Tuesday, May 23, 2023
“Our purpose,” explained Salwa Khoury, in her welcoming remarks on behalf of the AUB Alumni Association for Dubai and Northern Emirates, “is to ‘spark the future’ of some less fortunate young men and women who deserve our support. Our goal is to add ‘light’ into their lives. By helping students with their education at AUB, we can bring knowledge, wisdom, grace, and hope into their world.”
More than 425 alumni and friends attended the stunning dinner @Music Hall at Zabeel Saray-The Palm on May 13 including AUB President Fadlo Khuri, Ambassador Fouad Dandan, Consul General Assaf Domit, Trustee Abdulsalam Haykal, Trustee Maher Mikati, Trustee Kamel Wehbe, Trustee Emeritus Riad Kamal, His Excellency Dr. Nasser Saidi, Senior Vice President Imad Baalbaki, and Associate Vice President Salma Dannawi Oueida. It was, said Oueida, “a very special evening. We were all especially eager to get together – something we could not do until very recently because of the pandemic.”
One of the highlights of the evening was an address by President Khuri who spoke about the “energy and innovation” at AUB these days. He also reported on the support that AUB was making available to current students who have faced “truly extraordinary challenges” in recent years. “AUB is currently providing financial assistance to 65 percent of our outstanding student body – thanks in part to the exceptional generosity of our alumni and friends. The average support level is 55 percent, a dramatic change from just a decade ago when only 45 percent of students received financial assistance at an average of under 30 percent per student,” said Khuri. The president lauded the Dubai Chapter for its strong support for scholarships at AUB. “We are looking to our alumni chapters to do what they can – and a bit more – to help our current and future students who are facing truly unimaginable challenges.” Khuri also updated attendees on the American University of Beirut – Mediterraneo in Pafos, Cyprus, AUB’s first twin campus outside Lebanon.
“Our alumni and friends in Dubai have been exceptionally generous supporters of our university over the years,” said Baalbaki. “We are deeply grateful to everyone for their abiding support for the transformative academic and healthcare mission of our university.”
A big “thank you” to the chapter leadership listed here. You can watch a wonderful video that the AUB Alumni Association for Dubai and Northern Emirates prepared with support from the Office of Advancement featuring some of the many students whose lives have been touched and whose futures have been sparked at AUB thanks to the support they are receiving from the Dubai Chapter. Here is a link where you can view photos that were taken during the May 13 dinner.