Dr. John Waterbury
Former President of the University

There have been many highlights during this campaign, but I believe that our success in raising more than $30 million for financial aid including $20 million for endowed scholarship funds will have the greatest long-term impact on the University. It is certainly the accomplishment of which I am most proud. The University's increased financial aid budget is already having an impact on campus. Between academic year 2001-02 -the year the campaign was launched- and 2006-07 (the most recently completed academic year)- the number of students receiving financial aid increased from 1,581 to 2,797, an increase of more than 75 percent. 

Increasing the University's financial aid budget is critical to achieving a geographically and socio-economically diverse student body, which is a goal that every Board of Trustees has endorsed. It is therefore not surprising that financial aid was also the single largest component of this $140 million fundraising campaign. 

A diverse student body is key to AUB's ability to spread the values of tolerance and mutual respect that are central to the mission of the University. In addition to providing deserving young men and women with the opportunity to benefit from an AUB education, a diverse student body also enhances the educational experience of all of our students-both in and out of the classroom. Many of our students and alumni have commented to me over the years that this was one of the most valuable aspects of their AUB education-the opportunity to meet, to get to know, and even to become friends with people from different backgrounds. Unfortunately, for many of our students, these opportunities are increasingly rare. A diverse student body is also an integral part of AUB's historic mission. 

My ten years as president of AUB have strengthened my belief that there should always be in this part of the world a truly regional university where students-particularly undergraduate students-from throughout the region can come together. AUB should reflect the wonderfully rich diversity of this part of the world. I am very proud of the fact that as a result of this campaign, we have gone a long way to ensuring that it always will.