American University of Beirut

I am pleased to announce the promotion of Mitra Tauk to diversity, equity, and inclusion officer of the American University of Beirut (AUB), effective December 1, 2022, which will be in addition to her continuing work as Title IX coordinator.

This new position will further the work already underway at AUB to foster a culture of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging within our community. We started this process in 2015 by appointing a task force on the lives and careers of women faculty. This overarching effort has now evolved to focus on diversity, inclusion, and equity across the board, with broad and in-depth work focused on the lives of students, faculty and staff at AUB. The university community and indeed the administration has embraced Title IX as an assurance against discrimination and a protection against unequal and imbalanced power dynamics. This commitment is fully in line with the university’s mission, reflects our core values, and helps fulfil our institutional strategy (VITAL 2030). To further these efforts, the university has adopted a new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Statement​ that states clearly the goals we strive to achieve in honoring the diverse identities, backgrounds, and perspectives of its community members in order to promote an equitable, inclusive, and welcoming educational environment.

As the DEI Officer/Title IX Coordinator, Tauk will coordinate with key stakeholders across the institution to develop the university’s DEI vision, strategy, and goals to support an inclusive experience for students, faculty, and staff. She will also help develop diversity and cross-cultural programs and activities as well as assess and monitor these and recommend changes accordingly.

Mitra Tauk brings a wealth of experience and qualifications to this new position. Since 2018, she has led the Equity and Title IX Office to new levels of achievement and impact. These include developing clear and transparent policies and procedures for complaint resolution and establishing a robust and multi-tiered training and awareness plan, greatly increasing the visibility of the office and its mission. She has brought students into these efforts with an active Title IX Student Committee and by developing peer-to-peer student support groups. In addition, she has helped bring these values of equity and inclusion out to the wider world, collaborating with various programs and centers at the university. 

Ms. Tauk is a highly trained and multi-certified expert in Title IX coordination, civil rights investigation, and in dealing with gender identity on campus. She has a BA in law from La Sagesse University, a diplôme inter universitarie in medical law from the University of Lorraine, a master’s in international humanitarian health law from Montpellier University, a master’s of science in public health from AUB, and is currently completing the last stages of a PhD in law at Université de Lyon.  

Please join me in thanking Mitra Tauk for her outstanding work thus far and wishing her all the best as she takes on this expanded role in ensuring a diverse, equitable, and inclusive campus culture. But please note that she cannot accomplish this on her own. It is the responsibility of all our community members to work towards honoring our shared values and fostering a more welcoming, inclusive, diverse and empowered campus for all.

Best regards,

Fadlo R. Khuri, MD

President