Sally Abou Melhem, Office of Communications, media@aub.edu.lb
Professor Saouma BouJaoude, associate dean at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and director of the Center for Teaching and Learning at AUB was awarded top honor by NARST, a global organization for improving science education through research.
BouJaoude was selected to receive the NARST 2020 Distinguished Contributions to Science Education through Research Award (DCRA). This honor recognizes his professional accomplishments as the most significant among other researchers nominated for the DCRA this year.
“AUB has provided [me] with the nourishing and demanding environment along with the support that allowed me to pursue my passion for science education," commented BouJaoude.
BouJaoude is an engaged scholar who has impacted science education at the local, regional, and international level. His scholarly productivity spans many areas from curriculum, to teachers, to students. At the core of this continuous line of work is his passion for the improvement of the educational condition for many students and teachers. As a tireless scholar and advocate for science education, he also mentors many students and faculty, and serves on numerous national and international committees. As stated by a fellow science educator, BouJaoude's dedication to the field of science education has resulted in his being the “nucleus of science education [in] the Arab region and an essential bridge between the region and the international science education community."
“I am delighted and proud that Professor Saouma BouJaoude will be awarded the Distinguished Contributions to Science Education Award from the National Association for Research in Science Teaching (NARST)," said AUB President Fadlo Khuri. “This is the most prestigious award that NARST confers. In adding this latest, even more luminous recognition to the Kuwait Prize, which Professor Saouma BouJaoude deservedly received in 2018, this magnificent, humble and accomplished educator and servant leader of AUB continues to bring enormous acclaim to the university." Khuri continued, “Saouma is an educator's educator, and a scholar's scholar. In perusing the previous stellar winners of this award, it is clear that all are in even greater company now that they have been joined by the matchless Saouma BouJaoude."
About NARST
Since 1928, NARST has promoted research in science education and the communication of knowledge generated by research. The ultimate goal of NARST is to help all learners achieve science literacy. NARST promotes this goal by encouraging and supporting the application of diverse research methods and theoretical perspectives from multiple disciplines to the investigation of teaching and learning in science; communicating science education research findings to researchers, practitioners, and policy makers; and cooperating with other educational and scientific societies to influence educational policies.