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The <strong>LAU</strong> President’s Report<br />
2006–2007
The <strong>LAU</strong> President’s Report<br />
2006–2007
Mission Statement<br />
The <strong>Lebanese</strong> <strong>American</strong> University is committed<br />
to academic excellence, student-centeredness,<br />
the advancement of scholarship, the education<br />
of the whole person, and the formation of<br />
students as future leaders in a diverse world.
P r e s i d e n t ’s R e p o rt 2 0 0 6 | 2 0 0 7<br />
Table of Contents<br />
Letter from the President..........................................................................................................................2<br />
Implementing Our Mission.........................................................................................................................4<br />
Academic Excellence ...................................................................................................................................................................6<br />
Spotlight on the School of Arts & Sciences...........................................................................................................8<br />
Student-Centeredness..............................................................................................................................................................10<br />
Spotlight on the School of Business.......................................................................................................................12<br />
Advancement of Scholarship .................................................................................................................................................14<br />
Spotlight on the School of Engineering & Architecture ................................................................................16<br />
Education of the Whole Person.............................................................................................................................................18<br />
Spotlight on the School of Medicine.....................................................................................................................20<br />
Formation of Future Leaders in a Diverse World ...........................................................................................................22<br />
Spotlight on the School of Pharmacy....................................................................................................................24<br />
Our Partners & DONORS...............................................................................................................................26<br />
The Case for Giving....................................................................................................................................................................27<br />
A Transformational Gift...........................................................................................................................................................28<br />
List of Contributors 2006–07................................................................................................................................................30<br />
Endowed Scholarships & Established Grants .................................................................................................................34<br />
MEDGULF Contribution Advances Actuarial Sciences .................................................................................................37<br />
Making It Possible............................................................................................................................................38<br />
Student Development & Enrollment Management.....................................................................................................38<br />
Human Resources & University Services .........................................................................................................................40<br />
Human Resources..........................................................................................................................................................41<br />
Facilities............................................................................................................................................................................42<br />
Information Technology .............................................................................................................................................43<br />
University Advancement.........................................................................................................................................................44<br />
Alumni Affairs ................................................................................................................................................................45<br />
Development..................................................................................................................................................................46<br />
Marketing & Communications................................................................................................................................47<br />
Public Relations .............................................................................................................................................................48<br />
Advancement Services................................................................................................................................................49<br />
Finance...........................................................................................................................................................................................50<br />
Board of Trustees and Board of International Advisors 2006–2007 ......................................................................52<br />
Our Vision for the Future .......................................................................................................................54<br />
1
L e t t e r F r o m t h e P r e s i d e n t<br />
Education is Our Best Hope<br />
for Peace and Progress<br />
Dear Friends of <strong>LAU</strong>,<br />
In times of crisis, one doesn’t speak of keeping one’s heart. For better<br />
or worse, the heart’s passion often fuels conflict. Rather, we at the<br />
<strong>Lebanese</strong> <strong>American</strong> University believe that when we face obstacles and<br />
opponents, the road to resolution and advancement depends greatly<br />
on our ability to keep our heads without losing our hearts.<br />
Sometimes, keeping one’s head doesn’t come as naturally as following<br />
one’s heart. Staying cool amid confrontation requires having a vision<br />
for the future and a plan for achieving it. It means being able to<br />
evaluate a situation from multiple vantage points while drawing on a<br />
depth of knowledge about the issues at hand and the tools that might<br />
help create peace and progress.<br />
Equally, keeping one’s head depends on the clear articulation of the<br />
vision and its benefits to all parties involved. Finally, it assumes that<br />
others are watching and will follow your example. As Martin Luther<br />
King, Jr., wrote in his 1963 book of sermons Strength to Love, “The<br />
ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of<br />
comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge<br />
and controversy.” Since its noble beginnings in 1835 as a school for girls<br />
in the Ottoman Empire, the <strong>Lebanese</strong> <strong>American</strong> University has proved<br />
that it is up to the task.<br />
▲ President Joseph G. Jabbra<br />
<strong>LAU</strong>’s commitment to building an environment in which students can<br />
gain the knowledge and develop the skills needed to keep one’s head<br />
has been tested time and again over the past century and a half and<br />
most recently during the summer 2006 war. The momentum of the<br />
meticulously articulated five-year strategic plan that had gathered<br />
over the previous year not only helped the university weather the<br />
disruptions caused by the 34-day war but also propelled the<br />
completion of the first major initiatives, including achieving candidacy<br />
for accreditation from the New England Association of Schools and<br />
Colleges (NEASC), in record time.<br />
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“<br />
<strong>LAU</strong> is in the midst of dramatic and<br />
far-reaching institutional change. ”<br />
NEASC Accreditation Team, April 2007<br />
In this year’s annual report, the first of its kind for the university, we<br />
review the past year’s successes and the people and processes that<br />
have made them possible as well as our plans going forward. The<br />
report is divided into three sections. In the first several pages, we<br />
illustrate the many ways in which <strong>LAU</strong> is fulfilling the five<br />
basic tenets of its mission: academic excellence, studentcenteredness,<br />
advancement of scholarship, education of<br />
the whole person, and the formation of future leaders in a<br />
diverse world. We’ll also update you on the strides made<br />
at each of our five academic schools.<br />
Then, giving them the prominence they deserve, our centerfold<br />
features major donors and contributors to the annual fund and the<br />
more than 150 academic scholarships offered to students at <strong>LAU</strong>. We<br />
outline how everyone in <strong>LAU</strong>’s immediate and extended communities<br />
can contribute to our success.<br />
Finally, we’ll canvas <strong>LAU</strong>’s administrative divisions and take a close look<br />
at how they are leveraging their resources and expertise to support<br />
the institution’s mission. A summary of our most recent financial<br />
statement also appears here.<br />
On its visit last April, the NEASC accreditation team announced that<br />
“<strong>LAU</strong> is in the midst of dramatic and far-reaching institutional<br />
change.” Indeed it is. It is an exciting time, full of promise for a better<br />
future for our students, for Lebanon, and for the world.<br />
We hope you’ll join us as we share some of that promise in the pages<br />
that follow, which chronicle achievements that wouldn’t have been<br />
possible without the hearts and minds of every member of our<br />
extended <strong>LAU</strong> family. Thank you. And remember: Excellence is our<br />
passion. <strong>LAU</strong> is our pride.<br />
Sincerely,<br />
Joseph G. Jabbra<br />
3
I m p l e m e n t i n g O u r M i s s i o n<br />
S t r at e g ic P l a n P r o g r e s s<br />
Jabbra joins <strong>LAU</strong>;<br />
presents vision for<br />
the university<br />
Surveys and focus group<br />
interviews conducted;<br />
draft Mission, Vision,<br />
and Goals developed<br />
Board of Trustees<br />
approves draft Mission,<br />
Vision, and Goals<br />
Strategic Plan drafted<br />
based on Mission,<br />
Vision, and Goals<br />
2005–2010 Strategic<br />
Plan approved by<br />
Board of Trustees<br />
Reduction of teaching load<br />
for selected full-time faculty;<br />
faculty orientation and<br />
mentoring program created<br />
Faculty Senate created<br />
August 2004<br />
Spring 2005<br />
March 2005<br />
Summer<br />
2005<br />
September<br />
2005<br />
May 2006<br />
October<br />
2006<br />
<strong>LAU</strong>’s Goals<br />
The overarching goal of the <strong>Lebanese</strong> <strong>American</strong> University is to function as “one<br />
University” with two campuses in an effective, efficient and nimble manner. The<br />
Strategic Goals are:<br />
1. To drive <strong>LAU</strong> to become a world-class institution of higher learning<br />
2. To target enrollment to achieve academic objectives while properly nurturing and<br />
supporting students<br />
3. To provide a service-centered environment that stimulates and facilitates: student<br />
growth and development; intellectual and professional development for faculty and<br />
staff; scholarly and creative endeavors for faculty, students, and staff<br />
4. To make <strong>LAU</strong> the higher education employer of choice in Lebanon by instilling a culture<br />
of ownership, empowerment, fairness, accountability, integrity, and reward for<br />
achievement<br />
5. To strengthen relationships with the extended <strong>LAU</strong> community<br />
6. To demonstrate leadership in providing state-of-the-art systems and infrastructure to<br />
properly support academic, student and administrative activities and initiatives<br />
7. To use financial resources in a well-planned and highly effective manner<br />
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NEASC self-study completed;<br />
integrated<br />
Student Advisement program<br />
implemented; Staff<br />
Advisory Council created<br />
NEASC candidacy<br />
achieved; comprehensive<br />
five-year fund-raising<br />
plan approved<br />
Strategic enrollment<br />
plan approved by<br />
Board of Trustees<br />
First <strong>LAU</strong>MS class<br />
arrives in Byblos<br />
Five-year alumni<br />
PRIDE plan developed<br />
New job classification<br />
system created<br />
First medical school<br />
class enters; NEASC<br />
accreditation<br />
achieved<br />
Completion of<br />
2005–2010<br />
Strategic Plan<br />
December<br />
2006<br />
June 2007<br />
September<br />
2007<br />
Spring 2008<br />
September<br />
2008<br />
Fall 2009<br />
2009<br />
Projections<br />
2010<br />
▼ Caucusing at the 2007 Global Classrooms-Model UN<br />
5
I m p l e m e n t i n g O u r M i s s i o n<br />
Academic Excellence<br />
The heart of a university must be its academic core. This is one of six<br />
major themes that emerged as <strong>LAU</strong> faculty and staff engaged in an<br />
intensive process of self-evaluation that led to the articulation of the<br />
initiatives of the university’s five-year strategic plan. The first of these<br />
initiatives is “to promote excellence in teaching, learning and research.”<br />
By embarking on the self-study required by the rigorous accreditation<br />
process of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges<br />
(NEASC), <strong>LAU</strong> took a major step in 2006–07 toward implementing this<br />
initiative. The completion of the study in record time further<br />
underscored the university’s dedication to upholding both NEASC’s and<br />
its own high standards. In September 2007, NEASC announced that <strong>LAU</strong><br />
had achieved accreditation candidacy, firmly setting the university on<br />
course to becoming a world-class institution and fully accredited by the<br />
fall of 2009, an admittedly ambitious but reachable goal.<br />
<strong>LAU</strong> has also reaffirmed its commitment to recruiting highly qualified,<br />
tenure-track faculty. Since 2000, the number of full-time faculty<br />
members, nearly half of whom hold the rank of associate or full<br />
professor, has increased, bringing the student-faculty ratio to a<br />
respectable 20:1, on par with many U.S. institutions of a similar size.<br />
Not only is the number of full-time faculty increasing but so is the<br />
amount of time they can spend in the library, field, or lab. Teaching<br />
loads were reduced to give faculty members desperately needed time<br />
to engage in more research and writing. Similarly, several new faculty<br />
members were recruited in part because of their leadership on<br />
innovative projects already under way.<br />
▼ Students do tests in an engineering lab<br />
Student Achievers<br />
Helen Saad ’02<br />
International Fulbright Science and<br />
Technology Award<br />
Fulbright scholar Suha Itani ’03<br />
Outstanding Teacher Award from<br />
Florida State University<br />
Mireille Rayess Jaoude ’04<br />
Valedictorian at the 2007 commencement<br />
for master’s degree candidates in finance<br />
at George Washington University<br />
Faten Fathallah<br />
Represents Lebanon and <strong>LAU</strong> in the<br />
marketing apprenticeship program<br />
Dubai Summer Surprises<br />
Vatche Isahakian ’06<br />
Full assistantship in PhD program at<br />
London South Bank University<br />
Mona Hatoum ’72<br />
Marya Kazoun ’00<br />
Exhibiting artists at the 2007 Sharjah<br />
Biennial 8<br />
Helen Sadek ’07<br />
Full scholarship for PhD studies in molecular<br />
biology at Johns Hopkins University<br />
Dina Jabbour ’07<br />
Full scholarship for PhD studies in molecular<br />
microbiology at the Technical<br />
University of Hamburg-Harburg<br />
Carol Daoud ’99 ’06<br />
Full scholarship for PhD studies at<br />
Heidelberg University, Germany<br />
Suha Yazbeck ’05<br />
Full scholarship for PhD studies at Case<br />
Western Reserve University in Ohio.<br />
Manal Maalouf ’07<br />
Full tuition and stipend for PhD study at<br />
Case Western Reserve University, Ohio<br />
Alian Hasrouny ’05<br />
Fulbright scholarship for a master’s<br />
degree in international affairs<br />
Dominik Haddad ’07<br />
Full scholarship for PhD studies at<br />
Katholieke Universiteit Leuven, Belgium<br />
Rita Aad ’04<br />
MEPI scholarship for six-month training<br />
course on leadership and democracy<br />
Raida Basma ’07<br />
Full stipend for PhD studies at the<br />
<strong>American</strong> University of Beirut<br />
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“<br />
Maintaining excellence in so<br />
many areas is not a burden;<br />
we are driven by genuine passion<br />
for what we do. ”<br />
<strong>LAU</strong> President Joseph G. Jabbra<br />
To support the university-wide accreditation process, program<br />
reviews are taking place leading to revised curricula<br />
as well as the introduction of new majors, too. A thorough<br />
review of all academic programs will take place over the<br />
next five to six years. In addition, 18 centers and institutes<br />
provide portals for interdisciplinary investigation on<br />
issues such as <strong>Lebanese</strong> heritage, migration, family and<br />
entrepreneurial business as well as the mechanism for hosting conferences<br />
and colloquia that encourage contributions from scholars from<br />
around the world.<br />
Finally, achieving academic excellence would be impossible without a<br />
well-stocked, well-organized, and technology-enabled library system.<br />
The inauguration of the Riyad Nassar Library represented light years of<br />
progress in this area for <strong>LAU</strong>. In 2006–07, the print and electronic<br />
collections continued to expand both in Byblos and Beirut with the<br />
donation of more than 13,000 volumes from the Sabre Foundation and<br />
the acquisition of ebrary, a collection of 30,000 digital books and<br />
documents. <strong>LAU</strong> is currently recruiting a university librarian who will<br />
head library services across the whole institution.<br />
▼ In the ceramics studio<br />
▼ The periodicals room in the new Beirut library<br />
7
I m p l e m e n t i n g O u r M i s s i o n<br />
Home to <strong>LAU</strong>’s oldest programs, the School of Arts & Sciences<br />
spans both the Byblos and Beirut campuses. It forms the<br />
core of the university’s commitment to a solid grounding in<br />
the liberal arts while allowing students to pursue individual interests<br />
in a broad range of disciplines.<br />
Much of the 2006–07 academic year was spent assessing programs in<br />
the School of Arts & Sciences with regard to the standards set forth by<br />
the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC). In<br />
addition to preparing for university-wide accreditation, the school also<br />
implemented a program review process of its own. In addition, new<br />
degree programs, in history and philosophy, and a new minor, in<br />
actuarial sciences, were introduced.<br />
The school also inaugurated two major projects in Byblos that will<br />
enhance the scope of scientific research undertaken at <strong>LAU</strong>. The<br />
Genomics & Proteomics Research Center, the only one of its kind in the<br />
Arab world, was equipped with sophisticated equipment worth<br />
$2 million. Construction of a European Union–funded $250,000<br />
wastewater treatment plant was completed. The plant will not only<br />
serve the <strong>LAU</strong> community but will also be available for teaching,<br />
research, and capacity building of local engineers.<br />
Among other important developments, the school signaled its<br />
expectations for significant growth in the field of education by<br />
creating a separate education division. And in conjunction with the<br />
<strong>LAU</strong> Medical School, which expects its first class in 2009, the<br />
premedical school curriculum was finalized.<br />
Recruitment continued in earnest and resulted in the hiring of many<br />
new faculty members with exemplary credentials, including the<br />
internationally acclaimed <strong>Lebanese</strong> writer, poet, and novelist Rachid El<br />
Daif, who has joined <strong>LAU</strong> as an adjunct professor, and the geneticist<br />
Pierre Zalloua, who was jointly appointed to Arts & Sciences and the<br />
Medical School and is renowned for his work on Phoenician DNA.<br />
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9
I m p l e m e n t i n g O u r M i s s i o n<br />
Student-Centeredness<br />
For us it’s simple: Students come first. From the<br />
moment a student expresses interest in attending<br />
<strong>LAU</strong>, we begin looking at things from their perspective.<br />
In particular, we believe that diversity benefits every student,<br />
which is why last year <strong>LAU</strong> representatives visited 305 high<br />
schools in Lebanon and the Middle East and participated in 52<br />
one-day fairs. On these trips, they introduce <strong>LAU</strong> and seek out<br />
motivated individuals from an array of geographic, religious,<br />
ethnic, and linguistic backgrounds to assemble the most<br />
diverse and driven class possible. Economic diversity is also important, and<br />
<strong>LAU</strong>’s leadership has long committed to providing the funding necessary for<br />
financially disadvantaged students to attend. In 2006–07, about one-third<br />
of the student body received financial aid.The resulting ethos, palpable at<br />
new student orientations, is one that rewards tolerance and fosters<br />
cooperation and collaboration among disparate minds.<br />
“<br />
Think about what kind of world<br />
you want to live and work in.<br />
What do you need to know to build<br />
that world Demand that<br />
your teachers teach you that. ”<br />
Peter Kropotkin<br />
Academic diversity is also essential. At <strong>LAU</strong> students can choose to<br />
pursue degrees in about 40 disciplines—including architecture, biology,<br />
computer science, economics, education, engineering, hospitality and<br />
tourism, pharmacy, political science, and psychology. Nearly 1,300 course<br />
sections were offered each semester during 2006–07, ensuring that<br />
students were able to satisfy course requirements in a reasonable<br />
amount of time. A new integrated student advising program helped<br />
them sort through all the offerings and select those most relevant to<br />
them. Most important, however, options abound for students exploring<br />
how to leave their imprint on the world. Plenty of options also exist for<br />
those, yearning for the knowledge to develop a passion into a<br />
vocation—like Hussein Abbas ’06, whose passion to understand cancer<br />
led him to co-found Toufoula (Childhood), an organization dedicated to<br />
▲ The <strong>LAU</strong> newsroom<br />
▲ Hussein Abbas '06 with his mentor,<br />
chemistry professor Ahmad Houri<br />
10
P r e s i d e n t ’s R e p o rt 2 0 0 6 | 2 0 0 7<br />
helping children deal with cancer, before pursuing a PhD at the worldfamous<br />
M.D. Anderson Medical Center in Houston, Texas.<br />
Despite the challenging telecom environment in Lebanon, as modes of<br />
communication and conducting research evolve and become more<br />
and more dependent on digital technologies, <strong>LAU</strong> is making sure its<br />
students are keeping up with ever-advancing technology trends. In<br />
addition to the complete wireless coverage on campus, during<br />
2006–07, the university put plans in motion to double its bandwidth,<br />
introduce 29 audio- and video-enabled “smart” classrooms, and<br />
conduct eight training sessions on WebCT, a well-known, easy-to-use<br />
web-based software application that lets instructors provide their<br />
students with syllabi and assignments online.<br />
In addition to providing numerous on-campus opportunities to<br />
experiment and excel with a range of extracurricular and communityservice<br />
activities, <strong>LAU</strong> also dedicates significant resources to making<br />
sure that students engage with the world outside the gates. Through<br />
<strong>LAU</strong>’s Global Classrooms–Model UN program, about 70 students<br />
volunteer each year to train high school students around Lebanon in<br />
the art of diplomacy and protocol as it’s practiced in the United<br />
Nations. Graduate assistants are also often invited to coauthor papers<br />
and attend international conferences alongside their professors.<br />
▼ International Day<br />
As students prepare for life after college, <strong>LAU</strong> also helps. Year-round, the<br />
Guidance Office posts job announcements internally for students and<br />
alumni, and each spring it hosts career fairs on both the Byblos and<br />
Beirut campuses. Last year, a total of 125 <strong>Lebanese</strong>, regional, and<br />
multinational companies participated in the fairs, and 285 job offers<br />
were channeled through the Guidance Office.<br />
▲ Love Your Body day, a health-awareness campaign<br />
11
I m p l e m e n t i n g O u r M i s s i o n<br />
More than 72 percent of all degrees granted in 2006–07 on<br />
the Beirut campus were granted to graduates of programs<br />
offered in the business school, attesting to the explosive<br />
growth the school has seen in recent years. With business programs on<br />
both campuses that encompass all the necessary skills—accounting,<br />
banking and finance, economics, management, marketing—<strong>LAU</strong> is<br />
uniquely positioned to help ambitious <strong>Lebanese</strong> men and women<br />
achieve their goals to become industry leaders in Lebanon and across<br />
the Middle East.<br />
Business graduates went on to work at Fortune 500 companies last<br />
year and to prestigious PhD programs—following the scholarly<br />
example set by their faculty, who not only contribute extensively to<br />
international journals but also produce one of their own. The Berkeley<br />
Electronic Press signed a contract to publish Review of Middle East<br />
Economics and Finance, edited by the school’s Byblos faculty. The<br />
journal is the only internationally peer-reviewed journal dealing with<br />
Middle East economics and finance.<br />
Also during 2006–07, the executive MBA and hospitality and tourism<br />
programs got a boost. An agreement was signed with the Union of<br />
Arab Banks to offer the executive MBA program to their members and<br />
a new hospitality management lab became fully operational, giving<br />
students in this popular program access to much-needed resources to<br />
further their food-preparation and protection skills.<br />
school of<br />
business<br />
8<br />
▼ Students working in the new hospitality lab<br />
7<br />
6<br />
5<br />
4<br />
3<br />
2<br />
1<br />
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13
I m p l e m e n t i n g O u r M i s s i o n<br />
Advancement of Scholarship<br />
Over the past year, <strong>LAU</strong>’s pursuit of accreditation, focus on faculty<br />
recruitment, reduction in teaching loads, and augmentation of<br />
library and IT resources as well as electronic databases have all<br />
contributed markedly to the advancement of scholarship at the<br />
university. But as any researcher will tell you, the most important type<br />
of project support comes in the form of a grant, whether it’s for<br />
ground-breaking research or for a chance to take theory—and<br />
students—out of the classroom and into the field.<br />
In 2006–07, <strong>LAU</strong> raised a record $4 million from a variety of<br />
foundations and private funders, such as the U.S. Embassy, Cisco, the<br />
National Geographic Society, and the European Union, for a wide range<br />
of innovative initiatives with the potential for far-reaching<br />
implications.The Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World (IWSAW)<br />
received three grants, the largest of which will support an ongoing<br />
teacher-training program focused on increasing literacy among<br />
<strong>Lebanese</strong> women. A seven-year, $2.1 million grant from the Middle East<br />
Partnership Initiative will provide educational opportunities to 18<br />
underserved students, more than half of them women, from countries<br />
in the Middle East and North Africa. The project will be managed by<br />
the University Enterprise Office, an in-house management consultant<br />
on special projects for <strong>LAU</strong>. A grant from the Swiss Agency for<br />
Development and Cooperation helped underwrite the Institute for<br />
▼ Dr. Zalloua conducts DNA research<br />
▲ Experimentation in a Beirut science lab<br />
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Diplomacy and Conflict Transformation, a 10-day residential summer<br />
academy that trained 30 university students from seven Arab<br />
countries in conflict resolution, negotiation, and mediation skills.<br />
Other grants will fund software development and the continuation of<br />
the Cisco Academy Training Centre in the School of Engineering &<br />
Architecture in Byblos.<br />
“<br />
If we are to teach real<br />
peace in this world, if we are<br />
to declare war on war, we must<br />
begin with the children. ”<br />
Ghandi<br />
To undergird the university’s new research focus, <strong>LAU</strong> has<br />
initiated a search for a dean for research and graduate<br />
studies. The dean will be charged with providing faculty<br />
with the tools and information they need not only to put<br />
together winning grant applications but also to manage<br />
the monies effectively once they arrive.<br />
▼ A recent cover of the IWSAW journal<br />
Owing to Lebanon’s status as a cultural crossroads and<br />
key catalyst for change in the region, special emphasis is placed on<br />
encouraging applied research and investigation that impact the local<br />
and regional environment. Typical of these projects is work being done<br />
by the recently founded Institute for Migration Studies. Current<br />
institute activities include organizing an international conference<br />
titled “Politics and the Culture of the <strong>Lebanese</strong> Diaspora” and two<br />
studies on the culture of Ethiopian domestic workers in Lebanon and<br />
the impact of return migration of Lala, a village in the western region<br />
of the Bekaa Valley.<br />
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I m p l e m e n t i n g O u r M i s s i o n<br />
<strong>LAU</strong> offers eight bachelor’s and, as of fall 2006, three master’s<br />
degree programs in its School of Engineering & Architecture<br />
(SEA), where a variety of laboratories and an architecture and<br />
design workshop facilitate technical instruction and experimentation.<br />
In 2006–07, three of these labs—telecommunications, stress analysis,<br />
and computer integrated manufacturing—were updated with stateof-the<br />
art equipment whose purchase was made possible by an<br />
<strong>American</strong> Schools & Hospitals Abroad grant from the U.S. Agency for<br />
International Development.<br />
The 2006–07 academic year was very fruitful in terms of faculty<br />
recruitment. The school increased its faculty roster by 35 percent, a<br />
remarkable achievement considering that almost all new members are<br />
coming from outside Lebanon at a time when the region is struggling<br />
with unfortunate political tensions. Also last year, infrastructure<br />
software and solutions provider MWH Soft established an endowed<br />
scholarship to fund the senior year of study for a civil engineering<br />
major who “has a passion for promoting the advancement and wellbeing<br />
of all people by building, operating, and sustaining safe, reliable<br />
water and wastewater infrastructures.” In addition to the funds, the<br />
company, whose president and CEO is Paul Boulos, a member of <strong>LAU</strong>’s<br />
board of international advisors, will contribute hydraulic<br />
infrastructure and modeling and design software to the university.<br />
The SEA’s architecture program is undergoing re-accreditation by the<br />
French Ministry of Culture, in accordance with a major change in the<br />
teaching and professional practice of architecture in France, a process<br />
that is expected to be complete by the end of 2007. The school also<br />
established exchange programs for architecture students and faculty<br />
with the University of Venice and the École Spéciale d’Architecture in<br />
Paris. Closer to home, <strong>LAU</strong>’s Urban Planning Institute called on the<br />
school’s Landscape Workshop students to help with the development<br />
of a linear park in the Bekaa municipality of Fourzol.<br />
SEA students can earn one of several minors, in computer graphics,<br />
graphic design, packaging, and, soon, in biomedical engineering,<br />
petroleum engineering, and Islamic art and architecture, a program<br />
that’s being revitalized to take advantage of the region’s rich building<br />
tradition as well as the university’s exceptional collection of Islamic<br />
art. Finally, last year also saw the launch of a student chapter of the<br />
Institute of Industrial Engineers and the first alumni reunion—and<br />
later a full-fledged alumni chapter—of SEA graduates.<br />
school of<br />
engineering<br />
& architecture<br />
16
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17
I m p l e m e n t i n g O u r M i s s i o n<br />
Education of the Whole Person<br />
Myopic worldviews lead to missed opportunities. At <strong>LAU</strong>, we firmly<br />
believe that for our graduates to emerge as confident,<br />
compassionate decision makers, they must have a well-rounded<br />
education that begins with strong grounding in the liberal arts. As called<br />
for in the strategic plan, during the 2006–07 academic year, the core<br />
liberal arts curriculum was revised and strengthened through the<br />
establishment of new majors in history and philosophy. In fall 2007, new<br />
students began following the new curriculum, which comprises a wide<br />
spectrum of courses in English, Arabic, computer applications, ethics,<br />
health and physical education, philosophy, religion, history, literature,<br />
and the natural and social sciences.<br />
As much as one can learn in the classroom, <strong>LAU</strong> remains keenly aware<br />
that learning also takes place between people. Following the <strong>American</strong><br />
educational model that emphasizes learning over teaching, we go to<br />
great lengths to create and support enjoyable and challenging<br />
extracurricular and athletic activities on both campuses for our more<br />
than 6,300 students. A vast network of clubs and societies—Environment,<br />
Finance, Ciné, Debate, Hiking, Human Rights, Red Cross—meet regularly,<br />
galvanizing student interests and campus communities. Theater<br />
productions and art exhibits are well-publicized and well-attended.<br />
Varsity teams often compete in national and international tournaments.<br />
Several health awareness campaigns are held each year. On International<br />
Day, students from other countries set up booths and share their culture<br />
and lifestyle with their classmates. On-campus events are also<br />
organized, such as the hospitality program’s Taste Lebanon, where<br />
students to put their classroom skills to use for real customers.<br />
▼ Students joined the 2006 relief effort<br />
▲ International clubs help sustain diversity<br />
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P r e s i d e n t ’s R e p o rt 2 0 0 6 | 2 0 0 7<br />
“<br />
Establishing a lasting peace is<br />
the work of education; all politics<br />
can do is keep us out of war. ”<br />
Maria Montessor<br />
Educating the whole person also means recognizing that people can<br />
change. Developing human beings who have the capacity to work well<br />
with others requires acknowledging that people make mistakes—and<br />
providing a mechanism for those mistakes to be rectified. After the<br />
spring 2006 on-campus violence among 19 students, 18 of<br />
these students successfully completed a series of conflict<br />
resolution and communication workshops hosted by <strong>LAU</strong>,<br />
returning to the university as leaders instead of fighters.<br />
Finally, when aggression is perpetrated from outside, <strong>LAU</strong><br />
students, faculty, and staff have a long tradition of banding<br />
together to help those in less fortunate positions. Such<br />
efforts have included offering support and supplies to<br />
internally displaced refugees after the 2006 war and during the<br />
bombardment of the Nahr el Bared camp in spring and summer of 2007.<br />
Similarly, Toufoula (Childhood), an organization founded and run by<br />
several <strong>LAU</strong> alumni and students has worked doggedly with several<br />
<strong>Lebanese</strong> architects over the past year to design and fund dream<br />
rooms for children suffering from cancer. The first such dream room<br />
was unveiled in the fall.<br />
▼ A Toufoula dream room in the making<br />
▲ IWSAW publications support women's literacy<br />
19
I m p l e m e n t i n g O u r M i s s i o n<br />
For more than a decade, establishing an <strong>American</strong>-style medical<br />
school on the Byblos campus has been one of <strong>LAU</strong>’s grandest<br />
visions. In December 2006, this vision became reality with the<br />
arrival of the school’s founding dean, Kamal F. Badr, MD. Dr. Badr has<br />
spent much of his career in the field of medical education, most<br />
recently as professor and chairman of the Department of Internal<br />
Medicine at the <strong>American</strong> University of Beirut and previously at<br />
Vanderbilt and Emory universities, two top-ranked medical schools in<br />
the United States.<br />
In one of his first acts as dean, Dr. Badr formalized a 10-year agreement<br />
with Harvard Medical International to develop <strong>LAU</strong>MS into “a highquality<br />
academic medical institution to train medical professionals to<br />
serve Lebanon and the greater Middle East.” Great strides toward<br />
making this possible came with the generous contribution from board<br />
member H.E. Ambassador Gilbert Chagoury toward the construction of<br />
the state-of-the-art facility that will house the school, which is slated<br />
to open in August 2010.<br />
With the signing of an agreement with the Clemenceau Medical<br />
Center, an affiliate of Johns Hopkins, to be the teaching hospital for the<br />
program, another internationally renowned name in the field of<br />
medicine also joined the effort. And after the completion of a<br />
feasibility study, in September, the Board of Trustees also approved the<br />
creation of a nursing school. The school will address the regional<br />
shortage of qualified nurses and be tightly integrated with the<br />
medical school. In one year, <strong>LAU</strong> has not only begun to realize its vision<br />
for a medical school but has put the university on the road to<br />
establishing a full-fledged medical complex. In the words of Dr. Badr,<br />
“it is the hope to create at <strong>LAU</strong> a new kind of medical academy, one<br />
that will define and shape the character of a ‘new physician’.”<br />
The first class of students will begin applying next year for admission<br />
to the class entering in fall 2009. They are expected to earn their MDs<br />
by 2013. Dr. Badr and two newly recruited assistant deans dedicated<br />
much of their time this year to developing both a premedical<br />
curriculum and the four-year curriculum for the medical school itself,<br />
which seeks not only to set a new standard for the quality of training<br />
offered in the region and to instill the values of community-based<br />
practice in its students but also to qualify its graduates to pursue<br />
postgraduate residencies and fellowships in the United States in<br />
accordance with North <strong>American</strong> standards and curricula.<br />
20
I m p l e m e n t i n g O u r M i s s i o n<br />
Future Leaders in a Diverse World<br />
Lebanon is the crucible where many of the world’s most pressing<br />
geopolitical issues are defined. Its democratic society and religious<br />
and cultural diversity, as well as its location between Europe and the<br />
Middle East, between Western Asia and Northern Africa, perfectly<br />
position this small nation and <strong>LAU</strong> to take a leading role in<br />
encouraging communication and cooperation among diverse cultures.<br />
Last year—in conjunction with the <strong>American</strong> University of Beirut, the<br />
<strong>American</strong> University of Cairo, and the <strong>American</strong> University of<br />
Sharjah—<strong>LAU</strong> began to capitalize on this potential by promoting<br />
<strong>American</strong>-style education as one of the most effective strategies to<br />
reverse not only the burgeoning religious extremism in the region but<br />
also the Western propensity to affix negative and monolithic<br />
stereotypes to Muslims and Arabs. The message was delivered to<br />
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in Washington, D.C., and during a<br />
public panel discussion at Columbia University in New York.<br />
One of the many ways universities can advocate for change, besides<br />
providing a first-rate liberal arts education, the <strong>presidents</strong> agreed, is to<br />
bolster cultural-exchange programs such as <strong>LAU</strong>’s decade-old Summer<br />
Institute for Intensive Arabic Language and Culture, which offers<br />
courses for credit in classical Arabic, <strong>Lebanese</strong> dialect, Arab culture, and<br />
▼ Global Classrooms-Model UN<br />
▲ SINARC students visit the Cedars<br />
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P r e s i d e n t ’s R e p o rt 2 0 0 6 | 2 0 0 7<br />
regional history and politics to students from outside Lebanon, and<br />
especially from the U.S. SINARC, as the program is known, has an<br />
exceptional reputation and before the summer 2006 war had record<br />
enrollments. In 2007, SINARC hosted its first fall course, originally<br />
planned for fall 2006 at the request of Georgetown University, which<br />
has one of the most revered international affairs programs in the<br />
United States.<br />
“<br />
Since wars begin in the minds<br />
of men and women,<br />
it is in the minds of men and<br />
women that the defences of peace<br />
must be constructed. ”<br />
UNESCO<br />
While simply exposing oneself to other cultures goes a long way<br />
toward breaking down barriers between people, sustaining the<br />
relationships that emerge requires skills that don’t always come<br />
naturally. This is one of the tenets behind the Global Classrooms–<br />
Model UN initiative, which turned two this year. After<br />
participating in rigorous training sessions, more than 70<br />
<strong>LAU</strong> students spent several Saturdays over five months<br />
leading workshops for more than 700 students across<br />
Lebanon in the arts of negotiation and diplomacy as they<br />
learned about United Nations protocol and how to draft<br />
resolutions. The GC-MUN culminates each year in a<br />
weekend-long simulation of UN committee and security<br />
council meetings on the Beirut campus.<br />
Four Presidents Tour<br />
Last spring, President Jabbra joined the<br />
<strong>presidents</strong> of the <strong>American</strong> University of<br />
Beirut, the <strong>American</strong> University in Cairo, and<br />
the <strong>American</strong> University of Sharjah to speak in<br />
New York and Washington, DC, about the value<br />
of <strong>American</strong>-style education in the Middle<br />
East. “Our institutions, <strong>American</strong> institutions,<br />
do play the role of agents of change in two<br />
ways,” said President Jabbra. “One, providing<br />
students with the opportunity to go through a<br />
process, an educational process, where reason<br />
and the heart come together . . . So that they<br />
learn how to accept the other, although they<br />
might have a different opinion than they do,<br />
without having recourse to violence.”<br />
23
I m p l e m e n t i n g O u r M i s s i o n<br />
In 1993, <strong>LAU</strong> established the School of Pharmacy on the Byblos<br />
campus. The school offers two professional degrees, a five-year<br />
bachelor of science in pharmacy that forms the foundation for<br />
practicing in Lebanon and a six-year doctor of pharmacy that qualifies<br />
graduates to sit for the North <strong>American</strong> Pharmacy Licensure<br />
Examination (NAPLEX) in the United States. The doctor of pharmacy<br />
program is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy<br />
Education (ACPE), a status shared with no other such program outside<br />
the United States.<br />
Since the ACPE accreditation, our graduates have consistently earned a<br />
100 percent passing rate and scored above the average. In May 2007,<br />
the school yet again proved why it deserves such a distinction: 100<br />
percent of <strong>LAU</strong> graduates passed the rigorous exam with an average<br />
score of 107.67, much higher than the U.S. national average of 89.95. In<br />
addition, during the year, the school increased the number of doctoral<br />
students admitted to 28; recruited several new faculty members;<br />
converted the Pharm.D program from a graduate level to a<br />
professional program; and, in accordance with ACPE guidelines and<br />
standards, revised its requirements to mandate that, effective fall<br />
2007, students who are accepted into the professional program and<br />
pursue their Pharm.D degree later on must undertake all advanced<br />
pharmacy practice experience in the United States. Top of mind for the<br />
next academic year is preparing for the ACPE’s periodic accreditation<br />
review, expected to take place in fall 2008.<br />
▼ Pharmacy students get first-hand experience<br />
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P r e s i d e n t ’s R e p o rt 2 0 0 6 | 2 0 0 7<br />
25
O u r Pa rt n e r s & D o n o r s<br />
26
P r e s i d e n t ’s R e p o rt 2 0 0 6 | 2 0 0 7<br />
The Case for Giving to <strong>LAU</strong><br />
As the university renews its mission and makes strides toward establishing<br />
itself in the minds of all as a world-class institution, we must also ask our<br />
extended family to renew their relationship to the university and play an<br />
active role in helping us achieve our vision. Throughout this report, we’ve<br />
touched on the many ways in which we’re transforming the challenges<br />
we’ve laid before us into success after success. We have the faculty, staff, and,<br />
most important, students to realize all our goals. One of our primary goals is<br />
to become less dependent on tuition to fund our progress. Already, we’ve<br />
raised a record amount of grant funds this year and have taken a major step<br />
toward taking the medical school from concept to campus. Now, we would<br />
like to invite you to join us in taking <strong>LAU</strong> to the next level of excellence.<br />
27
O u r Pa rt n e r s & D o n o r s<br />
A Transformational Gift<br />
This year, businessman and <strong>LAU</strong> board member, H.E.<br />
Ambassador Gilbert Chagoury and his wife, Rose-Marie,<br />
pledged their support for the vision of the new <strong>LAU</strong><br />
Medical School with a transformational gift of $10<br />
million. Born in Nigeria, where he long led the Chagoury<br />
Group, Chagoury considers himself first <strong>Lebanese</strong> and<br />
talks fondly of his parents’ hometown of Miziara in<br />
northern Lebanon. The couple’s philanthropic<br />
endeavors began long ago and have helped sustain<br />
venerable institutions, such as the Louvre Museum in<br />
Paris and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in<br />
Memphis, Tennessee. Below Mr. Chagoury offers some<br />
insight into why he chose to contribute so generously to<br />
<strong>LAU</strong>, both in terms of what it can do for the university<br />
and for Lebanon.<br />
What convinced you to offer such a transformational<br />
gift to <strong>LAU</strong> in general and the medical school<br />
in particular<br />
Although I was born outside Lebanon, I have always felt<br />
strong ties with my <strong>Lebanese</strong> origins and consider<br />
myself <strong>Lebanese</strong> before anything else. I come from a<br />
great village in the North, and I always miss the simple<br />
and warm atmosphere that exists there. My friendship<br />
with Dr. Jabbra, and my admiration for the passion he<br />
has for <strong>LAU</strong> has greatly motivated me to help the<br />
institution. His enthusiasm is so contagious that you<br />
cannot but back him up. As for the medical school, it is a<br />
necessity for the region. It will attract students seeking a<br />
top-notch education with first-class faculty and state-ofthe-art<br />
equipment in a friendly environment.<br />
When did you first hear about the plans to establish<br />
a medical school What were your first thoughts<br />
I first heard about the possibility of the school from Dr.<br />
Jabbra, a long-time friend, and promised to help him<br />
realize the effort once he took the presidency of <strong>LAU</strong>.<br />
My first thought was that it was being planned in a<br />
location that will serve students who cannot commute<br />
everyday to the capital, which I believe is needed to<br />
encourage people in second-tier population centers to<br />
stay and develop their areas rather than abandon them<br />
and move to Beirut, which already suffers from being<br />
over-congested.<br />
What kind of impact do you foresee the <strong>LAU</strong> Medical<br />
School having on Lebanon and the region in the near<br />
and long term<br />
<strong>LAU</strong>’s Medical School will reinforce Lebanon’s leadership<br />
in the health-care field in the Middle East. Lebanon will<br />
benefit immensely from <strong>LAU</strong>'s excellence in this field<br />
and can use the school to help improve its economy and<br />
attract foreigners to the country.<br />
Furthermore, since the school will be in Byblos, it will<br />
provide not only more opportunities for students living<br />
outside the capital but<br />
also additional jobs for<br />
professionals in the area, reviving the local economy.<br />
I also remember thinking that the medical school would<br />
encourage skilled and talented students to study in<br />
Lebanon instead of going abroad. Education, like health<br />
care and health education, has always been one of the<br />
country’s strongest assets.<br />
What encouragement would you give others<br />
considering making such a gift to <strong>LAU</strong><br />
I would look at it differently and call it a duty rather than<br />
a gift. Anybody who can afford to contribute even a<br />
small or modest amount should not hesitate to back up<br />
the flourishing of noble causes at <strong>LAU</strong>.<br />
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P r e s i d e n t ’s R e p o rt 2 0 0 6 | 2 0 0 7<br />
▲ H.E. Ambassador Gilbert Chagoury and his wife, Rose-Marie<br />
29
O u r Pa rt n e r s & D o n o r s<br />
2006-2007 Contributors<br />
The <strong>Lebanese</strong> <strong>American</strong> University acknowledges with<br />
gratitude the following contributors who made generous<br />
financial, matching, and in-kind gifts to the university<br />
between October 1, 2006, and September 30, 2007:<br />
FOUNDERS’ SOCIETY ($25,000 AND UP)<br />
A. M. Qattan Foundation<br />
Al Waleed Bin Talal Humanitarian Foundation<br />
Alumni Association, Abu Dhabi Chapter*<br />
Alumni Association, Dubai and Northern Emirates*<br />
Anonymous Donor<br />
Bank Audi SAL<br />
Bank of Beirut<br />
Bank of Beirut and the Arab Countries SAL<br />
BankMed SAL<br />
BLOM Bank<br />
Byblos Bank SAL<br />
CAT International / Fouad El Khazen<br />
Curtis W. McGraw Foundation<br />
Nadim Daouk<br />
European Commission / DG XII<br />
Fransabank SAL<br />
Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chagoury Foundation<br />
Interstate Resources Incorporated<br />
Suad Juffali*<br />
Maha Kaddoura*<br />
Medgulf<br />
Paul F. Boulos* / MWH Soft, Inc.<br />
Occidental Petroleum Corporation / Ray Irani<br />
Sabre Foundation+<br />
Saudi Aramco<br />
Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation<br />
U.S. Agency for International Development<br />
United Nations Association of the USA<br />
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P r e s i d e n t ’s R e p o rt 2 0 0 6 | 2 0 0 7<br />
TRIREME SOCIETY ($10,000–$24,999)<br />
Richard A. Abdoo<br />
Hanan Abou Ghazaleh<br />
Ali A. Tamimi Company<br />
Alumni Association, Athens Chapter*<br />
Michael Ameen<br />
Anonymous Donor<br />
Edmond and Taline Ouzounian Avakian*<br />
Samir Badro<br />
Bloomsburg Metal Company<br />
Zuhair and Ghada Daniel Boulos*<br />
Citigroup<br />
Dar Al-Handasah Consultants (Shair and Partners)<br />
E. A. Juffali and Brothers<br />
Estate of Gale R. Mcdonald*<br />
Hani Hakim<br />
Richard Heath+<br />
Wadih S. Jordan<br />
NAPCO Group of Companies (Including Easternpak)<br />
Ghassan M. Saab<br />
Ramzi and Hayat Dabar Sanbar*<br />
Henry and Elda Mirna Mansourian Sarkissian*<br />
PRESIDENT'S CIRCLE ($5,000–$9,999)<br />
Mariam Al Doy Aboul*<br />
Alumni Association, Bahrain Chapter*<br />
Alumni Association, London Chapter*<br />
<strong>American</strong> Task Force for Lebanon<br />
Burhan and Nariman Abou Ghazaleh Beidas*<br />
Ziad and Lina Mamiche Afara Cheikh*<br />
Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church<br />
The Ghassan Jdeed Development Foundation<br />
Ghandi and Ilham Asrawi Halabi*<br />
Hanna Ayoub / Al Hamra Kuwait Company<br />
Nafez Jundi<br />
Sami Khouri<br />
<strong>LAU</strong>/Bank of Beirut Affinity Card Community<br />
<strong>Lebanese</strong> Broadcasting Corporation International<br />
Mideast Data Systems SAL<br />
Khaled and Chafika Dayeh Omari*<br />
Pepsi Cola International Company<br />
Fredrico Senno*<br />
Abdel Rahman and Naima Fakhro Taki*<br />
Wafa G. Yammine*<br />
PRESIDENT'S COUNCIL ($2,000–$4,999)<br />
Alumni Association, Damascus Chapter*<br />
Alumni Association, Kuwait Chapter*<br />
Jamil H. Badran<br />
Al Baraka Islamic Bank<br />
BLC Bank<br />
Georges Harik<br />
Fadi H. Hourani<br />
International Advertising Association<br />
The International Foundation<br />
Latifa H. Kosta*<br />
Mennonite Central Committee<br />
Michel and Aida Nasser<br />
Wilbert F. Newton<br />
James C. Nixon<br />
Todd E. Petzel<br />
Abdel Karim and May Shahine Rostom*<br />
U.S. Omen National Organization<br />
George and Liza Massaad Zakhem*<br />
PRESIDENT’S FORUM ($1,000–$1,999)<br />
Nizam W. Abdel Baki<br />
Abdel Kader Adlouni<br />
Hani and Raja Arnaout Ali*<br />
Ronald G. Cruikshank<br />
Mary Makdissi El-Yousef*<br />
Hussam and Siham Asrawi Hamzeh*<br />
Heirs of the Late Jameel Abbas<br />
Imad A. Khalil*<br />
Amal K. Kurban<br />
L. & J.G. Stickley Incorporated<br />
Bishara M. Lawrence<br />
<strong>Lebanese</strong> National Commission for UNESCO<br />
Modern Arab Construction Company<br />
Ibtissam A. Mutawa*<br />
Issam and Aida Salman Naaman*<br />
Ralph N. Nader+<br />
Walid and Victoria Fattouh Nasr*<br />
Ghada Qaddumi*<br />
Sama S. Qaddumi*<br />
Tarek S. Qaddumi*<br />
Richard A. Rumsey<br />
Farid and Wafa Saab Saab*<br />
Imad and Ghia Saidi Saad*<br />
31
O u r Pa rt n e r s & D o n o r s<br />
William A. and Janet Stoltzfus<br />
Trags Agencies<br />
U.S. Trust Company of New York<br />
Jamil A. Wafa<br />
Ibrahim Zeineldine<br />
DEAN’S LIST ($500–$999)<br />
Paul Abbott<br />
Nabil A. Banna*<br />
Edgar Chaar<br />
Leila Dagher*<br />
Irma K. Ghosn<br />
Hikma - Liban<br />
Suad Hoss Hoss*<br />
Joseph and Caroline Hourani<br />
Al Khal Printers SAL+<br />
Middle East Airlines<br />
Maureen Mitchell<br />
Lama M. Nasr<br />
Edward Shiner<br />
Tarek Juffali Foundation<br />
Westminster Presbyterian Church<br />
John Wholihan<br />
Mohamad and Rowaida Hussein Yaghi*<br />
UNIVERSITY ASSOCIATES ($200–$499)<br />
Marwan B. Abboud*<br />
Theodore and Diana Domian Abdo*<br />
A.S. Abdullah<br />
Rose M. Clark*<br />
Leila Shahine Da Cruze*<br />
Rand F. Fakih*<br />
Ghaida Firestone<br />
Harold A. and Elaine Fisher<br />
Rabih A. Haddad*<br />
C.M. Hudspeth<br />
Fady Y. Kamal*<br />
Irmgard F. Karle<br />
Tarif S. Mais*<br />
Hala Y. Masri*<br />
Anne A. Meyer<br />
Fredrick C. Milkie<br />
Mimar Trading Group+<br />
Walid and Danice Najjar<br />
Samir and Laure Milki Obeid*<br />
Bernadette Redano<br />
Lyna Khoury Rumbarger*<br />
Walid M. Shaar*<br />
Adnan M. Tarabishi*<br />
Basil A. Zahed*<br />
Bahaa S. Zaher*<br />
Bilal Khaled M. Zankar*<br />
CENTURY CLUB ($100–$199)<br />
Jalal Y. Abdel Ahad*<br />
Iman F. Ajouz*<br />
Aradi Development L.L.C.<br />
Hrair and Mary Ekmekji Atikian*<br />
Maha Y. Audi*<br />
Najib and Gisele Akkouri Azar*<br />
Helen M. Badawi*<br />
Samira Baroody*<br />
May Kinai Ben Essa*<br />
Edmond S. Boustani*<br />
Pauline Emily Coffman*<br />
Garold L. Faber<br />
Irene D. Faffler<br />
Ronney and Souad Farah<br />
Helen B. Flack<br />
Mona B. Gedeon*<br />
Reham J. Haddad*<br />
Lina A. Hajj Abdoun*<br />
Bassel M. Halabi*<br />
Iman Shebaro Hamdan*<br />
Janet Hitti Hitti*<br />
Michele Ann Holcomb*<br />
Yvonne Agini Kabban*<br />
Choucrallah K. Karam*<br />
Peter and Suad Khallouf Katul*<br />
Sawsan S. Khanafer*<br />
Salim and Huda Khalil Kheireddine*<br />
Christian G. Kozma*<br />
Craig and Phyllis Chadbourne Lichtenwalner*<br />
Sabah Khoury Makhoul*<br />
George H. Mallat*<br />
Ernest and Adele Haddad McCarus*<br />
Marguerite Boueri Mcleod*<br />
Fauzi and Vivian Najjar<br />
32
P r e s i d e n t ’s R e p o rt 2 0 0 6 | 2 0 0 7<br />
Marwan H. Noueihed*<br />
Charalambos Pattichis<br />
Ghassan and Jinan Majzoub Rachache*<br />
Janie Rees-Miller<br />
Steven and Nuha Farraj Rice*<br />
John and Valerie Roper<br />
Ani Sarafian Sarkissian*<br />
Naim M. Solh*<br />
Gilbert D. Soufan*<br />
St. Stephens Glastonbury Society<br />
James and Samia Khalaf Sullivan*<br />
Dima H. Tahtah*<br />
Maan and Widad Khatib Tell*<br />
Hiba M. Yazbeck*<br />
Aida Hamadeh Younis*<br />
Anahid Nahabedian Zartarian*<br />
FRIENDS (UP TO $99)<br />
Robert A. Abi Saab*<br />
Wassim M. Al Dayaa*<br />
Georges R. Assaf*<br />
Raghida Ayoub<br />
Irene R. Azar*<br />
Nuha E. Azar*<br />
John and Rania Abdo Bartick*<br />
Nathaniel and Mary Bercovitz<br />
David and Nadine Birney<br />
John and Christine TeRonde Burr*<br />
Samuel Cross<br />
Charbel J. Cury<br />
Wafa Sheaib Dada*<br />
Mary D. Dinno*<br />
Elizabeth E. Duncan Estate<br />
Emad F. Fakhreddine*<br />
Wassim G. Farah*<br />
Suzanne Freij Farraj*<br />
Berj and Hermine Vartanian Fermanian*<br />
Hiba Samadi Fleifel*<br />
Roger and Nancy Warnock Harmon*<br />
John and Sarah Grafious Havens*<br />
Eric and Sarah Davies Hertfelder*<br />
Anthony T. Hoglind*<br />
Ahmad and Nisrine Machaka Houri<br />
John and Grace Salibian Hyslop*<br />
Ghada A. Itani*<br />
Siran Bezirganian Jizmejian*<br />
Neda N. Juraydini*<br />
JustGive<br />
Karen M. Kassouf<br />
Anahid Sislian Ketefian*<br />
Shake K. Ketefian*<br />
Lamia Haddad Khairallah*<br />
Stanley and Clio Hembekides Khoury*<br />
John S. Khoury*<br />
Oussama and Roula Khreiss*<br />
Catherine Kano Kikoski*<br />
Reem Halawi Kontar*<br />
Seta Kouyoumdjian*<br />
Kozloff and Meaders<br />
Alberta S. Magzanian*<br />
Adele E. Mazloom<br />
Richard C. Michaels<br />
Nadine Kasbani Mokbel*<br />
Erma Khoury Nettles*<br />
Hugh Outterson<br />
Bahaa and Sarah Richani*<br />
Aida Topalian Sarkissian*<br />
Richard L. Schwary<br />
Rima J. Shadid*<br />
Samar W. Sheaib*<br />
Larry and Karen Towner Slotta*<br />
Nadine H. Tajideen*<br />
Caline E. Trad*<br />
Sherrill M. Weary<br />
*Alumni and alumni chapters<br />
+Gifts in-kind<br />
33
O u r Pa rt n e r s & D o n o r s<br />
The 2006–07 Endowed<br />
Scholarship Program<br />
The following funds were established to provide<br />
ongoing financial aid to deserving students<br />
demonstrating need:<br />
• The Albert Abela Memorial Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Hanan Abou Ghazaleh Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Nariman Abou Ghazaleh Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Paul Youssef Abou Khater Memorial Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The <strong>LAU</strong> Alumni Association - Abu Dhabi Chapter<br />
Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The <strong>LAU</strong> Alumni Association - Beirut Chapter<br />
Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The <strong>LAU</strong> Alumni Association - Damascus Chapter<br />
Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The <strong>LAU</strong> Alumni Association - Dubai and Northern<br />
Emirates Chapter Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The <strong>LAU</strong> Alumni Association - Kuwait Chapter<br />
Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Anglo <strong>Lebanese</strong> Cultural Foundation<br />
Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Fred and Emily G. Arrigg Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Ramzi Asfour Memorial Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Marwan Toufic Assaf Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Hazem F. Aswad Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Walid Attieh Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Edmond and Taline Avakian Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Mohamad Abdul Rahman Bahar Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Adelaide Bahu Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Samih Barbir and Mounira Barbir Naamani<br />
Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Leila Kurban Barkett Memorial Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Elias and Ferial Baz Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Salim and Laudy Baz Memorial Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Ikram Shakhashir Beidas Memorial Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Frank and Margaret Bitar Memorial Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Robert and Mabel Bitar Memorial Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Boodai Group of Co. Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Badie Boulos Memorial Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Ghada Daniel Boulos Endowed Scholarship<br />
Fund<br />
• The Alex Fauti Bouri Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Ziad and Lina Cheikh Endowed Scholarship<br />
Fund<br />
• The Nicolas Choueiri Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Fahed Nayef Dabbous Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Ramzi and Saeda Dalloul Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Dr. Nadim and Noura Daouk Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Dar As-Siyassah Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Darwish Engineering Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Rushdi Dayeh Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Elizabeth Elser Duncan Memorial Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Edward Y. Elias Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Emirates Computer Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Eva Kotite Farha and Peter Farha Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Issam Michael Faris Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Sheikh Abdallah Fouad Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The James and Arthur Gabriel Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Mahmoud Alghanim Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Youssef A. Alghanim and Sons Endowed<br />
Scholarship Funds<br />
• The Frances M. Gray Memorial Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Samuel Habib Memorial Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
34
P r e s i d e n t ’s R e p o rt 2 0 0 6 | 2 0 0 7<br />
• The Aida Haddad and Daughters Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Bertha and Michael Nakhleh Haddad<br />
Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Toufic Khalil Haddad Memorial Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The George William Hajjar Memorial Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Lana Ghandi Halabi Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Dany Hamchaoui Memorial Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Mohamed Harasani Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Rafik Bahauddin Al-Hariri Memorial Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Taha Hassiba Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Ray Irani Education Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Wadih and Gertrude Jordan Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Ahmad and Suad El-Juffali Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The E.A. El-Juffali Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Nafez Jundi Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Jamile Dagher-Jureidini Memorial Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Maha Kaddoura Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Albert and William Kanaan Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Fawzi Kawash Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Suad Wakim Kesler Memorial Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The AbdelRahman Ismail El-Khalil Memorial<br />
Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Jamil Fouad El Khazen Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Nasr Khnaisser Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Mohamad and Naziha Knio Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Selina Korban Memorial Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Latifa Kosta Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Emile and Rima Lamah Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The <strong>LAU</strong> / BOB Affinity Card Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Selim Lawi Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Bishara M. Lorenzo Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Gabriel Maliha Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Joseph and Carmen Maroun Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Salwa Tuma Mayassi Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Gale McDonald Endowed Memorial<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Mc-Swiney-Mead Corporation Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Michel Merhej Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Elias and Leila Mezzawi Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Mimar Group Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Hassib Mroueh Memorial Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• MWH Soft Environmental Engineering Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• HH Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al-Nahyan Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Tony Nagib Najjar Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Khalid and Sossy Nasr Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Marwan Walid Nasr Memorial Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Milia and Helen Nassar Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Riyad F. Nassar Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Salwa C. Nassar Memorial Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Aida and Michel Nasser Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Argent Maksoud Nasser Memorial Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Mohamad Nasser Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Naim Nasser Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The National Paper Products Company Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Edith Newton Memorial Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Layla and Musa Nimah Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Khaled and Chafica Omari Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
35
O u r Pa rt n e r s & D o n o r s<br />
• The Suliman S. Olayan Memorial Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Rhoda Orme Memorial Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Hussam Qanadilo Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Hamad Rafeh Memorial Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Kamil Shaheen Al Rayyes Memorial Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Donald Rynne Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Karim Fayez Saab Memorial Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Mahmoud Khalil Saab Memorial Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Ghia Saidi Saad Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The George Saadeh Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Sheikh Nasser Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabbah<br />
Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Diana Tamari Sabbagh Memorial Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Mohamad Safadi Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Ghassan Ibrahim Shaker Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Abdul Aziz Shakhashir Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Adma Nakhoul Shakhashiri Memorial<br />
Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Antoine Shebaya Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Walid Jamil Shehadeh Memorial Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Simon Siksek Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Ethel Stoltzfus Memorial Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The William Stoltzfus Memorial Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Nehmeh and Therese Tohmeh Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Kevork Toroyan Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Abdulaziz Al-Turki Endowed Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Joe and Wafa Yammine Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
• The Hanneh Salim Zakhem Memorial Endowed<br />
Scholarship Fund<br />
ANNUAL SCHOLARSHIP GRANTS<br />
The following grants were established to support<br />
the financial aid program for deserving students<br />
demonstrating need during the 2006–07<br />
academic year:<br />
• Jameel Abbas Memorial Scholarship Grant<br />
• AlBaraka Islamic Bank Annual Scholarship Grant<br />
• Alumni Association Athens Chapter Annual<br />
Scholarship Grant<br />
• Alumni Association Bahrain Chapter Annual<br />
Scholarship Grant<br />
• Alumni Association Beirut Chapter Annual<br />
Scholarship Grant<br />
• Alumni Association London Chapter Annual<br />
Scholarship Grant<br />
• Bank Audi Annual Scholarship Grant<br />
• Bank of Beirut Annual Scholarship Grant<br />
• BankMed Annual Scholarship Grant<br />
• BLOM Bank Annual Scholarship Grant<br />
• Byblos Bank Annual Scholarship Grant<br />
• CAT International Annual Scholarship Grant<br />
• Citigroup Annual Scholarship Grant<br />
• Fransabank Annual Scholarship Grant<br />
• Fares El-Hajj Memorial Scholarship Grant<br />
• Joseph J. Jacobs Memorial Scholarship Grant<br />
• Nafez Jundi Annual Scholarship Grant<br />
• Elie Kai Annual Scholarship Grant<br />
• <strong>LAU</strong> Alumni Annual Scholarship Grant<br />
• <strong>LAU</strong> Alumni Emergency Fund for Financial Aid<br />
• Modern Arab Construction Co. Annual<br />
Scholarship Grant<br />
• Ghada Qaddumi Annual Scholarship Grant<br />
• Sama Qaddumi Annual Scholarship Grant<br />
• Tarek Qaddumi Annual Scholarship Grant<br />
• Henry and Elda Mirna Sarkissian Annual<br />
Scholarship Grant<br />
• U.S. Agency for International Development<br />
(USAID) Scholarship Grant<br />
• U.S. Omen National Organization Annual<br />
Scholarship Grant<br />
• Ibrahim Zeineldine Annual Scholarship Grant<br />
36
P r e s i d e n t ’s R e p o rt 2 0 0 6 | 2 0 0 7<br />
PRESIDENT’S FUND<br />
The following grants were established under the<br />
President’s Fund to support the financial aid<br />
program for deserving students demonstrating need:<br />
• Richard Abdoo President’s Fund<br />
• George Faris Scholarship Grant<br />
• Georges Harik Annual Scholarship Grant<br />
• Ghassan Jdeed Memorial Scholarship Grant<br />
• Tarek Juffali Annual Scholarship Grant<br />
• Maha Kaddoura Annual Scholarship Grant<br />
• Sami F. Khoury Annual Scholarship Grant<br />
• A.M. Qattan Foundation Annual<br />
Scholarship Grant<br />
• Ismat Rabbat President’s Fund<br />
• Omar and Sima Sawaf Graduate<br />
Scholarship Grant<br />
• Fredrico Senno President’s Fund<br />
• Ali A. Tamimi Co. President’s Fund<br />
• George Zakhem President’s Fund<br />
The <strong>Lebanese</strong> <strong>American</strong> University has made every effort to<br />
create an accurate listing of all contributors and funds. If your<br />
name has been inadvertently omitted, or incorrectly spelled,<br />
please accept our apologies.<br />
If you have any queries, please contact Mrs. Amal Abdel Massih,<br />
Director of Advancement Services, by fax, at +961 1 786472, or by<br />
email, aafares@lau.edu.lb.<br />
Thank you.<br />
MEDGULF Contribution Advances<br />
the Study of Actuarial Sciences at <strong>LAU</strong><br />
This year, Mr. Lutfi Zein, president of the board of directors of MEDGULF, made a gift of $500,000 on behalf<br />
of the company to endow a chair and create a minor in actuarial sciences in the Division of Computer<br />
Science and Mathematics in the School of Arts & Sciences. The gift is the first installment of a $2 million<br />
pledge, which Mr. Zein calls a “source of pride” for MEDGULF, one of Lebanon’s and the region’s leading<br />
insurers. The new minor will prepare students to understand<br />
and model basic actuarial problems using mathematical,<br />
probabilistic, and statistical methods as well<br />
as apply actuarial mathematics to issues of financial<br />
security. At a ceremony where the agreement was finalized,<br />
President Jabbra expressed his thanks to Mr. Zein<br />
for MEDGULF’s commitment to meeting the needs of<br />
the <strong>Lebanese</strong> market and for introducing this field of<br />
study to current and future students at <strong>LAU</strong>.<br />
▲ Dr. Jabbra and Mr. Zein formalize the MEDGULF gift<br />
37
M a k i n g I t Po s s i b l e<br />
Student Development<br />
& Enrollment Management<br />
Student Development & Enrollment Management (SDEM), once known<br />
as simply Student Affairs, has begun the process of repositioning itself to<br />
reflect the office’s expanded responsibilities as outlined in the strategic<br />
plan. Chief among these goals is for SDEM, in conjunction with other<br />
university departments, to “develop a strong enrollment management<br />
plan that includes all components of student enrollment, advising,<br />
retention and graduation.”The plan will be based on market research and<br />
analyses and be consistently honed to keep the focus on students’<br />
academic and emotional well-being. This year, SDEM developed an<br />
integrated advising program that not only makes advising and<br />
registration easier by moving these processes online but also features<br />
early-alert mechanisms that advisors can use to identify and assist<br />
students having academic difficulties.<br />
▲ <strong>LAU</strong> students benefit from on-campus career fairs<br />
Improving recruitment also factors largely into SDEM’s enrollment<br />
management plans. Training in recruitment planning and systems has<br />
been proven to help educational institutions find and keep students<br />
who can benefit most from the university’s programs and resources<br />
while maintaining the character of the institution. Last year, <strong>LAU</strong><br />
representatives visited more than 300 schools across Lebanon and in<br />
Kuwait, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, and Syria<br />
looking for students who not only fit the <strong>LAU</strong> profile, but whose<br />
achievement and diversity would enrich <strong>LAU</strong>.<br />
In fall 2006, overall enrollment increased slightly, despite the devastating<br />
summer war, and grew in spring 2007, especially on the Byblos campus,<br />
where it climbed 6.8 percent. More students graduated in 2007 than in<br />
the previous year, and enrollment for fall 2007 is up 7.5 percent.<br />
▲ Athletes compete in Lebanon and abroad<br />
38
P r e s i d e n t ’s R e p o rt 2 0 0 6 | 2 0 0 7<br />
One of SDEM’s most important roles is to help academically qualified yet<br />
financially disadvantaged students attend <strong>LAU</strong>. Over the past several<br />
years, financial aid has increased significantly at the university, both in<br />
terms of dollar amounts and the number of students who benefit. In<br />
2006–07 financial aid offered by the university increased substantially.<br />
Nearly $13 million was allotted in financial aid, in the form of grants,<br />
loans, and work-study, to 1,833 students. SDEM also administers the<br />
residence halls and supervises a range of extracurricular activities,<br />
including health-awareness campaigns, athletics programs, campus<br />
clubs, the well-regarded Global Classrooms–Model UN program, and the<br />
Summer Institute for Intensive Arabic Language and Culture, a magnet<br />
Financial for undergraduate Aid: 2006-07 and graduate students from all over the world.<br />
Financial Aid 2006 | 2007<br />
<strong>LAU</strong> awarded a total of US$12.7 million in financial aid last year.<br />
$1,096,000<br />
$365,805<br />
$2,065,300<br />
$2,135,650<br />
$2,000,000<br />
Grants<br />
Financial Aid - Endowment<br />
Merit Scholarship<br />
Student Work Aid<br />
Loans<br />
Graduate Assistantship<br />
Student Employment<br />
$600,000<br />
$4,439,205<br />
▼ Students perform dabke<br />
39
M a k i n g I t Po s s i b l e<br />
Human Resources and<br />
University Services<br />
The scope of the work of Human Resources and University Services is<br />
literally monumental. The department is currently overseeing not only<br />
an intensive reevaluation of <strong>LAU</strong>’s human resources department and<br />
the implementation of sophisticated information technology<br />
solutions, but is also leading the design, construction, and<br />
maintenance of numerous capital projects, including the new <strong>LAU</strong><br />
Medical School. This year the department has been reorganized into<br />
three main functions: planning, construction, and operations and<br />
maintenance. Together the HR, US, and IT teams will pool and integrate<br />
their resources, as well as those of the finance department, to address<br />
major initiatives of the strategic plan, including developing facilities<br />
and financial master plans, positioning <strong>LAU</strong> as “the higher education<br />
employer of choice in Lebanon,” and using information technology as<br />
a “strategic tool for the implementation of change.”<br />
▲ Strolling to class in beirut<br />
40
P r e s i d e n t ’s R e p o rt 2 0 0 6 | 2 0 0 7<br />
HUMAN RESOURCES<br />
<strong>LAU</strong> is committed to fostering “a human resources environment that<br />
enables employees to fulfill their responsibilities and achieve their<br />
aspirations.” To that end, hundreds of hours have been devoted over<br />
the past year to reviewing job classifications, titles, duties, and<br />
recruitment practices from a competency-based perspective to create<br />
consistent procedures and payscales from Byblos to Beirut.<br />
▲ Students and faculty at a campus health event<br />
In addition, the performance review process in being updated to<br />
recognize achievement and encourage professional development as a<br />
means of establishing a work culture based more on empowerment<br />
and transparency than command-and-control leadership. The HR<br />
department will also conduct a local market survey to benchmark <strong>LAU</strong><br />
positions against others in similar fields in the region. The study will<br />
be completed in spring 2008 and the results released soon afterward.<br />
In tandem with this initiative, <strong>LAU</strong> is placing renewed emphasis on<br />
training and development. Each year, every employee will be expected<br />
to undertake 20 hours of training in his or her field. Similarly, a staff<br />
development fund was created to augment the computer literacy and<br />
administrative know-how of support staff.<br />
Other ongoing projects include implementing the necessary technical<br />
measures to allow the Human Resources Management System to<br />
interface with Finance department software so that both systems can<br />
run off one unique database. Finding opportunities to integrate<br />
processes to produce such efficiencies is a major priority for Human<br />
Resources and University Services, which has been charged with a<br />
mandate to improve effectiveness, eliminate waste, and improve<br />
efficiency of workflow across all academic, administrative, student, and<br />
community functions.<br />
41
M a k i n g I t Po s s i b l e<br />
FACILITIES MANAGEMENT<br />
Each academic year, facilities management handles thousands of<br />
maintenance requests in Beirut and Byblos. While day-to-day<br />
maintenance is an inevitable part of any facility manager’s job, it’s<br />
essential to streamline this work so that time can be dedicated to<br />
maximizing the value of improvements and developing much-needed<br />
new space. As a result, the facilities management department is<br />
overhauling the way it maintains buildings by focusing efforts on<br />
preventive maintenance that can be managed with software.<br />
▲ A rendering of the planned Frem Center<br />
This is just one small-scale example of the thinking going into finding<br />
ways to leverage <strong>LAU</strong>’s physical resources to “create an environment that<br />
enables the University to successfully achieve its goals and to promote a<br />
culture of academic excellence,” as called for in the strategic plan. On a<br />
larger scale, 2006–07 saw the appointment of a master plan steering<br />
committee and the beginnings of the development of an in-house<br />
master plan to address academic and administrative priorities in detail.<br />
Progress was made on a number of high-profile structures as well as<br />
on less glamorous but equally necessary infrastructure, power plant,<br />
and underground parking projects:<br />
• <strong>LAU</strong> Medical School: Concept renderings are complete and the<br />
permitting process has been initiated. Construction is estimated to<br />
begin in August 2008 and take two years to complete.<br />
• The Frem Center: The center is expected to open in June 2009.<br />
• Byblos Recreational Facility: The Board of Trustees approved the<br />
construction of a three-level sports facility in Byblos.<br />
• Road in Byblos: Slated for completion at the end of 2007, the road<br />
will provide direct access from the highway to the campus.<br />
• Road in Beirut: With the closing of the road between the new<br />
business building and the old campus at the end of 2007, the <strong>LAU</strong><br />
campus will become larger and more cohesive, as well as more<br />
pedestrian-friendly.<br />
Also during the year, facilities management completed a number of<br />
projects, including work on dormitories, the provision of new offices in<br />
the architecture and engineering building, an extension to the biology<br />
lab, and the creation of new computer and chemistry labs.<br />
42
P r e s i d e n t ’s R e p o rt 2 0 0 6 | 2 0 0 7<br />
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY<br />
Technology on its own is of little use. But when braided with sound<br />
business practices and well-defined learning outcomes, it can become<br />
the catalyst for amazing achievements. Recognizing this potential, <strong>LAU</strong><br />
has made it a priority to strategically embed information technology<br />
in all its academic and administrative systems.<br />
In addition to providing the <strong>LAU</strong> community with always-on wireless<br />
internet coverage on both campuses, much of IT’s most important<br />
work happens behind the scenes. For example, the department works<br />
to integrate the many software packages in use in various<br />
departments, updates policies and procedures with regard to disaster<br />
recovery and network security, and is converting the university’s<br />
telephone system to lower cost, more flexible IP telephony.<br />
▲ One of <strong>LAU</strong>'s many computer labs<br />
In 2006–07, in particular, <strong>LAU</strong>’s IT experts paid particular attention to<br />
ways in which technology could enhance the academic experience by<br />
upgrading the university’s license for WebCT, an online virtual learning<br />
environment that allows instructors to post syllabi, assignments, and<br />
lectures—and students to post back. New <strong>LAU</strong>-developed software was<br />
also used in class and exam scheduling, turning the tedious task into<br />
one that could be done almost at the touch of a button. Another techenabled<br />
academic initiative focused on facilitating advising by<br />
reducing paperwork and, thereby, increasing time faculty members<br />
can devote to helping students.<br />
Reliable internal communication systems are an absolute necessity for<br />
any operation and especially for one spread across two campuses and<br />
three continents. In spring 2007, nine flat-panel screens that can<br />
display real-time announcements were mounted around the Beirut<br />
and Byblos campuses, completing the first phase of the university’s<br />
Electronic Bulletin Board.<br />
Finally, last summer, IT staff traveled to New York to “dramatically<br />
improve” the Manhattan office’s tech infrastructure. New email and<br />
file-sharing servers were installed, modern videoconferencing systems<br />
set up, a wireless internet connection configured, and centralized virus<br />
protection and data backup systems established, all of which help keep<br />
<strong>LAU</strong>’s North <strong>American</strong> staff in lockstep with what’s happening seven<br />
time zones and 5,612 miles (9,031 kilometers) to the east in Lebanon.<br />
43
M a k i n g I t Po s s i b l e<br />
University Advancement<br />
University Advancement encompasses five diverse but inter-related<br />
departments—Alumni Affairs, Development, Marketing and<br />
Communications, Public Relations, and Advancement Services—that<br />
work together to advance <strong>LAU</strong>’s mission. Jointly, we are responsible for<br />
maintaining and enhancing the university’s image, securing financial<br />
support for programs and projects, and keeping <strong>LAU</strong>’s alumni engaged<br />
in the life of the institution.<br />
Working through offices in Beirut and New York, this new division,<br />
now a must-have in the increasingly competitive and global highereducation<br />
marketplace, is responsible for the institution’s image, as<br />
well as much of its non-tuition, non-research-related income.<br />
University Advancement must reinforce a collective vision and deliver<br />
a consistent message as it serves every office, department, and division<br />
on campus. We are achieving this delivery through enhanced<br />
communication, both internal and external, which has helped<br />
streamline departmental operations. A departmental reorganization<br />
and the addition of several highly trained professional staff members<br />
has resulted in measurably more alumni contact and involvement, a<br />
higher university profile in both foreign and domestic markets,<br />
enhanced communication tools, and a record increase in both private<br />
and government support for <strong>LAU</strong>.<br />
▲ An alumni business networking event in Beirut<br />
44
P r e s i d e n t ’s R e p o rt 2 0 0 6 | 2 0 0 7<br />
ALUMNI AFFAIRS<br />
<strong>LAU</strong> has significantly revamped the way it communicates with its<br />
alumni and keeps them engaged in the university long after they’ve<br />
graduated. These ongoing efforts fall under the strategic plan<br />
mandate to implement a PRIDE initiative that connects graduates,<br />
whether from BUC, BCW, or <strong>LAU</strong>, to their alma mater and “stresses the<br />
value and importance of alumni as key members of the University<br />
community.”<br />
▲ The alumni brunch at Homecoming 2007<br />
During the 2006–07, Alumni Affairs established seven new alumni<br />
chapters—in Oman, New York/New Jersey, Washington, D.C., Detroit,<br />
Florida, Boston, and the School of Engineering & Architecture—<br />
bringing the total to 23, with plans for another eight chapters next<br />
year. Several of the chapters, both new and old, hosted alumni<br />
gatherings in their home countries. In addition, educational lectures<br />
and a business networking reception were held in Beirut to galvanize<br />
alumni residing in Lebanon. Finally, the 2007 Homecoming and Class<br />
Reunion was one of the best attended ever, with alums from 1952 to<br />
the present returning to show their pride in <strong>LAU</strong>.<br />
Alumni communications also got a boost this year with the launch of<br />
<strong>LAU</strong> Matters, a bimonthly electronic newsletter, and a new Alumni<br />
Affairs website. The office is also promoting free email addresses for<br />
life for graduates, no matter what the year, and is planning to set up<br />
an alumni portal soon to keep graduates connected for a long time to<br />
come. Finally, as we go to press, Alumni Affairs reports that its firstever<br />
Web-facilitated officer elections were an enormous success.<br />
45
M a k i n g I t Po s s i b l e<br />
DEVELOPMENT<br />
The Development Office is committed to generating financial support<br />
that will continue to advance <strong>LAU</strong>’s mission and to secure its future by<br />
diversifying revenue and reducing the university’s reliance on tuition<br />
income. A hallmark of this year’s success was the tenfold increase in<br />
university support in cash and pledges from government and private<br />
sources, including the gifts listed in this publication. The development<br />
team raised record funds from private gifts, with this year’s total<br />
exceeding the cumulative amount raised in the past five years.<br />
These successes have not only helped lay the groundwork for the<br />
university’s first comprehensive fund-raising effort, but also<br />
positioned <strong>LAU</strong> to garner significantly more support from individuals,<br />
corporations, and foundations around the world. Our plans to boost<br />
student financial aid will allow more deserving yet financially<br />
disadvantaged students to pursue their education at <strong>LAU</strong>. In addition,<br />
funds will also be directed toward <strong>LAU</strong>’s five schools, new programs,<br />
faculty and research initiatives, as well as toward the renovation and<br />
construction of much-needed facilities. Further, the Development<br />
Office is cementing ties with <strong>LAU</strong>’s historic supporters and forging<br />
new relationships among philanthropists eager to contribute to<br />
<strong>American</strong>-style education in the Middle East as it remains actively<br />
engaged in informing the entire <strong>LAU</strong> community about its collective<br />
role in promoting the culture of philanthropic giving.<br />
▲ Sage Hall is an icon of <strong>LAU</strong><br />
46
P r e s i d e n t ’s R e p o rt 2 0 0 6 | 2 0 0 7<br />
MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS<br />
In September, the Marketing and Communications Department,<br />
formerly the <strong>Publications</strong> Office, was established, fulfilling the sixth<br />
initiative of the strategic plan to create an entity “to coordinate all<br />
aspects of communication, image and awareness activities.” The<br />
department is expected to grow significantly over the next year as it<br />
initiates a comprehensive marketing and communications plan.<br />
▲ Cover of the summer 2007 issue of the <strong>LAU</strong> Magazine<br />
One of the department’s major objectives is to refine <strong>LAU</strong>’s visual<br />
identity and position the university for internal and external, regional,<br />
and global audiences. Relying on data gathered from current and<br />
prospective students, parents, alumni, and faculty and staff, the<br />
Marketing and Communications Department and key consultants will<br />
engage in a serious and thoughtful process that clearly delineates<br />
<strong>LAU</strong>’s unique qualities and strengths, defines its distinctiveness in the<br />
marketplace, communicates its values, and tells the university's story<br />
in the most compelling and dynamic way.<br />
The <strong>Publications</strong> Office had a long tradition of supporting the<br />
institution by producing print and electronic publications for a variety<br />
of in-house clients. In 2006–07, it played an especially important role<br />
in maintaining communication among the <strong>LAU</strong> community during the<br />
summer war and subsequent crises. More than any other medium, the<br />
<strong>LAU</strong> website proved essential to keeping a dispersed staff and student<br />
body informed about fast-breaking developments.<br />
▲ The current homepage of www. lau.edu.lb<br />
In the spring, a strategic planning website was launched to keep the<br />
faculty and staff members abreast of major accomplishments as plan<br />
goals are fulfilled, and last summer a new Alumni Affairs website was<br />
unveiled. Two new electronic publications were inaugurated this year:<br />
<strong>LAU</strong> Matters, which goes to external constituents, including alumni,<br />
and TalkingPoints, which keeps members of the boards of trustees and<br />
international advisors updated on <strong>LAU</strong> news. Finally, the beloved <strong>LAU</strong><br />
Magazine and Alumni Bulletin was redesigned.<br />
47
M a k i n g I t Po s s i b l e<br />
PUBLIC RELATIONS<br />
In addition to leading an aggressive plan to communicate with<br />
<strong>Lebanese</strong> leaders and public figures, as well as the diplomatic corps,<br />
the Public Relations office has significantly raised <strong>LAU</strong>’s profile in the<br />
print and broadcast news media in Lebanon, the Middle East, and<br />
North America. In September 2007, The Providence Journal, a U.S.<br />
newspaper, published a commentary by President Jabbra, who during<br />
the past year also promoted <strong>American</strong>-style education in the Middle<br />
East in interviews with Aramica, The Washington Report on Middle East<br />
Affairs, and the Christian Science Monitor. <strong>LAU</strong> also has enjoyed weekly<br />
coverage in the U.S.–based Beirut Times, an independent cultural,<br />
social, and political newspaper serving the <strong>Lebanese</strong> and Arab-<br />
<strong>American</strong> communities, and in important Arabic-language<br />
newspapers in Canada.<br />
Similarly, in the Middle East the Public Relations office has expanded<br />
the reach of <strong>LAU</strong>’s image in Qatar, Dubai, and Abu Dhabi through a<br />
variety of pan-Arab publications, satellite television stations, and inflight<br />
magazines, such as Middle East Airlines’ Cedar Wings. Passengers<br />
of Gulf Air will soon start to see coverage of <strong>LAU</strong> in that airline’s<br />
magazine as well.<br />
In addition, the office has strategically expanded the<br />
scope of its duties to support fund-raising efforts by<br />
building a bridge with the Bank of Beirut, which now<br />
sponsors many alumni events both in Lebanon and<br />
abroad. Ties have also been strengthened between <strong>LAU</strong><br />
and the Alwaleed Bin Talal Humanitarian Foundation.<br />
48
P r e s i d e n t ’s R e p o rt 2 0 0 6 | 2 0 0 7<br />
ADVANCEMENT SERVICES<br />
As the backbone of the Advancement team, Advancement Services<br />
ensures that the profiles and contact details of all alumni and donors<br />
are up-to-date. Using a specialized database system, Advancement<br />
Services updates individual information, processes gifts, maintains<br />
mailing lists, and runs reports that assess current progress and inform<br />
future planning. This year, as in years past, the department upheld its<br />
top-notch service standards, preparing timely reports organized by<br />
myriad criteria, ensuring that the <strong>LAU</strong> staff keeps the dimension and<br />
diversity of their constituents in mind.<br />
Plans for 2007–08 include briefing others on campus about the vital<br />
role of Advancement Services, and suggesting ways in which<br />
Advancement Services can help academic and other programs achieve<br />
their missions. Last but not least, the office will employ creative ways<br />
to find graduates with whom we’ve lost touch, by placing ads in<br />
newspapers, synchronizing contacts between Beirut and Byblos and<br />
our international alumni chapters, and contacting human resources<br />
departments at major banks and companies in Lebanon to ask them<br />
to help identify which of their employees are graduates of <strong>LAU</strong>.<br />
Have We Lost Touch With<br />
Someone You Know from <strong>LAU</strong><br />
If you know an <strong>LAU</strong>, BUC, or BCW grad who should have received<br />
this report but didn’t, please let us know. Advancement Services<br />
at <strong>LAU</strong> is committed to finding each and every member of the<br />
<strong>LAU</strong> community to make sure that we all remain connected.<br />
Take a moment and write or call us at:<br />
Telephone: 961-1-786464 Ext: 1324<br />
Fax: 961-1-786472<br />
E-mail: aafares@lau.edu.lb<br />
49
M a k i n g I t Po s s i b l e<br />
FINANCE<br />
The Finance department has been<br />
formulating a financial master plan for<br />
the university that “integrates the<br />
academic, enrollment, and fundraising<br />
plans with the facilities master plan.”<br />
This has been coupled with an early<br />
formulation of the budgets for operating<br />
and capital projects. In this context, a<br />
University Budget Committee was<br />
convened to establish a process for<br />
collaborating efforts with leaders of<br />
other departments.<br />
Our financial planning efforts seek<br />
aggressive revenue diversification to<br />
support ongoing operations and<br />
initiatives, as specified in the strategic<br />
plan. Furthermore, <strong>LAU</strong> completed an<br />
innovative costing exercise to assess cost<br />
drivers, measure spending effectiveness,<br />
and leverage allocation of funds for the<br />
benefit of the entire university.<br />
In academic year 2006–07, <strong>LAU</strong> further<br />
solidified its financial position. The<br />
endowments and plant funds balances<br />
have grown in line with strategic<br />
planning targets. Investments are well<br />
diversified and sound. Significant grants<br />
have been received from generous<br />
donors and government agencies.<br />
External auditors have examined our<br />
USAID and ASHA grants and given a clean<br />
and unqualified opinion on both.<br />
Expenses USD (000's) % of Total<br />
Administration 12,107 14.73%<br />
Education 23,889 29.06%<br />
Academic Support 11,470 13.95%<br />
Research & Development 3,663 4.46%<br />
University Advancement 2,746 3.34%<br />
Auxiliary Enterprises 651 0.79%<br />
Physical Plant 6,823 8.30%<br />
Financial Aid 12,702 15.45%<br />
Contingency & Transfers 7,500 9.12%<br />
Student Association 654 0.80%<br />
Total Expenses 82,205 100.00%<br />
Revenues USD (000's) % of Total<br />
Tuition 64,659 78.66%<br />
Other Educational Income 2,695 3.28%<br />
Auxiliary Income 190 0.23%<br />
Student Association 654 0.80%<br />
Endowment Income 6,000 7.30%<br />
Interest Income 650 0.79%<br />
Gifts & Contributions 7,357 8.95%<br />
Total Revenue 82,205 100.00%<br />
50
P r e s i d e n t ’s R e p o rt 2 0 0 6 | 2 0 0 7<br />
▲ The Byblos campus<br />
51
B o a r d s o f Tr u st e e s & I n t e r n at i o n a l A d visors<br />
Board of Trustees<br />
(2006–07)<br />
VOTING TRUSTEES<br />
Mr. Richard Abdoo<br />
Retired Chairman & Chief Executive Officer,<br />
Wisconsin Energy Corporation<br />
Mrs. Taline Avakian<br />
Owner, Avakian Jewelry<br />
Mr. Ronald Cruikshank<br />
Retired Senior Corporate Counsel, Omnicom Group Inc.<br />
Dr. Charles Elachi<br />
Director of Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Vice President,<br />
California Institute of Technology<br />
Dr. George Faris<br />
Chairman, Faris Group Inc<br />
Mr. Antoine Frem<br />
President & Chief Executive Officer, INDEVCO<br />
Mr. Arthur Gabriel<br />
Secretary Treasurer, Gabriel Brothers<br />
Mr. William Haddad<br />
Managing Director, MACE, Contractors Ltd.<br />
Mr. Jamil Iskandar<br />
Chairman & General Manager, DRHTC, SAL<br />
Mr. Wadih (Bill) Jordan<br />
President, Near East Pharma<br />
Mr. Walid Katibah<br />
Engineer, Office of Engineer Walid Katibah<br />
H.E. Amb. John Kelly<br />
President, John Kelly Consulting, Inc.<br />
Former US Ambassador to Lebanon<br />
Mr. Joseph Maroun<br />
Owner, Caravan Trading Company<br />
Rev. David Maxwell<br />
Editor, Geneva Press<br />
Dr. Mary Mikhael<br />
President, Near East School of Theology<br />
Ms. Maureen Mitchell<br />
Managing Director, Bear Stearns<br />
Mr. Richard Orfalea<br />
Retired Corporate Banker<br />
Mr. Todd Petzel<br />
Managing Director & Chief Investment Officer,<br />
Azimuth Asset Management LLP<br />
Mr. Fred Rogers<br />
Vice President & Treasurer, Carleton College<br />
H.E. Minister Mohammad Safadi<br />
Minister of Transportation<br />
Chairman, Safadi Group Holding<br />
Sheikh Abdul Aziz Al Turki<br />
President, Rawabi Holding<br />
Dr. John T. Wholihan<br />
Dean, College of Business Administration<br />
EMERITUS TRUSTEES<br />
Mr. Jose Abizaid<br />
Retired Executive<br />
Dr. Amal Kurban,<br />
Professor of Dermatology<br />
Vice Chairman, Academic & Clinical Affairs,<br />
Boston University, School of Medicine and Medical Center<br />
Mr. Wilbert Newton<br />
Retired Executive<br />
EX-OFFICIO TRUSTEES<br />
Dr. Paul F. Boulos<br />
Vice President and Chief Operating Officer,<br />
MWH Soft, Inc.<br />
Rev. Dr. Victor Makari<br />
Coordinator for the Middle East and Europe,<br />
Presbyterian Church USA<br />
Rev. Joseph Kassab<br />
General Secretary,<br />
National Evangelical Synod of Syria & Lebanon.<br />
Dr. Joseph Jabbra<br />
President, <strong>Lebanese</strong> <strong>American</strong> University<br />
Dr. Camille Issa<br />
Senate Chair, <strong>LAU</strong> Faculty Representative<br />
52
P r e s i d e n t ’s R e p o rt 2 0 0 6 | 2 0 0 7<br />
Board of International Advisors<br />
(2006–07)<br />
Mr. Raymond Audi<br />
Chairman & General Manager,<br />
Bank Audi SAL, Audi Saradar Group<br />
Dr. Francois Bassil<br />
Chairman and General Manager,<br />
Byblos Bank, SAL<br />
Dr. Paul F. Boulos<br />
Vice President and Chief Operating Officer,<br />
MWH Soft, Inc.<br />
Mr. Zuhair Boulos<br />
Engineer<br />
H.E. Amb. Gilbert Chaghoury<br />
Ambassador<br />
Dr. Nadim Daouk<br />
President, INFOEL<br />
Mr. Raphael Debbane<br />
Chairman & Chief Executive Officer<br />
Debbane Freres, SAL<br />
Mrs. Eva Farha<br />
<strong>LAU</strong> Alumna<br />
Mr. Enan Galaly<br />
Senior Advisor,<br />
International Association of University Presidents<br />
Dr. Boutros Boutros Ghali<br />
Retired Ambassador<br />
Mrs. Youmna Salame<br />
<strong>LAU</strong> Alumna<br />
Mr. Omar Sawaf<br />
Founder,<br />
Merchant/Investment Bank<br />
Mr. Philip Stoltzfus<br />
Chief Executive Officer,<br />
Thayer Brook Partners, LLP<br />
Mr. Peter Tanous<br />
President,<br />
Lynx Investment Advisory, LLC<br />
Mr. Jacob H. Yahiayan<br />
Managing Director,<br />
Continental Advisory Services<br />
EX-OFFICIO MEMBERS<br />
Rev. Joseph Kassab<br />
General Secretary,<br />
National Evangelical Synod of Syria & Lebanon<br />
Dr. Joseph Jabbra<br />
President,<br />
<strong>Lebanese</strong> <strong>American</strong> University<br />
Dr. Camille Issa<br />
Senate Chair,<br />
<strong>LAU</strong> Faculty Representative<br />
Sheikh Fouad el Khazen<br />
Chairman, Banque de L’Industrie et du Travail<br />
Mr. Samer Khoury<br />
Executive Vice President,<br />
Consolidated Contractors Company<br />
Rev. George Mourad<br />
Representative,<br />
National Evangelical Synod of Syria & Lebanon<br />
Mr. Charles Muller<br />
Representative,<br />
National Evangelical Synod of Syria & Lebanon<br />
Mr. Akram Saab<br />
Engineer<br />
The <strong>Lebanese</strong> <strong>American</strong> University is an <strong>American</strong><br />
institution chartered by the Board of Regents of the<br />
University of the State of New York and operating in<br />
Lebanon. Originally founded as a Presbyterian school for<br />
girls in 1835, <strong>LAU</strong> is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational<br />
institution of higher education encompassing five<br />
academic schools—Arts and Sciences, Business,<br />
Engineering and Architecture, Medicine, and Pharmacy.<br />
Its two campuses, in Beirut and Byblos, offer more than<br />
6,300 undergraduate and graduate students a wide<br />
range of academic and professional degrees, including<br />
the only doctor of pharmacy program outside the United<br />
States to be accredited by the Accreditation Council of<br />
Pharmacy Education.<br />
53
O u r Vi s i o n f o r t h e F uture<br />
<strong>LAU</strong> LOOKS FORWARD<br />
“<strong>LAU</strong> is in the midst of dramatic and far-reaching institutional<br />
change,” said the NEASC accreditation team in April 2007. The major<br />
accomplishments of the past year and our common goals for the<br />
future attest to the commitment of our students, alumni, faculty, and<br />
staff to maintain this momentum and drive toward reinventing <strong>LAU</strong> as<br />
a center for high-quality medical education, for drug research, for<br />
conflict resolution, for diplomacy, for the empowerment of women, for<br />
innovative engineering, for all of the things that contribute to making<br />
a university and a society whole and productive, compassionate and<br />
creative. We aim to achieve these goals by holding fast to our vision,<br />
which calls on us as educators to:<br />
▲ The view from the Byblos campus to the sea<br />
• Provide access to a superior education for<br />
diverse undergraduate and graduate students<br />
and lifelong learners<br />
• Attract and retain distinguished faculty who excel<br />
in teaching, research and community service<br />
• Enroll and retain academically qualified and<br />
diverse students<br />
• Embrace liberal arts in all curricula<br />
• Create opportunities for rigorous research and the<br />
dissemination of knowledge<br />
• Develop a close-knit community that excels academically,<br />
is intellectually stimulating, and is religiously, ethnically<br />
and socio-economically diverse<br />
• Attract and retain a highly qualified staff committed<br />
to excellence in service<br />
• Foster collaboration across the university in teaching,<br />
learning, research, and service<br />
• Provide a state-of-the-art infrastructure and support<br />
services that will enrich the student, faculty, and<br />
staff experience<br />
• Develop world citizens with a deep sense of civic engagement<br />
• Promote the values of peace, democracy, and justice<br />
“<br />
The progress of freedom<br />
depends more upon the<br />
maintenance of peace,<br />
the spread of commerce,<br />
and the diffusion of education,<br />
than upon the labours of cabinets<br />
and foreign offices. ”<br />
Richard Cobden<br />
In the last of these aspirations, the rest are contained. As Richard Cobden,<br />
the British radical politician observed in 1850,“The progress of freedom<br />
depends more upon the maintenance of peace, the spread of commerce,<br />
and the diffusion of education, than upon the labours of cabinets and<br />
foreign offices.”We cling tightly to these principles and to our role as<br />
diffusers of education to bring them to bear in the lives of our students<br />
so that they may also disperse them to the rest of the world.<br />
54
Beirut Campus<br />
P.O. Box 13-5053<br />
Chouran, Beirut 1102 2801<br />
Lebanon<br />
Tel: +961 1 786456/64<br />
Fax: +961 1 867098<br />
Byblos Campus<br />
P.O. Box 36<br />
Byblos, Lebanon<br />
Tel: +961 9 547254/263<br />
Fax: +961 9 944851<br />
New York Office<br />
475 Riverside Drive<br />
Suite 1846<br />
New York, NY 10115-0065<br />
USA<br />
Tel: (212) 870-2592<br />
Fax: (212) 870-2762<br />
http://www.lau.edu.lb