Dear Friends,
On September 5, 2022, we officially
welcomed our community back to campus. While registration had been ongoing for several weeks, and students had already started classes, many of us had the sense of an Opening Day like no other. Not only were we celebrating important new beginnings, we did so in unusual circumstances, with a more globally-nimble university, and under an updated logo emblazoned on banners across the campus.
Many things at AUB remain unchanged as we welcome our 157th class of students, providing substantive signs of hope in the face of the daunting challenges which persist in Lebanon and the region. The bustling, upbeat student life visible on every corner of campus; the outstanding quality of the incoming undergraduate, graduate, and medical classes; the record high number of awarded research and development grants; the launch of our Rafic Hariri School of Nursing Bursary Program; and the successful recruitment of over 75 new faculty members across all faculties/schools over the last 14 months, at a fundamental level already give the sense of a bellwether academic year.
MANY THINGS AT AUB REMAIN UNCHANGED AS WE WELCOME OUR 157th CLASS OF STUDENTS, PROVIDING SUBSTANTIVE SIGNS OF HOPE IN THE FACE OF THE DAUNTING CHALLENGES WHICH PERSIST IN LEBANON AND THE REGION.
In my
Opening Day remarks, I pointed to AUB's ability to weather storms and emerge more impactful, more globally relevant and recognized, and poised once more to serve as that “rising tide which lifts all boats." Again and again, we have seen periods of turmoil and destruction lead to some of AUB's finest achievers passing through our gates. In the last year alone, Trustee and AUB graduate Huda Zoghbi shared the
Kavli Prize in Neuroscience in Oslo, and alumnus Ardem Patapoutian, whose career in science started in the
Department of Chemistry at AUB, was awarded the
2021 Nobel Laureate in Medicine. It is striking that so many of our most accomplished alumni and faculty attend AUB during times of crises, of which this era's concatenation of catastrophes is one.
It is fitting that we open this academic year with an
updated look, a fresh take on our historic identity. The distinctive new logo, baked in Berytus Red, reaffirms our identity as one of the oldest, most prestigious, and mission-oriented universities, firmly rooted in Beirut but with an increasingly robust global presence. It is also about new beginnings, refreshing and remaining relevant to new audiences and younger generations.
As this new logo attests, what really matters about this university – its abiding commitment to excellence and service to the people of this region and beyond – must never change. Having renovated and opened both the
Dar Al Handasah (Shair & Partners) Architecture Building intended to launch our School of Design, and the
Ayman and Sawsan Asfari Building which houses both our
Asfari Institute for Civil Society and Citizenship and the Office of the Mamdouha El-Sayed Bobst Dean of the
Faculty of Arts and Sciences, we thank all our friends who invest in new beginnings at AUB.
On the opening of the inspiring new building that will house generations of architects and designers to come, Trustee Talal Shair observed, “This is indeed a proud moment… [The American University of Beirut] has gone beyond simply providing the technical tools for young people to enter the professional world, equally important is its ethos of liberal education that unlocks the mind and unleashes the power of creativity and innovation that is central to the growth of anyone beyond their brief yet critical tenure at this university." And Trustee Ayman Asfari reminded us, “As a beacon of light in a sea of darkness, and with its goal to serve Lebanon and the region through its outreach initiatives like the Asfari Institute, the American University of Beirut can produce many such beacons so that we may progress from despair to hope, a transformation our people have long awaited and truly deserve."
WHAT WE MUST PROVIDE AT THE AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT, IN ADDITION TO OUTSTANDING TEACHING, RESEARCH, AND SERVICE OPPORTUNITIES, IS A SPACE FOR SELF-TRANSFORMATION AND SELF-ATTAINMENT.
In the course of my Opening Day remarks, I paid tribute not only to our own anti-fragile university community, but to the extraordinary efforts Germany deployed in the aftermath of their great defeat in World War II. I emphasized how the Germans rebuilt not only their devastated infrastructure, but their very identity so as to avoid the siren song of ethnic nationalism, something they continue to achieve more than three quarters of a century after the war's end. Lebanon and its neighbors will shortly be tasked with major rebuilds of their economies, nations, and indeed their identities in order to build more inclusive and durable societies. It will fall upon the American University of Beirut to play a lead role in the sustainable reconstruction of a region that has pushed its best and brightest to emigrate for almost two centuries. I am convinced we are up to the task.
What we must provide at the American University of Beirut, in addition to outstanding teaching, research, and service opportunities, is a space for self-transformation and self-attainment. A recent article in
The Atlantic defined so-called “Super Friends," individuals who approach new situations and relationships feeling secure, assuming they will enjoy the trust and support of others. This approach elevates both their own performance and confidence and that of others. Our purpose therefore for our students, faculty, staff, and alumni must be nothing less than to help inculcate this positive spirit in our community in order for our AUB spirit to seep out into a world that badly needs that capacity to heal, grow, and sustain itself. All our AUB “Super Friends" have a Herculean task before them in uplifting and even rebuilding their societies. We must endeavor to share their burdens and ease their paths on the long road forward in all we do.
____
Office of the President
American University of Beirut
T +961 1 35 00 00 – Ext 2500
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