Tuesday, December 19, 2023
AUB Giving Day 2023 was a record-breaking event attracting donations from 1,531 alumni and friends in 69 countries around the world, 45 US states and the District of Columbia, and five Canadian provinces. It also raised more than $1.6 million. “Our AUB family came together as we knew they would,” said Associate Vice President for Development, Alumni Relations, and University Events Salma Oueida. “The engagement this year from colleagues on campus to our alumni and friends around the world was exceptional. From the bottom of my heart, ‘thank you.’”
The global celebration took place on December 4, 2023, the same day that the university celebrated the 157th anniversary of its founding on December 3, 1866. “Organizing Giving Day on the same day that we celebrate Founders Day highlights the importance of philanthropy at our university,” explained Senior Vice President Imad Baalbaki. This was a theme that President Fadlo R. Khuri highlighted in his Founders Day speech: “This university would not have been established without the philanthropic support that Dr. Daniel Bliss, our first and longest-serving president, was able to gather from generous donors in the United States and United Kingdom. From the university’s founding throughout its tremendous growth – both in size and impact – philanthropy has been a constant thread,” he said.
President Khuri, academic deans, and senior university leadership were among the attendees who posed for photos at the Giving Day booths and enjoyed the performance by the AUB Music Club outside Assembly Hall after the conclusion of the Founders Day ceremony. They were among the more than 700 donors who stopped by the booths to make a donation, compete for prizes in a tombala, and enjoy snacks and small “thank you” gifts – all donated by 58 Giving Day sponsors. AUB students also recorded short video messages and helped to promote Giving Day on their social media platforms. (Here is a link to photos taken on the AUB Campus during Giving Day.)
The university received support from 21 Giving Day partners who gave generously – and in so doing helped to inspire others to give. AUB’s seven faculties were especially active this year mobilizing their students, faculty, staff, and alumni to support their faculty in a hotly contested competition to win one of three Faculty Challenge trophies. The three trophies were awarded as follows:
- Highest Percentage of Alumni Donors: Rafic Hariri School of Nursing
- Greatest Number of Alumni Donors: Faculty of Arts and Sciences
- Greatest Number of Faculty Friend Donors: Faculty of Medicine
The three trophies were presented to the deans of the winning faculties by President Fadlo R. Khuri during the Faculty Challenge Trophy Ceremony on December 18, 2023. (Here is a link to photos taken during the trophy ceremony.)
“The money raised from Giving Day will go to a wide range of initiatives, from student scholarships and patient support to priorities at our academic faculties,” said Khuri. “But the ultimate goal on Giving Day is to have as much participation as possible. It is not just about the money raised, but about having our global family come together.”
(Here is a link to a
short video showing the excitement on the AUB campus during Giving Day and
during the Faculty Challenge trophy ceremony on December 18.)