A Year of Achievement

The 2002-03 academic year was filled with great advances for AUB–from developing new academic programs to renovations to leaps in fundraising. For contributors, students, faculty, friends, parents, and staff alike, it was an exciting time to be part of AUB. Some of the highlights include:

Campaign for Excellence–A Successful Launch

AUB’s Campaign for Excellence was launched in October 2002 with the goal of raising $140 million for AUB’s 140th anniversary in 2006. Academic programs, financial aid, faculty research, athletics, renovations and new buildings, medicine, and all Faculties will benefit from the fundraising campaign, ensuring that AUB’s long tradition of excellence is carried well into the future. Alumni and friends promptly–and generously–answered AUB’s appeal by raising $17,622,868.35 during the 2002–03 academic year, the most successful fundraising year in AUB’s history. The Campaign for Excellence has certainly prospered, despite the troubled international economy, and raised around $80 million. The momentum is sure to continue.

Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Center for American Studies and Research (CASAR) Established

In June 2003, AUB announced the establishment of a new American studies and research center dedicated to increasing the knowledge and understanding of the United States in the Middle East. Devoted to research and teaching on American affairs, particularly in the fields of American history, culture, and political institutions, CASAR was founded with a $5,238,000 gift from Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal. CASAR will sponsor research fellows from academia and public affairs, organize conferences and seminars, and will reach out to the regional community. In announcing his gift, Prince Alwaleed said, “It is in an effort to deepen our understanding of the US, as well as to bridge the gap that has emerged between the US and the Arab world on the heels of the tragic events of September 11, that I embarked on a course of which the launching of this center for American Studies and Research is only one part.” The Prince plans to establish similar centers throughout the region. “With AUB having now joined these efforts, one can be certain that the prospects of success have been immensely enhanced,” he stated.

New On-Campus Ray R. Irani Engineering Complex

Major gifts from Occidental Petroleum (Oxy) and AUB Trustee and alumnus Ray R. Irani to fund a new on-campus engineering complex were announced in March. The new facility will be named “The Ray R. Irani Oxy Engineering Complex” in honor of Dr. Irani. The complex will support the expansion of the Faculty of Engineering and Architecture by accommodating the specialized needs of class and research labs, classrooms, and faculty offices in a more efficient high tech setting. The present engineering laboratories will be upgraded to meet the rapid technological advances and demands in the field as well as the growing number of engineering students. “I am pleased the new complex will provide students and faculty with new facilities equipped with state of the art technology. It will ensure that AUB remains the regional leader in engineering education,” said Dr. Irani.

West Hall Reopens with Support of Friends and Alumni

The halls of West Hall are filled once again with the buzz of student laughter, music, debate, theater, and activity after it reopened in February 2003 following 25 months of extensive renovations. The rededication and reopening was a festive affair that brought together the president, provost, deans, trustees, alumni, special guests, faculty, staff, and students, along with descendents of Robert Haldane West who came specially from the United States to attend. The “new” West Hall offers state-of-the-art offices for clubs, lecture halls, reading rooms, and recreational spaces–all made possible by the generosity of donors. The new West Hall theater, Dr. Suhail R. Bathish Auditorium, was funded by Mrs. Etaf Bathish in honor of her late husband. Mrs. Bathish’s son Fawzi Farah explained her reasons for funding the theater’s renovation, “AUB has given much to many people and this is one small gesture by which those who have been nurtured intellectually by AUB can give something back to perpetuate and strengthen its role.”

Dodge Foundation Challenge Grant to Alumni

In 2002 the Cleveland H. Dodge Foundation presented alumni and friends residing in the Middle East and Europe with a compelling challenge: if they can raise $2 million for financial aid by the end of the 2003–04 academic year, the foundation will match it with a $500,000 grant to establish The Cleveland H. Dodge Endowed Scholarship Fund for leading students from the Middle East, outside of Lebanon. The foundation matches gifts on a four to one basis with gifts up to $5,000 per donor per year from AUB alumni up to a total of $500,000 and gifts up to $10,000 per donor per year from friends up to a total of $500,000. Not surprisingly, alumni and friends from the Middle East and Europe proved they are up to the challenge and raised $1 million in donations in 2002-03. Just $1 million more to go!