) did opportunity provided by AUB’s USAID- school requirement somehow struck Deloitte at One Young World. Now she
much of his work as a chemist from funded University Scholarship Program a chord for me for me because my Al Kurdi recalled a similar feeling, works for the United Nations, using
his home office in a luxury high-rise in (USP), Al Kurdi would enter that world father was a public school principal heightened by an instinct to conceal a suite of enterprise software tools to
downtown San Jose, his desk beneath and succeed, later earning his PhD in Lebanon,” said Tabbal. “Public his background. “I never introduced sift through data and documents for
a shelf of hanging plants, abutting a at Georgia Institute of Technology, school students have always been very myself as a scholarship student. I evidence of war crimes.
window that looks out on a pool and before joining Frore Systems, a Silicon rare on AUB’s campus.” Since 2018, didn’t want to lead with that. But over
lounge area. In the mornings, he’d Valley electronics firm. He is one of however, the program was expanded time, I let the walls drop. The students “My dad now has lost his job for two
meet virtually with his colleagues to 336 students who found in the USP to include refugees and students from I met weren’t the entitled people I years, but thanks to my career, I can
discuss progress and next steps on the program the means to leap several private schools. thought they were,” he said. provide for my family as the sole
development of a product meant to cool rungs up the socioeconomic ladder. provider. I’m paying my brother’s
electronic devices—computers, TVs, Though AUB provides generous Khaled Al Kurdi (BS ’16) Scholars spend the bulk of their first college tuition, and I’ll probably
phones—more efficiently by an order of The USP program, now known as the financial aid to the majority of its year on campus in Reynolds Hall, have to pay for my sister’s too. I can’t
magnitude. He practices mindfulness Higher Education Scholarship (HES) students, most do not receive full working through the University imagine what the situation would be if
and prefers to live in the present, but program, was born 10 years ago from a scholarships; thus, students are still Preparatory Program. “This is to I didn’t have the job and income I do.
memories of a very different past life grant application. It has morphed into expected to cover some tuition costs. bring them up to speed, improve their And that’s thanks to USP.”
are not far below the surface. a powerful engine of opportunity in For USP scholars, paying even a English and study skills,” explained
Lebanon under the leadership of Samar portion of these costs is not possible. Harkouss. Indeed, many USP students Eventually, she hopes to return to
As a child in Tarik El Jdideh, he Harkouss, USP director and head of tout the soft-skills training and Lebanon and enter politics. “I’d like to
shared a makeshift bedroom with the University Preparatory Program, The USP scholarship brings mandatory volunteer experience start small, maybe at the municipality
his siblings in a top-floor apartment. and Malek Tabbal, professor of physics “a different kind of student to AUB, that forms a central part of the USP level. That’s where there is real need
The roof leaked in the winter when and Provost Designee in USP/HES. students that couldn’t pay even 10 program as crucial to their success right now. Everyone like me takes the
it rained. During the neighborhood’s The pair applied for and were awarded percent of the tuition,” explained both at AUB and in the workplace. easy way out just to make ends meet.
frequent blackouts, he would study the seminal grant in 2011. They have Tabbal. “We often have to pay for But I’d like to go back and work to
by battery lamp, and by candlelight since worked to build up the necessary their transportation just to come here “Volunteering has changed my make it so that people don’t feel they
when the batteries ran out. His father infrastructure for recruiting promising for the application interview. It is a life,” said Kallam, speaking of her have to leave to survive.”
had a shop around the corner that sold scholars from across Lebanon to the completely different scale in terms of experience at the Children’s Cancer
lamps, cords, wires, and plugs. On USP program. financial need.” Center of Lebanon. “I just played My dad now has lost
occasion, as a teenager, he would jog with [the children there].” She also his job for two years, but
through Ras Beirut, past AUB’s Main In the beginning, Lebanese scholars Given their disadvantaged distributed food to families in need
Gate. “I would peak through. It was a were drawn exclusively from the backgrounds, USP scholars are as a volunteer with Italian NGO Sante
thanks to my career, I can
glamorous world to me.” country’s public school system, which among the most financially protected Gidio. Reem Abou Ibrahim (BS ’16), provide for my family as
centered the applicant pool among students at AUB. Their tuition, room Reem Abou Ibrahim (BS ’16) a USP scholar and computer science the sole provider.Inspiration & Discoveries 22 23
Kufi script
Kufi script was one of the earliest calligraphic scripts to gain prominence in the late
7th century through the Qu’ran. It was also used to adorn portable works of art.
Thuluth script
In the 10th to 13th centuries, calligraphy artists moved away from straight, angular lines
to explore curved and oblique lines. From this evolution came the Thuluth script, which
was used heavily in architectural facades during this period.
Nasta’liq script
Nasta’liq is a flowing script originating from Iran and Central Asia during the 14th century
and popularized in poetry writings. Unlike other calligraphic scripts, Nasta’liq is not
used in architecture, the Qu’ran, or portable works of art. It is predominantly used in
writing narratives due to its pleasing, flowing lines.
The Cultural Weight Diwani script
Designed solely for use by the Ottoman Empire in the 16th and 17th centuries, Diwani is
of Arabic Calligraphy
a calligraphic script that appears on official Ottoman documents and is characterized
by legibility and its complexity of lines within the letters.
To watch the CAH video series on Arabic calligraphy, visit AUB’s YouTube page:
Photo courtesy of Iyad Naja www.youtube.com/c/AUBatLebanon.
Arabic calligraphy was born in innovative use of Arabic calligraphy “The idea was to promote arts that
reverence to writing the Qu’ran but has in his pieces, making him uniquely are indigenous to the Arab region
grown in its life outside the holy text. positioned to discuss the topic. In the and culture.” This is how Professor
It exists beyond the page and is found video series, Iyad walks us through Abdulrahim Abu-Husayn, director
on the domes of mosques, the gates the various forms of Arabic calligraphy of CAH, describes the conception of
of cities, and even in the carvings of and their unique cultural histories this video series. Arabic calligraphy
furniture. It is more than just a script: and demonstrates how calligraphy continues to be a form of indigenous
it is a tool of design. In a five-part expresses a desired intention to the art that has thrived for over a
video series done in partnership with the audience. His in-depth knowledge millennium. CAH, thanks to a grant
American University of Beirut’s Center shows how Arabic calligraphy is “a by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation,
for Arts and Humanities (CAH) and form of art and beauty, and more than is working to highlight and preserve
renowned product designer Iyad Naja, just a form of legible script, with so the unique art of the Arab community.
the history of Arabic calligraphy and much wealth of knowledge that it can’t In a region undergoing radical
its union with design are explored to be settled down into something just to transformation, sustaining and
showcase its incomparable legacy. read.” Arabic calligraphy aims to be expanding the commitment to the
pleasing to the eye, but it also carries a arts and humanities is more essential
Iyad Naja is a Lebanese cultural and historical weight. Its form than ever. As cultural legacies and
multidisciplinary artist who has has evolved from its original state, traditions are at risk of being eroded,
worked in academic spaces, the when it lay solely on the pages of the there is a desperate need for spaces
marketing industry, and as a product Qu’ran, and has survived because of and works created in the Arab world.
design artist. He is known for his its transformations by artisans.You can also read
