An industrial and organizational (I/O) psychologist, Haitham Khoury joined AUB as an assistant professor of management, marketing, and entrepreneurship in the Olayan School of Business in September. But he first entered the University as a premed biology student in 1995. “What made me switch majors was an introductory course in psychology I took,” explained Khoury.   

Upon completing his BA in psychology at AUB in 1999, Khoury started his MA in general psychology and interned at AUH, finishing all course-work requirements when he was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to the University of South Florida (USF) in Tampa for the year 2001.

“At that point I knew that I would enjoy industrial psychology more than clinical work, enough to discontinue my MA and focus my attention on finding the desired PhD program; luckily USF ranked high in I/O psychology and I liked the faculty there,” continued Khoury, who obtained his PhD in 2008. 

Throughout his tenure at USF, Khoury gave courses in research methods, tests and measurements, statistics, and social psychology. He worked as an independent consultant for two years with Home Depot’s Organizational Effectiveness team, specializing in developing employee selection tools and conducting employee opinion surveys and executive assessments.

Khoury currently teaches fundamentals of management and organizational behavior to AUB undergraduates, whom he finds “interested, responsible and interactive.” Khoury insists on students’ understanding the subject-matter and finds that adhering to “certain guidelines” makes the learning experience more enjoyable and useful.

Khoury’s graduate work focused on the impact of culture on the workplace, specifically the relationship between stress, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. His research interests also include the applicability of Western-developed tools in non-Western arenas, including core I/O processes and concepts such as selection systems and instruments, performance management processes, and leadership and organizational justice.

Outside academia, Khoury is a sports-enthusiast who enjoys running, swimming, traveling, socializing, listening to alternative rock and mainstream music, hiking and “rediscovering Lebanon” through internal tourism. “A bit of a book-worm,” Khoury reads news, opinion pieces, and philosophy, and he has his own. “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” advises Khoury, who affirms that “respect goes a long way.”