New and Proposed Initiatives

The Provost’s Office is currently developing a number of wide-ranging initiatives to explore interdisciplinary approaches to research and education that engage local and regional priorities. These priorities include climatic and environmental change; energy generation technologies; public policy and international affairs; human health and development; and cultural authenticity, broadly defined.

Research provides the data, analyses, and recommendations that governments, NGOs, and businesses need to make decisions and take action. Interdisciplinary research is especially valuable, not only for public policy, civil society, and commerce, but also for higher education: it helps universities to identify emerging fields of study that can be useful in addressing contemporary challenges. This allows AUB to develop new programs – or improve existing ones – that prepare students to meet the needs of the marketplace, and of Middle Eastern societies, in a much more explicit way.

For the present, the University is considering targeting five ‘clusters’ of research activity, which include:

Environmental Studies

Energy Studies

Public Policy Studies

Arabic and Islamic Studies

Arts and Humanities

In March 2012, AUB received a generous grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support a new Arts and Humanities Initiative to integrate faculty development, including research, with curricular innovation. The fellowships and programmatic activities at the heart of this initiative are foundational elements of a proposed Center for Arts and Humanities, which is currently being developed.   

In 2011-12, the provost also worked with academic deans to reform the governance of interdisciplinary programs and to develop policies and procedures for the initiation of new programs in the targeted areas. A proposal for the establishment of a Division of University Interdisciplinary Programs was approved by the BOD and Senate, and is expected to receive BOT approval in June 2012.

Ongoing Initiatives

Over the last few years, the Provost’s Office has made significant progress on the following ongoing initiatives:

Empowering Departments: Motivated faculty are essential to the effective functioning of academic units and to sustaining quality higher education. Initiatives to date aimed at empowering faculty at the departmental level include the development of a chairs manual to clarify the expectations, responsibilities, and processes involved in the position, including regular consultations with departmental faculty; a policy that specifies how chairs should be recruited, compensated, and evaluated; and new and transitional policies for the appointment, reappointment and promotion of faculty, with contract durations standardized at seven years.

Student Enrollment Services: A small task force has been working to strengthen and expand student services in certain non-academic areas (admissions, registration, financial aid, etc.) and to simplify procedures followed by current and incoming students. Its ultimate aim is the creation of a comprehensive enrollment management plan that corresponds with the University's strategic objectives.

Graduate Studies: A second task force revised and improved admissions, financial aid, and academic policies and procedures for the University’s graduate students; and developed a proposal for the establishment of a Graduate Council to oversee their implementation.

Institutional Integrity: This initiative has several elements, including the strengthening of AUB’s policies and procedures on harassment, discrimination, and non-retaliation; clarifications on conflicts of interest (in familial contexts) and bad faith allegations; improved grievance procedures for faculty, staff, and students; research integrity policies and procedures that are aligned with the requirements of external funders; and ongoing improvements to processes overseen by the Institutional Review Board. The creation of a University Ombuds Office is central to these efforts.