Dear friends and colleagues in the AUB community,
How striking it was last Friday, January 27, while a week-old US administration was
taking steps to withdraw and isolate itself from the global refugee challenge,
America’s oldest educational institution abroad, AUB, was showcasing some of the
dozens of initiatives being implemented here in Lebanon to mitigate the suffering and
insecurity especially experienced by Syrians who have fled here and the host
communities. I will be saying more about this below. Earlier in the week, we were also
able to apprehend all the cross-cutting AUB and AUBMC projects combatting disease
and promoting a healthier population in hundreds of different ways, thanks to a new
interactive Health Initiatives Mapping (HIM) project spearheaded by the Strategic
Health Initiative. Please click on the link to explore the extraordinary breadth of AUB
health research and practice. I cannot touch on medical research without mentioning
the lecture we were privileged to hear by AUB alumna and Trustee Dr. Huda Zoghbi,
under the auspices of the Lebanese Academy of Sciences two weeks ago on the topic
From Genes to Neural Networks and Disorders of Nervous System. I know the
incomparable Dr. Zoghbi is seldom absent in these messages, but it was truly one of
the finest and most accessible lectures I have attended in my lifetime. It was filmed
and I will certainly tweet the link when I can locate it.
Humanities at the heart of AUB
It has been a particularly busy few weeks, which began with the launch of BOLDLY
AUB: The Campaign to Lead, Innovate, and Serve getting off to an excellent start on
January 16. The following night our Trustees and Board of Deans were invited to the
Grand Serail for a special soiree to celebrate our 150th anniversary and the campaign
launch. Prime Minister Saad Hariri paid us the compliment that he wanted Lebanon to
be like AUB, coining the phrase “BOLDLY Lebanon” in appreciation of the work we are
all doing.
In-between these two glittering social occasions was an academic one of enormous
importance, namely a humanities symposium entitled The Humanities at AUB:
Building Better Futures from the Inside Out . It was an eye-opener to hear the
testimonies of young humanists, especially those who had started in the sciences or
engineering and had decided to switch, about how their lives were transformed for
the better and how—far from being unemployable—they had been empowered to
find a job and make a difference in society. For me, it was remarkable, at a time when
all of Higher Education is struggling with what to do with the
humanities or humanism, also to see the degree to which
elements of them played a central role in a modernist
approach to many disciplines. I have spoken several times
about our ambition for AUB to be at the heart of a new
Nahda, or Arab reawakening. This cannot happen without
the humanities at the heart of our educational experience
and I would like to extend my thanks for everyone responsible
for staging such an enlightening event to show how integral they
are to so much of life at AUB.
#AUB4Refugees
I have already referred to the stellar #AUB4Refugees Forum last Friday, organized by
the team under the leadership of Dr. Nasser Yassin, Director of Research at the Issam
Fares Institute. The room was genuinely buzzing with
compassion and enthusiasm as our researchers and
practitioners presented some of the 64 groundbreaking
projects being undertaken by AUB teams with Syrian refugees
and host communities in Lebanon, many with a view to
transform the fortunes of displaced people everywhere. The
forum reinforced how this is a community that doesn't mind
getting its hands dirty; this is certainly no “ivory tower approach”
where academics theorize about issues, but never visit a camp or work with refugees
or host communities to help them meet their challenges. What also emerged from
the presentations is that this crisis is not only a moral imperative for socially engaged
academics, but also a tremendous economic opportunity. I believe that by continuing
to remind people that it is both these things (people get tired of being lectured, after
all) we can ensure that the humanitarian crisis of Syria and its neighbours remains
front and center of people’s attention. This way AUB will lead not only in caring for
and providing hope for Syrian and other refugees, but also in helping rebuild schools
and healthcare systems, and rebuilding civil society and the body politic, in Syria and
other countries.
I was struck by the fact this forum was not just a success among those seated in the
Bathish auditorium, but it attracted massive positive attention on social media
platforms. Tweets including the bespoke hashtag #AUB4Refugees appeared in a
steady flow from numerous accounts reaching more than 500,000 individuals. So
much so, it became the top trend on Twitter in Lebanon and remained there
throughout Friday. It shows the value of smart utilization of these powerful
communication channels by Dr. Yassin and his team. None of what happened in the
Arab Spring—certainly not the best parts of it—would have been possible without
social media.
In praise of collegial competition
Whether it is the recent FEA social entrepreneurship hackathon, the OSB MBA
team’s performance in Canada in the ultra-competitive John Molson International
Case Competition, or the recent HULT Prize heats at AUB, the competitions in which
our students participate show not just their inventiveness and resourcefulness, but
also their collegiality and good sportsmanship. It is widely recognized that the people
of this region are blessed with ingenuity, relying on their wits in an environment of
hardship and sparse resources. This may be why—as Deputy UN Special Coordinator
for Lebanon Philippe Lazzarini is fond of telling colleagues—wherever you work, you’ll
always find a Lebanese among the top five or ten people in that sector. But
sometimes, this can lead to a more cutthroat approach, so I am especially proud that
our students maintain their competitive edge, but always with a collegial,
collaborative and aspirational approach.
Collegiality is when you compete to the utmost of your ability without discrediting or
demeaning your competitor; that way, at the end of the day, the best of what you've
done and the best of what s/he has done can come together so the whole can be
greater than the sum of its parts. Collegiality is the recognition that true competition
is with yourself, when you try to push your own margins, rather than comparing
yourself with others. The more that principal is adopted in our community, the
brighter the future of this University and, candidly, the brighter the future for all of
humanity.
Best regards,
Fadlo R. Khuri, MD
President