It is a great privilege to have this opportunity to address you as president of AUB, a place that has been a part of my family’s history for generations. My great-great grandfather Daniel Bliss founded the Syrian Protestant College in 1866 and went on to serve as the first president of this institution, which we now know as the American University of Beirut, for 36 years, from 1866 to 1902.
    In addition to a long and very personal association with AUB, I also benefit from the tremendous legacy of my predecessor Dr. John Waterbury, who served with such great distinction as president of the University for ten years, including nine of the 12 months of the fiscal year that this report covers. We share many of the same priorities for this institution such as a commitment to increasing the economic and regional diversity of the student body, which has always been such an important part of the AUB experience. To achieve this, however, we will need to continue to expand our financial aid budget – something the University has done dramatically in recent years with support from many AUB alumni and friends.

    One of the other topics that is of particular interest to me is how faculty and students relate to each other on campus. I believe that the quality of this exchange, which plays such an important role in a student’s academic experience, is richer when it takes place in an environment that encourages research. Thanks to the thousands of men and women who have supported the University in recent years, AUB now boasts a number of smart classrooms, well-equipped laboratories, and endowed research centers and institutes. In addition, it offers PhD programs in eight disciplines: Arab and Middle Eastern history, Arabic language and literature, cell and molecular biology, theoretical physics, civil engineering, electrical and computer engineering, environmental and water resources engineering, and mechanical engineering.
    The decision to become a research university is not one that any institution makes lightly. It requires an enormous investment that must be sustained year in and year out. But it is an investment that yields great dividends – not just for the students enrolled in the PhD programs and the faculty members engaged in research, but for all students, undergraduate and graduate alike. When students are taught by faculty members who are actively engaged in research, they are able to make connections they would not otherwise make and relate what they are learning in the classroom to the world beyond the campus walls. This perspective enriches their academic experience in ways they may not fully appreciate until long after they have left the University.
    I look forward to working with my colleagues on campus and with all of you to strengthen this university and to ensure that it has the resources it needs to prepare future generations to meet the challenges of the 21st century.