Dr. Thomas Q. Morris
Chair of the Board of Trustees

When AUBâ??s Board of Trustees made the momentous decision to launch the Campaign for Excellence in October 2002, we could not have imagined the challenges that would lie ahead, but we did imagine that there would be challenges! Working together we have exceeded all expectations for the campaign and did so during a time of great national and regional uncertainty.
     Congratulations and heartfelt thanks to everyone who made this extraordinary outcome possible! I want to especially thank Trustee Kamal Shair who in addition to his responsibilities as head of Dar Al-Handasah (Shair & Partners) led the Campaign for Excellence. His devotion, his generous support, and his willingness to travel anywhere on behalf of AUB was an inspiration to all of usâ??and made an enormous difference to the success of the campaign.
     Although we officially concluded the Campaign for Excellence on December 31, 2007, the campaign â??to provide excellence in education, to participate in the advancement of knowledge through research, and to serve the peoples of the Middle East and beyondâ? willâ??and mustâ??continue. We have come a long way during the last five years to strengthen the University and have made significant progress, but there is still work to be done.
     The achievements of this campaign are enormous. AUB is a much stronger and more dynamic institution than it was five years ago both as a result of the funds that we raisedâ??more than $171 millionâ??and by the way in which the campaign galvanized so many of our alumni and friends. AUB has always benefited enormously from an extraordinarily devoted cadre of supportersâ??men and women whose lives were transformed as a result of the years they spent on our very special campus and by others who appreciated the role that the University plays in the region. Only recently, however, did AUB call on these men and women to become active supporters by making a donation or volunteering their time. The Campaign for Excellence, the first university-wide fundraising campaign and the largest educational fundraising campaign in the Arab Middle East, has achieved unprecedented success thanks to the thousands of individuals who contributed. On behalf of the AUB Board of Trustees, we extend thanks to all those who donated to the campaign during the past five years.
     We look forward to your continued commitment to the American University of Beirut, an institution that â??encourages freedom of thought and expression and seeks to foster tolerance and respect for diversity and dialogue,â? a mission that is worthy of our support both now and in the future.