to your health - American University of Beirut

Fall 2012 Vol. XI, No. 1CHEERSto your health

MainGateAmerican University of Beirut Quarterly MagazinePresident’s viewViews from CampusReviewsDepartments:Letters 2Inside the GateRay R. Irani Oxy Engineering Complex wins 2012 Green GOOD Design Award; lifesavers: thank you, Brave Heart!;PhD student Dana Bazzoun awarded 2012 L’Oréal-UNESCO International Fellowship for Women in ScienceProtestant Missionaries in the Levant: Ungodly Puritans, 1820-60 by Samir Khalaf; Marketing Management:Arab World Edition by Philip Kotler, Kevin Lane Keller, Salah S. Hassan, Imad Baalbaki (BBA ’85, MBA ’87), andHamed M. ShammaBeyond Bliss StreetLeading Conversations Lodestar Dr. Karam Karam (BS ’62, MD ’67), clinical professor and former minister of health, on how AUB 42can do even more to pioneer health care.Legends and Legacies Literary Light In 1866 Nassif al-Yaziji (1800-71) was widely recognized, along with Boutrus Bustani, as 43one of “two great figures who dominate the intellectual life of the period.”Reflections Wanted: Team Player, Grand Ambitions “Don’t make any little plans,” advises former FM Dean Craig 45S. Lichtenwalner. More than 40 years ago, Dr. Lichtenwalner played a key role in the planning and 1970inauguration of the AUB Medical Center, the largest expansion in health care infrastructure in AUB’s history.Alumni Profile Homeward Bound Joumana Kalot (BS ’89, MPH ’95) brings a wealth of experience from the UNDP and work 48in drug prevention and HIV/AIDS to her new position at the FHS Outreach and Practice Unit.Alumni Happenings WAAAUB Convention 2012; Legacy Ceremony 50Class Notes Meet siblings and spouses who dedicate their lives to health care. First up, triple threat: Ali Abu-Alfa (BS 54’85, MD ’85), Amer Abu Alfa (BS ’85, MD ’89), and Ghassan Abou-Alfa (BS ’88, MD ’92); published andproduced: Salah D. Salman (BS ’57, MD ’61) author of Scrubbed Out: Reviving the Doctor’s Role in PatientCare; medically speaking: Dr. Alexander Geha (BS ’55, MD ’59)In Memoriam 668MainGate is published quarterly inBeirut by the American Universityof Beirut for distribution to alumni,former faculty, friends, andsupporters worldwide.EditorAda H. PorterDirector of CommunicationsResponsible DirectorNabil DajaniArt Direction and DesignOffice of CommunicationsNajib AttiehZeina TawilTomoko FurukawaProductionOffice of CommunicationsRanda ZaiterPhotographyAUB Jafet Library ArchivesAhmad El ItaniHasan NisrNishan SimonianContributing WritersMaureen AliAndrew BossoneJean-Marie CookKathy DormanSusanne LaneJeffrey LotSierra MillmanJennifer MullerBarbara RosicaSafa Jafari SafaAmerican University of BeirutOffice of CommunicationsPO Box 11–0236Riad El Solh 1107 2020Beirut, LebanonTel: 961-1-353228Fax: 961-1-363234New York Office3 Dag Hammarskjold Plaza8th FloorNew York, NY 10017–2303Tel: 212-583-7600Fax: 212-583-7651maingate@aub.edu.lbwww.aub.edu.lbCoverLooks like gross anatomy isn’tso gross after all. Cheers to ourfuture doctors!Printing53 dots (Dar El Kotob)

Cheers to Your Health!MainGate Fall 201224 27 38Partnership for LifeIn the last 30 years, the 5,877 milesseparating the Cleveland Clinic and AUBMChave only become smaller.33Treating LebanonCatch cancer early. Love your heart.Diagnose diabetes. What you can do andwhat AUB is doing to protect against thegreatest health issues facing the region.Artistic LegacyAUB celebrates the Rose and ShaheenSaleeby Collection with an inauguralexhibition showcasing the work of KhalilSaleeby, a founder of modern art inLebanon.Building to HealAUBMC is embarking on the greatest transformation in its 110-year history. MainGatelooks back at past builds, shares early plans for the2020 medical complex, and speaks to the architectural teams translating a vision of clarity and transparency into steel and glass(and perhaps a touch of local cedar).

P r e s i d e n t ' s v i e wThe president speaks with MainGateabout his journey through highereducation, finding mentors, andrecommends a reading list that is notfor the faint of heart.In your Opening Ceremonyremarks in September, youreflected on the ways that AUBis a place where students, faculty,and staff can undertake personaljourneys of exploration. Canyou tell us something about yourown personal journey in highereducation and what you gainedfrom the experience?What I remember in particular was themany options I had in choosing a major.Unlike the Lebanese system where youapply to get into a major, at Americanschools you get two years to choose.After looking at fine arts, psychology,and others, I finally settled on anthropology.The program at Amherst Collegewas focused on cultural anthropologyand the way in which human civilizationsinteract. I also wound up doing a minorin psychology, exploring linguistics andhow conceptual thinking is intimatelytied to language. Ultimately, those twothings came together in my graduatework in Egyptology at the Universityof Chicago, which was a way for meto explore ancient civilizations with afocus on language and the hieroglyphicwriting system.The other great opportunity I hadat Amherst was joining the Glee Club.Extracurricular activities outside theclassroom are something I feel is veryimportant for young people to explore.My most memorable experience withthe Glee Club was a world tour wedid in the summer of 1969. One of ourstops on this tour was Lebanon, whereBoard Chairman Philip Khoury and President Peter Dorman greet AUB Chief Marshal,Professor Huda Zuraykwe sang at the Baalbek Festival in theTemple of Bacchus. Music has been alife-long interest of mine.Looking back over my undergraduateexperience, if I had to doit over again, I would certainly do asemester abroad, because that can bea life-changing experience.Who were your academicmentors? Who does a universitypresident turn to for mentorship?I especially admired my undergraduatethesis adviser, Donald Pitkin, whoformed my interest in cultural anthropology.The other person at Amherstwas Rose Olver, who headed thePsychology Department and was thefirst female faculty member hired atwhat was then an all-men’s school.She was the one who really spurredmy interest in linguistics. In Egyptology,I had two extraordinary mentors. Onewas Edward Wente, a brilliant philologistand expert in Egyptian religion.The other was Klaus Baer, who wasa fantastic linguist and also a superbhistorian. Together they really shapedmy graduate career.As a university president, thereare two groups of people I have turnedto for mentorship. First are our trustees,who have remarkable competenciesin different fields, from financeand government relations to hospitaladministration and academic affairs.They have been extremely important inbroadening my understanding of howa complex institution like AUB actuallyfunctions. The other important peopleare other university presidents I know—not just presidents of American universitieshere in the Middle East, but alsopresidents back in the United States,because one often learns as much bystark differences as by similarities.2 MainGate Fall 2012 | www.aub.edu.lb/maingate

P r e s i d e n t ' s v i e wIn your opening ceremonyremarks, you noted that AUBwas “propelled” upward by 50places to number 250 in the worldin the international QS WorldRankings. Is AUB actively seekingto increase its ranking in this andother polls? If so, how?We are very happy that we rose quicklyin the QS World Rankings and do lookat ways in which organizations rankuniversities, but we are not trying toinfluence those rankings by embracingpriorities that are not part of our mission.You say that the worth of aneducation should be measurednot in the immediate outcome(graduation, a job), but in thejourney itself. Have you found itdifficult to persuade AUB studentsand parents of this?I think parents realize, broadlyspeaking, that AUB provides excellentprofessional preparation as well as theopportunity to explore with peers fromdifferent backgrounds. But I wouldlike to persuade both parents andstudents of the value of what goeson outside the classroom. I believeAUB graduates are especially attunedto dealing with people of differentbackgrounds and beliefs, working ingroups and teams, treating peoplewith respect, and leading in theirchosen professions. These are vitalaspects of an AUB education.You said, “pure curiosity is yetanother enabler of journeys, andan essential impulse in the searchfor knowledge.” What piquesyour interests when you openthe newspaper or turn on yourcomputer in the morning?When I open a newspaper, usually onthe computer, I look first at opinionpieces that reflect as broadly as possibledifferent views on what is happeningin current Middle Eastern affairs. Itis important for me to keep informed ofhow events are being interpreted, bothin the region and back home. Whatpiques my interest in particular is thehuge range of opinions about eventsin the Middle East. This has becomeeven more critical in the days of theArab spring, as things change quicklyand unpredictably.Another aspect that is importantfor AUB is to understand what ishappening in Washington, and howthe role of American universities in theMiddle East is perceived.For fun, I also occasionally lookat reviews of musical events andnew books that have been recentlypublished.Are there particular books orauthors that have enrichedyour personal journey in highereducation or that you wouldrecommend to our readers?A book from high school that madea huge impression on me and thatI’ve reread several times is Melville’sMoby-Dick. But I wouldn’t necessarilyrecommend it to Lebanese readersbecause it’s hard reading, even forEnglish speakers. I also love readinghistory. One book that I found fascinatingis The Ornament of the Worldby the late Maria Rosa Menocal. Itoutlines the remarkable centuries ofAndalusian civilization and the intellectualflowering, huge diversity, andtolerance at that place and time, representinga unique mingling of Jewish,Christian, and Muslim culture in termsof architecture, poetry, arts, medicine,and more.Another book which I foundshattering to read, is Eleni by NicholasGage. It is a very personal anddisturbing memoir of how his motherwas murdered during the Greek civilwar and how she was able to savehim and his family.If you are looking for somethinglighter, I can recommend the 17 booksof Patrick O’Brien’s Jack Aubrey adventurenovels about the British navy duringthe Napoleonic wars. Extraordinarily,they are based on actual, documentednaval battles, and the dialogue is accuratefor its time—not something youalways find in historical novels. Theyalso contain contemporary scientificinsights and sudden flashes ofgreat humor.www.aub.edu.lb/maingate |MainGate Fall 20123

f r o m / t o t h e e d i t o rIf I could just find an AUB alum practicing dermatology nearby, every member of my family would be cared for by someonewith an AUB affiliation. The primary care physician I’ve seen for years was recently named to the AUB Board of Trustees.The popular pediatrician getting rave reviews near my home, it turns out, has an MD from AUB. I don’t seek out AUBgraduates. Like anyone, I just look for the doctor with the best references. It seems that if you’re looking for a good doctor,you can start, and stop, with someone from the AUB Faculty of Medicine.We interviewed several FM alumni for this health-care themed issue. We were also pleased to speak with FHS MPHalumna Joumana Kalot, to learn how nursing students work within the community from Mary Arevian at HSON, and particularlyenjoyed the stories of AUB alumni couples and siblings who have gone on to stellar careers in a variety of health-carefields (see their stories in Class Notes).The AUBMC 2020 project continues apace as we learned when we checked in with the architects of NBBJ whoare designing the new medical complex. Their renderings as you will see—a few are featured in “Building to Heal”—areinspirational. The view from the Medical Gate will never be the same. While we look forward to the physical implementationof this grand project, we never forget that it’s the day-to-day outreach, research, and patient care that is the hallmarkof AUBMC today and will be its strength for years to come. In “Treating Lebanon,” we learn about the major healthchallenges facing the region and what AUBMC and other AUB faculties are doing to help win the fight.Ada H. PorterEditor, MainGateingate@aub.edu.lb write us maingate@aub.edu.lb write us maingate@auMainGate Spring 2012,Vol. X, No. 3: Last GlanceOn the back cover of the spring issuewas a 1955 photo of a gardener withthe tarboosh near the chapel. Malcolmand I used to walk past that gardenevery day, little knowing that that placewould one day be the site of his memorial.It is almost a surprise to me when Ipass the garden these days and don’tsee Al-Haj watering the flowers! PeterDorman was a youngster at the time,living with his missionary parents nottoo far from campus. We junior yearabroad students, sponsored by thePresbyterian Church, always welcomedan invitation to their house for dinner.Hidden treasuresAUB’s Jafet Archives iscollecting items related toAUB history. Do you have anything inyour closet or in a box in the garagethat you would be willing to donate—old photographs, commemorativeplates, personal diaries, etc.? If so,please email us at maingate@aub.edu.lb. We'd love to hear from you.I found the astrolabes [from theinside back cover] in the basement ofthe Observatory when I was gatheringitems of historical interest to display inMarquand House in 1983. They were inbad repair but some skillful craftsmenin the buildings and grounds workshopcleaned and repaired them. We hadthem in the living room, but now I thinkthey are on display in the Senate Roomwhere Howard Bliss had his library.Ann Kerr-AdamsLos Angeles, CaliforniaWynn Weidner, daughter of the formerdean of the School of EngineeringC. Ken Weidner, sent these FEAcharms in response to our call for AUB“treasures.” Thanks!upcoming magazineAUBMENTORSDid you study with someone atAUB who changed your life, orfind an unlikely role model outsideof class you’ll never forget? Writemaingate@aub.edu.lb so we can helptell your story.ErrataPage 54: Nadine Samara (BS ’02) isincorrectly listed as Nadim.Page 56: Recently Elected incorrectly listsmembers as part of the Jeddah Chapterinstead of the Riyadh Chapter.Thanks to Dr. SolangeG. Abunassar (BS ’60,MD ’65) for sendingus her posters fromAUB’s 125 anniversarycelebrations.4 MainGate Fall 2012 | www.aub.edu.lb/maingate

At AUB, more than3,000 students receivedfinancial aid in 2011–12.Can you help one more?b.edu.lbWith two younger brothers and an oldersister, Assaad knew that his dreamof attending AUB would be nearlyimpossible for his family because ofthe cost of tuition. Although his fatherworked hard and earned a decentincome, he had an accident and had toundergo many surgeries. He struggledfor two years with diabetes and cancerand passed away in February 2012.These last two years have been verydifficult for Assaad and his family.“But,” he says, “I always had hope thatin this vast world of pessimism therewere great people who appreciatedhard work and perseverance. Nowthat I have been given this scholarship,my will to succeed is even stronger. Iplan to continue my studies and get amaster’s degree in either aeronauticalengineering or energy sources andconversions. I pray that I will be able toreturn to AUB one day as a donor andbe able to change a student’s life andgive him the chance that I was given.”Hear more:www.aub.edu/development/scholarship_initiativeTo speak to someone aboutsupporting financial aid, contactus at giving(at)aub.edu.lb.SupportingStudentsof Today and Tomorrow: Assaad HelouCan you help supportan AUB student?See what’s possible!

ViewfinderAUB picked up the pace this yearand became a major partner withthe Marathon Association, signingup 600 runners and 150 volunteersfor the BLOM Beirut Marathon heldunder stormy skies on November 11.Congratulations to all the partners andparticipants. RUN AUB RUN!2012 partners• AUBMC• The Brave Heart Fund• The Nature Conservation Center• Office of Student Affairs• University Sports• The AUB Wellness Program• Center for Civic Engagement andCommunity Service• AUBMC Multiple Sclerosis Center• AUB Tobacco Control Research Group• The Neighborhood Initiative6 MainGate Fall 2012 | www.aub.edu.lb/maingate

www.aub.edu.lb/maingate | MainGate Fall 20127

Seen and HeardIt’s a new academic year and there are a few things newcomers needto know. Hadi Aridi, a senior in sociology, has some sage advice.quick facts you need to know about AUB1. Don’t search for “AUB sis” and the “Moodle” building. Even if you’ve been told it’s on lowercampus, it’s not.2. Whether you like it or not, cats will follow you, annoy you, and want your food. Get over it.3. At AUB, you are automatically registered in a sprint running course, especially when youhave a class in the lower campus right after another in the upper campus. The key is torun…and run fast.4. West Hall is the hangout capital of campus. Evidence shows that people who hang outthere the most end up skipping more classes.5. The garden area in front of the cafeteria is called the “zoo.” Go there once and you’ll know why.6. Students from the Department of Architecture and Design are rarely seen on upper campus.7. The majority of the students at the school of business are girls. At the other end of thespectrum, at electrical and computer engineering, girls are almost extinct.8. Running late to classes is an officially recognized sport at the University. A varsity teammust be initiated!9. New students look both sides before crossing Bliss Street. The third year, they start lookingleft, realizing the street is one way. The fourth year, they stop looking, and just jump intothe street and resolve that it’s not their problem to look, it’s the driver’s duty to stop.10. The security guard at the Main Gate is rarely interested in checking your university ID. Theexception is when you're running late to class and carrying six bags in one hand and 10books in the other. Then they’ll insist that you unload all your stuff and show your ID.Welcome to the amazing AUB! :)University NewsTurning the TideA welcome new addition to the AUBFaculty of Arts and Sciences’ rich varietyof academic centers, the FaroukK. Jabre Center for Arabic and IslamicScience and Philosophy will supportresearch and raise awareness aboutthese fields through outreach and education.Businessman, philanthropist,AUB alumnus, and trustee, Jabre (BA’58) made his generous donation toencourage new interest in the richlegacy of Arab and Islamic heritageamong young Lebanese. “Many youngArabs are under the misconceptionthat neither the Arabic language norits cultural environment is conducive toscientific thought, rational discourse,or knowledge production,” Jabre said.“Bright Arab minds end up leaving theregion, discouraged from making contributionsto science and technology intheir native lands. This continuing cycleof emigration has perpetuated theendemic conditions of underdevelopmentand condemned Arab societiesto passive consumerism in the globalknowledge economy.”The late Edward S. Kennedy, anAUB faculty member for 30 years, pioneeredresearch into Arabic and Islamicscience. In addition to his own researchand the handful of scholars he trained,Kennedy’s legacy includes some ofthe 1,400 manuscripts held by AUB’sUniversity Libraries, which provide a8 MainGate Fall 2012 | www.aub.edu.lb/maingate

modest foundation for studies in thefield. “In view of AUB’s founding rolein establishing the field of Arabic andIslamic science, it is especially fitting thatthe Farouk K. Jabre Center for Arabicand Islamic Science and Philosophyfinds a home within our walls,” saidAUB President Peter Dorman.Welcoming the establishment ofthe center, AUB Provost Ahmad Dallalsaid, “Centers such as this energizeAUB’s intellectual environment,benefiting faculty, students, and thebroader community and increase ourability to educate students at all levelsfor the future.”Navigating the ArabUprisings—M.A.AUB’s commitment to generatingand disseminating serious academicanalysis of the ongoing events knownas the Arab uprisings was recentlyaugmented by the launch of theUniversity Libraries’ "Arab UprisingsGuide," which provides a list ofscholarly resources, news sites,and web archives as well as otheruseful internet sources related tothese historic events. Launched inJanuary, the guide is available on-lineatcontent.www.aub.edu.lb.libguides.com/The libraries are collaborating withAUB's Issam Fares Institute for PublicPolicy and International Affairs (IFI),which is spearheading the University’sresearch on this topic. As well asits Arab Uprisings Lecture Seriesorganized with the Provost’s Office, IFIhosted a two-day symposium in lateMay 2012 that brought together leadingacademics and analysts from the regionin what Provost Ahmad Dallal describedas a “truth seeing undertaking, bothacademic and pedagogical.” In six lively,in-depth sessions, participants, includinghistorians, social scientists, writers,and other academicians, discussedtopics including “Motivations Behind theUprisings,” “Islamists, Coalitions, andGovernance,” and “The Evolving GCC”(Gulf Cooperation Council).You can find the schedule of IFI lectures,seminars, and research projectsat www.aub.edu.lb/ifi.More On-line—M.A.From the FacultiesFASMA Media BlitzThis fall, the first cohort of mediastudies students in AUB history willstart working towards their master’sdegrees. The new MA in Media Studiesofficially approved in March 2012 hasbeen long and eagerly anticipated.Although it was announced verylate last year, the two-year programexceeded its recruitment goals for thefall with an acceptance rate of lessthan 50 percent.Assistant Professor of Journalismand Media Studies Jad Melki says theprogram’s liberal arts curriculum andbalancing of research, theory, criticalskills, and digital media literacy makeit unique in the Arab region. Melki, theacting chair of AUB’s Department ofSociology, Anthropology, and MediaStudies, explains, “What sets thisprogram apart is its multidisciplinarycurriculum and grounding in the socialsciences—and in the region. Theprogram offers four emphasis areasthat reflect local and regional needs.”In addition to selecting fromamong an attractive list of mediastudies, sociology, and anthropologyelectives, students may alsotake general electives in four generalcategories: political communication,health communication, visual literacy,and media management. The goal ofthe program is to ensure that by thetime they graduate, these men andwomen will have the research skillsand theoretical knowledge they needCommon Abbreviations found inMainGate (MG):ACS: American Community SchoolAUB: American University of BeirutAUBMC: American University of Beirut Medical CenterCAMES: Center for Arab and Middle Eastern StudiesCAMS: Center for Advanced Mathematical SciencesCASAR: Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin AbdulazizAlsaud Center for American Studies andResearchCCECS: Center for Civic Engagement and CommunityServiceFAFS: Faculty of Agricultural and Food SciencesFAS: Faculty of Arts and SciencesFEA: Faculty of Engineering and ArchitectureFHS: Faculty of Health SciencesFM: Faculty of MedicineHSON: Rafic Hariri School of NursingIbsar: Nature Conservation Center for SustainableFuturesIC: International CollegeIFI: Issam Fares Institute for Public Policy andInternational AffairsKSA: Kingdom of Saudi ArabiaLDEM: Landscape Design and EcosystemManagementOSB: Suliman S. Olayan School of BusinessPSPA: Department of Political Studies and PublicAdministrationREP: Regional External ProgramsSPC: Syrian Protestant CollegeWAAAUB: Worldwide Alumni Association of AUBwww.aub.edu.lb/maingate |MainGate Fall 20129

to effectively and critically access,analyze, utilize, evaluate, and createmedia messages—and developmedia policies and strategies as well.AUB’s MA in Media Studies alsooffers students the flexibility to choosebetween a thesis and a non-thesisoption. Students interested in pursuingtheir doctoral studies at somelater date are encouraged to selectthe thesis track, which requires sevenCore Required Courses• MCOM 300: Graduate ResearchMethods in Media Studies 3 cr.• MCOM 301 (SOAN 313): Seminarin Communication Theory andResearch 3 cr.• MCOM 302 (SOAN 317): Seminarin Mass Media in the Modern ArabSociety 3 cr.• MCOM 395: Comprehensive Exam0 cr.• MCOM 399: Thesis 9 cr.courses and a nine-credit researchintensivethesis. Those interested inworking in the industry, public sector,or with civil society organizationsare advised to take the non-thesisoption, which allows for nine coursesand requires instead of a thesis athree-credit research-based project.Top: IOEC transversal section; bottom: south elevation; right: corridor viewFEAGoing GreenerBuildings generally dominate or blockviews, often both, but the Irani OxyEngineering Complex (IOEC) willinstead be a transparent corridorbetween two of the most appealingvistas in Beirut: AUB’s clock towerand the Mediterranean as glimpsedthrough the complex from the verdanthillsides that slope down tolower campus.For that and an abundance of otherclimate-friendly innovations IOEC is,according to the architects, the firstproject registered for LEED certificationin Lebanon. The EuropeanCentre for Architecture Art Designand Urban Studies and the ChicagoAthenaeum Museum of Architectureand Design have recognized NabilGholam Architects with the 2012Green GOOD Design Award forboth the complex and the Facultyof Engineering and Architecture’smaster plan.Gholam says that the awardaccentuates the sweetness of winningthe approval of AUB’s jury in 2006,which was sufficiently impressed toput its trust in an independent localfirm. “They could have gone with alarger international competitor,” hepoints out, but they clearly found thefirm’s plan for a “specific” yet “highly10 MainGate Fall 2012 | www.aub.edu.lb/maingate

adaptable” structure enticing.Although bigger isn’t necessarilybetter, the urban plan covers a lotof ground (37,000 sqm) and aimsto transform lower campus into a“convivial, comfortable network ofpedestrian flows and connectionsbetween the schools and the faculties,”Gholam says.“Because many of the peoplewho are going to use the buildingare people who are going to makebuildings,” explains Gholam, “it hasto be exemplary.”Construction is expected to becompleted in fall 2013.—S.M.Spaces of ResistanceIn July and August AUB’s Departmentof Architecture and Design hosted aten-day conference drawing professorsand students from several disciplinesand areas of study to examine“Spaces of Resistance” and howLebanon has been a site of conflictand struggle.The conference, co-organizedwith the University of CaliforniaHumanities Research Institute, combinedtheoretical lectures and discussionswith visits to sites in Beirutand southern Lebanon to explorethe modern history of these placesparticularly in the last two decades.They toured examples of Solidere’sconstruction after the Lebanesecivil war, Hezbollah’s reconstructionpost-2006 war, developments alongBeirut’s Green Line, and a Palestinianrefugee camp in the capital. Theparticipants not only played the roleof scholars, but also took part in theBeirut experience of residents andvisitors alike.Beirut has many stories fromthe past, memories of its ancientheritage, and competing narrativesof war. The participants consideredthese narratives as they navigatedthrough Lebanon’s complex historyand constant reorganizations andnegotiations of territory becomingpart of the interactions between thecity and its inhabitants.“There are times when the builtenvironment speaks in lieu of itsinhabitants, where it conveys acapacity of assembled action, ofwhich the residents are a part…” saidAbdou Maliq Simone, urbanist andprofessor of sociology at GoldsmithsCollege, University of London.AUBSTOREWe’re featuring officiallybranded AUB itemssuch as polo shirts, kids clothing, deskaccessories, and more!Drop by the AUB Store for theperfect AUB apparel,gifts, and mementosfrom the University.■ The AUB Store is located in the Visitors Bureau,Main Gate.■ Shop on-line and have it delivered worldwidewww.aub.edu.lb/aubstorewww.aub.edu.lb/maingate |MainGate Fall 201211

The Spaces of Resistance seminar examined strategies of non-violent popular resistance, explored materially and imaginatively “contested” spaces, and sought outresistance within the attempts of power to determine and control space.As individuals we often view ourselvesin direct relationship to ourimmediate surroundings, but thoserelationships are often determinedby someone else. Disputes over territoryand ideas play out in politicsand economics. To understand howwe as individuals can affect thatprocess, we have to first understandhow it occurred.—A.B.OSBPrerequisite: MultiskillingAssistant Professors Fida Afiouni andCharlotte Karam stumbled into genderresearch by chance two yearsago when a colleague enquired aboutinformation pertaining to women inengineering in the Middle East. Theirinitial research into this query triggereda deeper interest; the pair switchedtheir focus to women in academia andsecured a research grant which ledto their first paper in a body of workunder the title “Women in Academiain the Arab MENA Region.”“We wanted to explore gender froman organizational perspective,” the pairexplains. “We were looking at nationalpolicies as well as university policies,but it is hard to find data in our region;there is very little in the public domainor available on websites. We wantedto see how HR policies could becomemore indigenously family friendly andwhat improvements are needed.”Drawing on a qualitative surveyof some 32 female academics fromEgypt, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman,Palestine, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia,Afiouni and Karam were surprised todiscover that overall women in academiaseem to have a better situationin Islamic countries which draw onstate (and sharia) law. Here, they say,there are more family friendly policies,especially when it comes to maternityleave, childcare, and family health care.Qatar leads the field with child daycare centers on campus, an area inwhich, the researchers say, AUB’srecord is abysmal. This is also the casewith AUB’s policy for maternity leave,which while generous for professors,12 MainGate Fall 2012 | www.aub.edu.lb/maingate

follows the Lebanese labor law forall other employees and is woefullyinadequate when put into the contextof American higher education. Theyalso cite the fact that maternity leavewas only included in HIP coveragetwo years ago (thanks to PresidentDorman) and for academic staff takingmaternity leave, it was only recentlythat the seven-year “promotion clock”stopped ticking during this leave.Their research also indicates thatthe role of the family remains central inthe MENA region. Many of the womenthey interviewed cited their families ascore to their conceptions of their success;almost without exception womenfrom the Gulf countries and Palestinemarried and had children before theypursued their advanced degrees.“We also discovered that especiallyin the Gulf and Palestine, the womenconsidered service to the communityto be of profound importance,”Karam explains. “Family, community,and work are all strongly interlinkedwith making a contribution or havingan impact. Success was definedin these terms which is quite differentand attractive compared to othercultural perspectives.” These womenwere heavily committed to a servicerole within their academic institutions,with extra curricular administrativeroles, committees, and volunteer workwhich, they say, falls more readily onfemale than male shoulders.Comparing their lot with that oftheir male colleagues, those womensurveyed felt they were penalizedin terms of promotion, recognitionfor service and in the allocation ofresources—grants—where they saythe process lacks transparency.Perhaps in reaction to what theysee as the deck stacked againstthem, the women stressed the needfor solidarity, strong networks, andgood relationships with other women,as a key to success. The pernicious“Queen Bee” syndrome—thedominance of a successful femaleover other females—has yet to bedocumented within higher education,at least by Afiouni and Karam.—M.A.University LibrariesMany people have grown up familiar with the sights and sounds of Egyptian films. The golden era of Egyptian film and cinema was a periodwhen the country's stages not only stood above its Arabic-speaking peers, but also held prestige in the world at large. Since the introductionof cameras in the 20th century, Egypt has been one of the leaders in the dramatic arts. Jafet Library’s Archives and Special CollectionsDepartment includes 20 photo albums of Egyptian cinema and theater from 1915 to the 1950s that include highlights from this golden era.In addition to scenes from well-known dramas, the Jafet collection also contains portraits and signatures of prominent actors andactresses as well as original press clippings from Egyptian newspapers such as Al Ahram and Rose Al-Youssef. Some of the performersfeatured in the collection include Layla Morad, Amina Sherif, Layla Fawzi, Naguib Al Rihani, Youssef Wahbi, Hussein Riyad, Ismail Yasmin,Tahia Karioka, Samia Gamal, Mary Munib, and Mohamed Abdel Wahab. There are also photos from various Egyptian plays and movies suchas Sittat Afareet, Masna’ Al-Zougat, Ghader Wa Azab, Awdat Al-Qafila, and Hukum Qaraqosh.—A.B.www.aub.edu.lb/maingate |MainGate Fall 201213

FHS Professor and Associate Dean Rima Afifi and Dr. Samer Jabbour, senior lecturer inthe Department of Health Management and Policy, recently co-facilitated a regional publichealth leadership program with Alastair Ager, PhD, and Dr. Jamie Eliades, of ColumbiaUniversity Mailman School of Public Health (MSPH). Jointly organized and delivered byMSPH and FHS professors, the program was given at the Columbia University MiddleEast Research Center (CUMERC) in Amman, Jordan, from September 21 to 26. It useda hands-on approach, regional and international case studies, and innovative deliverymethods to teach tools and strategies to manage the development of public healthprogramming in the Middle East.Afifi and Jabbour point to the program as a wonderful example of how internationaland regional academic institutions can work together. As for the collaboration withColumbia’s School of Public Health, they say, “we hope that this will be the beginning ofmore joint work towards our common cause of promoting public health practice.”The Global Health InitiativeTools and Strategies for Managing the Development ofPublic Health Programming in the Middle EastPublic Health Leadership ProgramSeptember 21-26, 2012 | Amman, JordanSix days of intensive learning, practical experiences and simulations, designed andtailored to equip public health leaders in the Middle East with key skills and knowledgeto design, implement and evaluate public health programs addressing the emergingpreventative priorities in the region.Course Objectives Use epidemiological data to identify andtrack key health trends Adopt consensus methods and othermeans of participatory engagement toestablish shared priorities forinterventions Develop and implement robustevaluation processes to identifyoutcomes and impacts of interventions Establish effective program managementarrangements to promote effectiveness,efficiency and equity of provision fortargeted populationsFacilitatorsAlastair Ager, PhD Professor of ClinicalPopulation and Family Health, MSPH/CUJamie Eliades, MD, MPH Assistant ClinicalProfessor of Population and Family Health,MSPH/CURima Afifi, PhD, MPH Professor and AssociateDean, Department of Health Promotion andCommunity Health and Graduate Public HealthProgram Coordinator Faculty of Health Sciences,AUBSamer Jabbour, MD, MPH Senior Lecturer,Department of Health Management and Policy,AUB and Editor, The Public Health in the ArabWorld (Cambridge University Press, 2012)Course Fee: USD 1,450Transportation to and from venue, lunch, coffee bre aks, and course material areincluded in the fees. Participants should cover all extras and organize own travel.Who May Apply?Senior officers of governmental and nongovernmentalorganizations with leadership roles inTo register or for more information, pleasecontact Jonathan Peters atpublic health programs, such as:jp3293@columbia.edu or on Senior Ministry of Health staff Directors of public health programs+962 6 5777 955 ext. 21914 MainGate UN agencies Fall and donor 2012 organizations | www.aub.edu.lb/maingateFHSRenewed TrustFHS’s Graduate Public Health Programwas reaccredited in June 2012 bythe Council on Education for PublicHealth (CEPH) in the United States.The reaccreditation followed a two-year self-study involving students,alumni, practitioners, faculty, andothers. In 2006, the Graduate PublicHealth Program was the first to beaccredited by CEPH outside of NorthAmerica. According to Associate DeanRima Afifi, “The reaccreditation atteststo the quality of the Graduate PublicHealth Program that is competitive withany such program in the US. Equallyimportantly, reaccreditation providesinternational recognition and allows usto be more visibly engaged in dialogueon public health. This brings in theArab voice and perspective, particularlyto researchers seeking internationalexperience in the Arab region.”FM/AUBMCLife Savers—S.J.S.Looking back at the Brave Heart Fund’s(BHF) achievements during the last 12months Joumana Ghandour Atallah,one of the charity’s cofounders, waskeen to emphasize the important roleindividuals play in raising lifesavingfunds for children suffering from congenitalheart disease. Even though thegala dinner in April was one of the mostsuccessful in the charity’s nine-year history—nettingenough to cover 120 lifesavingoperations—for Atallah it was thegroup of fathers and sons that set outto conquer Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro toraise money for BHF that was especially

poignant and inspirational. Wassef andTarek Serhan; Naaman, Wassef, andMohamad Atallah; and Marwan andZeid Shehadeh braved altitude sicknessand the cold to reach the 5,895-metersummit on behalf of suffering children.“I want to emphasize that weshould not just rely on the big ticketevents, in spite of the amazing supportwe receive from them,” Atallah says.“These individual initiatives, whichrepresent personal commitment andinvolve the local community, also helpus to highlight the plight of childrenin need and their families. Take thecase of Shireen Dajani, who took theinitiative to participate in the Triathlonde Nyon in Switzerland a few monthsago along with a team of athletes fromthe World Economic Forum. They createda Facebook page entitled ForumTriathlon and invited friends, family, andcolleagues to support BHF by sponsoringthe athletes. They finished therace with flying colors… and all fundsraised by the athletes were matchedby the World Economic Forum.”Atallah also hails the enduring commitmentto saving young lives of studentsfrom the International College (IC),headed by their teacher Riad Chirazi.Last year their combined fundraisingefforts paid for life-saving surgery forfive-year-old Maytham, whose parentshad no funds to pay for his medicalcare. One hundred students, along withChirazi, joined Lebanese desert runnerAli Wehbe in a fundraising coastalrun from Tripoli to Tyre, covering 220kilometers in less than 30 hours.The BHF “family” also turned outin force once again for the BLOMBeirut International Marathon whenan astounding 2,200 runners wore theBrave Heart colors. “The more runnerswe have, the more sponsors weTheir hearts are dedicated to yours!BHF highlights from the last 12 months:■ In Switzerland, a BHF team ran the Triathlon de Nyonwith athletes from the World Economic Forum…■ One hundred IC students ran from Tripoli to Tyre…■ 2,200 runners wore the Brave Heart colors at theBLOM Beirut International Marathon, raising enoughmoney to pay for seven open-heart surgeries…■ The AUB Red Cross Club brought togetherstudents from six faculties for a trivianight to raise money for BHF.get, and the more funds we are ableto provide for lifesaving operations.This year, with our marathon team ofrunners and sponsors, we coveredthe expenses of seven open-heartsurgeries. That is seven more livessaved,” explains Atallah.AUB students also get a specialmention. During a Trivia Night organizedby the AUB Red Cross Club,all six faculties competed in a fiercelycontested general knowledge competitionhosted by the talented NemrAbou Nassar. All funds raised duringthe event were donated to BHF.This November Brave-Hearters arelimbering up for the annual Blom BeirutMarathon where BHF holds a numberof records including “Best AchievingNGO” 2010, “Best Fundraiser” 2009,and “Biggest Team” (3,000 runners).The 2012 event was BHF’s tenthmarathon.Learn more atwww.braveheartfund.org—M.A.www.aub.edu.lb/maingate |MainGate Fall 201215

New this FallDuring its meeting inNovember 2011, the Boardof Trustees approved AUB’sninth doctoral program: aPhD program in biomedicalsciences, which was approvedand registered in March2012 by the New York StateDepartment of Education. ThePhD program in biomedicalsciences is welcoming itsfirst cohort of three studentsin fall 2012. Housed in theFaculty of Medicine, this newmultidisciplinary programemphasizes cutting edgeconcepts and techniquesof molecular and cellularmedicine preparing studentsfor careers as independentresearchers and educators.Although new, this PhDprogram traces its rootsback to 1966 when AUBintroduced a doctoral programin biochemistry. It wasreplaced six years later by aPhD program in basic medicalsciences that the Universitysuspended in 1988 during theLebanese civil war.ABCs of CareDespite his maniacally busy schedule,Dr. Khalid Yunis cannot resisttaking time out for a quick tour ofthe Neonatal Intensive Care Unit thatopened in a quiet corner on theseventh floor of AUBMC recently.The unit and the neo-natal network of31 hospitals across Lebanon whichYunis and his team helped to kickstart truly fire his enthusiasm.“The members of the network[the National Collaborative PerinatalNeonatal Network or NCPNN] allwork voluntarily,” Yunis stresses.“Our goal is to foster collaboration,quality care through surveillance, andresearch. We need accurate data,which we can only get with a reliabledatabase. We did not have such adatabase in Lebanon, so in 1998 westarted by visiting the main medicalcenters and university hospitals inBeirut to talk about collaboratingon a database. We started with fourhospitals; we ran a pilot project tofind out what we needed and how weshould proceed, and then we wentfrom there. I believe in collaboration,where [the equality of everyone] isthe basis for success, but you stillneed someone to coordinate theeffort, and this is what we do here atAUBMC.”The network concentrated onBeirut between 1998 and 2003. “Wechose to begin in Beirut because itis better to start small and see howthings develop before expanding tothe rest of the country. Besides, 35 to40 percent of the Lebanese populationlives in the greater Beirut area.After 2003 we expanded throughoutLebanon,” Yunis explains.“Our aim is to improve care forpregnant mothers and newbornsleading to a better outcome for bothof them. For a fair representation ofnewborns we need to cover at least50 percent of deliveries nationally;right now we cover about 30 percent.“We study issues that are prevalentin Lebanon such as consanguinityand how this affects the outcomeof newborns. Another issue we areinterested in is preterm births. Thereare 13 million preterm births globally,out of which one million die, soprematurity is a major problem in theneonatal period. If you look at deathsReviewsProtestant Missionaries in the Levant: Ungodly Puritans, 1820-60[Routledge, 2012] by Samir KhalafProfessor Samir Khalaf’s most recent work, Protestant Missionaries in the Levant: Ungodly Puritans,is the culmination of years of research and study of the impact of New England Puritanism on theLevant. Published as part of the Routledge Studies in Middle Eastern History series, this book isespecially interesting because it is informed by previously unexplored personal narrative accounts.Remarkably, this is only one of three books by Samir Khalaf that have been published in 2012. Heis also coeditor with Roseanne Saad Khalaf of Arab Youth: Social Mobilisation in Times of Risk(SaqiBooks, 2012) and of Lebanon Adrift: From Battleground to Playground(Saqi Books, 2012). (SeeMainGate, spring 2012, page 35.)16 MainGate Fall 2012 | www.aub.edu.lb/maingate

in children under five years of age,neonatal mortality represents about40 percent.”At the national level, the networkcollaborates with the LebaneseMinistry of Public Health, which hasdesignated the NCPNN to disseminatetimely statistics on core maternaland newborn indicators. The NCPNNalso collaborates with the WorldHealth Organization, the Centersfor Disease Control and Prevention,the March of Dimes Foundation, theUniversities of Iowa and Pittsburghin the United States, the ShafallahMedical Center in Qatar, and theLebanese American University. Inaddition, the network has led aneffort with the WHO to initiate aregional collaboration with healthcare centers across different Arabcountries including Bahrain, Kuwait,Jordan, Palestine, and Yemen.The network has started severalinitiatives including training workshopsfor physicians and nurses fromLebanon and other Arab countriesand, as of last year, a school lectureprogram for high school studentson preconception. Supported by theMinistry of Education, the March ofDimes, and the Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention, physicians,nurses, and midwives from networkcenters visit high schools to educatefuture mothers about what they needto know prior to conception and toconduct question and answer sessionsfor the students. “We havea very limited window to get thisinformation across,” says Yunis, “andhave been very surprised at howsuccessful this initiative has been.”Surveying his small office withevery surface piled high with papers,The NCPNN database has revealed• Significant health disparities betweendifferent areas of the country.• Much room for improvement ofneonatal mortality in Lebanon.• A rise in preterm births in Lebanon(and throughout the world).• Increased rate of hospital-acquiredinfections in premature andhospitalized babies due to manyvital interventions that strain theirweak immune systems.• Congenital heart disease (notpeculiar to Lebanon) as the numberone birth defect and muscularskeletal disease the second.Yunis shrugs his shoulders andadmits, “There is so much goingon that it is hard to keep track ofeverything. We are so busy. We havean increasing number of researchassistants, doctors, and studentsworking with us. We also have anarrangement with the Faculty ofHealth Sciences for some master’sstudents to do their practicum withus. The dean of medicine is verysupportive, so we just hope to keepgoing on and on. All this is dedicatedto improving the outcome formothers and babies so we need tonetwork, network, and network—andanybody is welcome to join in.”—M.A.THEY MADE THE LIST!AUB Trustee and dermatologist Dr. DavidBickers, of New York-Presbyterian/Columbia,and endocrinologist Dr. Jack Tohme (BS’70, MD ’74) of Valley Hospital/EndocrineAssociates, PA were cited in New Yorkmagazine’s 2012 “Best Doctors” issue.www.aub.edu.lb/maingate |MainGate Fall 201217

HSONMEdICAL PROGRESSIONSince the launch of AUBMC 2020, the Medical Center has introduced a numberof new initiatives to bring expanded and improved services to patients.Along the way, they have also racked up some impressive achievements.✔ Regional first: Multiple Sclerosis Center✔ Regional first: Clinical Research Institute✔ Regional first: Specialized Children’s Clinic✔ Regional first: Center in the Middle East dedicated to women’sbreast health, Mamdouha El Sayed Bobst Breast Unit✔ Regional first: Arab Regional Center for Research,Training, and Policymaking in Mental Health, establishedin collaboration with the World Health Organization✔ Regional first: Academic center focused on bioethics andprofessionalism, the Salim El-Hoss Bioethics and Professionalism ProgramWith new and improved equipment and facilities, AUBMC doctors have beenable to perform a number of new state-of-the-art proceduresthat are also regional and national firsts.✔ First unrelated donor allogeneic bone marrowtransplant in Lebanon✔ First Acufocus Kamara inlay procedure forthe treatment of presbyopia in the region✔ First Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)for treating severe depression in the region✔ First renal denervation for the treatment ofhypertension in LebanonAll in a day’s WorkFor 42 years, Mary Arevian (BS '69Nursing, MPH '79) has worked atAUB. She has watched it struggle andwatched it grow. Just one of ninenursing students to graduate in 1969,she started teaching in 1970 as aclinical assistant instructor. Today, sheteaches community health nursing tosenior students in the bachelor of sciencein nursing program. Outside theclassroom, Arevian trains and supervisesher students at various sites:homes, primary health-care centers,schools, and work places. With a theoreticalas well as a clinical/interventioncomponent, the Community HealthNursing Course targets individuals,families, and larger groups in the com-munity.Arevian regularly collabo-rates with international organizationssuch as WHO, UNICEF, the UnitedNations Population Fund, nationalgovernmental organizations suchas the Ministry of Public Healthand the Ministry of SocialAffairs; in addition to nongovernmentalorganizations suchas Ajialouna, the Child andMarketing Management: Arab World Edition[Pearson Middle East, 2012] by Philip Kotler, Kevin Lane Keller, Salah S.Hassan, Imad Baalbaki (BBA ’85, MBA ’87), and Hamed M. ShammaThis new volume is an adaptation of Marketing Management, which was first published in 1967and is now in its 14th edition. Professors Hassan, Baalbaki, and Shamma, who have extensiveexperience and in-depth knowledge of the Arab world, have developed local case studies under theguidance of lead authors Kotler and Keller to bring “the most popular marketing management textin the world to future Arab marketers.” Hailed as the “first of its kind,” Marketing Management: ArabWorld Edition covers a wide range of topics that are of interest not just to future Arab marketers, butto general readers as well, such as why some brands succeed in the Arab world while others do notand economic, social, and political similarities and differences within the Arab region.18 MainGate Fall 2012 | www.aub.edu.lb/maingate

Busy TuesdayLeading the Community HealthNursing CourseThe Community HealthNursing Course promotesand maintains thehealth of communitiesby working withfamilies, the adultworking population, andseniors over 60; plans,organizes, and deliversschool health programs;and provides primaryhealth-care servicesas recommended bythe World HealthOrganization.Mother Welfare Society, the ArmenianRelief Cross in Lebanon, and publicand private schools.In addition to teaching, supervising,and guiding nursing students,Arevian is researching communitybasedinterventions that addresscurrent and salient issues in thecommunity. With an emphasis onhealth education and prevention, herresearch interests and publicationshave become increasingly specialized,from working with women andadolescents to handling patients withchronic conditions such as diabetesand coronary artery disease.“Working with community agenciesis a very satisfying endeavor,”says Arevian. It helps me accomplishthe mission of AUB and the school ofnursing: mainly combining universityeducation, research, and communityservice to advance scientific knowledge,evidence-based, best practicefor improving and maintaining thehealth of our community. There are stillmany challenges for us in Lebanon toprovide health for everyone in ourcommunity but I am optimistic we willbe able to confront those challenges.Change will definitely occur.”—S.J.S.5:00 am: Up!6:00 am: Leave home, commute by taxifrom Zalka6:45-7:45 am: Herbal tea-time, Arevianis at her desk planning the day8:00-9:00 am: Supervise studentstraining at AUBMC’s Family MedicineDepartment9:00-10:00 am: Touch base withstudents training at Ajialouna NGO forcommunity service in Tallet al Khayyatand working in public schools all overLebanon10:00-11:00 am: Check on studentsand programs at the Child and MotherWelfare Society in Aisha Bakkar11:00-12:00 noon: Work with the clinicof the Armenian Relief Cross of Lebanonin Burj Hammoud12:00-1:00 pm: Lunch break1:00-2:00 pm: Post-clinical conferencewith students at HSON2:00-3:00 pm: Prepare for next weekwww.aub.edu.lb/maingate |MainGate Fall 201219

R+DNametag: Khaled Imad Ghattass, PhD, Cell and Molecular Biology, projected 2013Life before PhD: My childhood was split equally between my father’s village, Barga, and my mother’s city, Saida. Iattended Beirut Arab University where I had my best years and made my best friends. I joined AUB in 2006. I love sports,was a member of AUB’s varsity basketball team, and was chosen AUB’s Most Valuable Player in 2010-11.What matters most: Although there have been numerous advances in cancer therapy, most people with advanced solidtumors, such as breast cancers, will relapse and die of their disease because the hypoxic (low oxygen) regions of theirtumors are resistant to radiotherapy and chemotherapy. My research aims at investigating a suitable synthetic compoundwith moderate toxicity and enhanced activity against human solid tumors, especially those bearing hypoxic regions.Research: Under the direct supervision of Professor Hala Muhtasib, I am studying the effect of tumor hypoxia on themechanism of breast cancer metastasis. Additionally, we are testing the effect of a very potent quinoxaline dioxide, whichProfessors Haddadin and Issidorides synthesized at AUB, via their known “Beirut Reaction,” to inhibitthis detrimental step in cancer progression.10 am Tuesday, 10 am Saturday: I spend many Tuesday mornings in the hypoxiachamber surrounded by mice, cells, and colleagues. At 10 am on Saturday I have breakfastwith my mother under the trees in our garden. She spends the whole week waiting forthis moment.Most admires: I admire my coadviser, who is also practically my bestfriend, Professor Marwan El Sabban, who guides me throughevery aspect of my life, along with my mentor ProfessorHala Muhtasib, who demonstrates the perfect exampleof seriousness, dedication, and hard work. Fourteenyears ago, I was inspired by a movie called “PatchAdams.” Ever since I have dreamed of establishinga free hospital in Lebanon that provideshigh quality care to all its patients within ahappy and friendly setting. I even namedmy German Shepherd “Patch” to beconstantly reminded about my madand expensive dream.Why this topic interestsme: All people are interestedin research thatcould help improvethe quality of livesof cancer patients.Maybe one day itwill be used totreat patients atmy free hospital.20 MainGate Fall 2012 | www.aub.edu.lb/maingate

FAFSCultivating InnovationYou may know that AUB has a campusin the Beqa’a Valley. You mayalso know that experiential learningis offered there in agriculture, as wellas landscape design and ecosystemmanagement at the AgriculturalResearch and Education Center(AREC). What you might not know,however, is that on that 100 hectaresof agricultural land, our very own studentsare now cultivating plant tissue.Chairman of the AgriculturalSciences (AGSC) DepartmentProfessor Mustapha Haidar says thatthe department is “working towardsthe introduction of new ways of organicfarming and conservation agriculture,reaching out not only to farmers in theBeqa’a but to the whole region.”Since AGSC established a tissueculture facility, AREC has workedclosely with Ibsar and the Departmentof Landscape Design and EcosystemManagement to promote the use ofnative flora for ornamentals and tooptimize protocols for the micropropagationof targeted species and theirsubsequent cultivation in greenhousesand in the field.To maintain native plants, as wellas conserve biodiversity, the new tissueculture lab allows for crop productionthrough breeding techniquesusing tissues, leaves, or “cuts,” notseeds. According to AREC farm andfacilities manager Nicolas Haddad,“Plant tissue culture is a practiceused to propagate plants under sterileconditions, often to produce clonesof a plant. Plant tissue culture relieson the fact that all plant cells havethe ability to generate a whole plant(totipotency). Single cells (protoplasts),pieces of leaves, or roots canoften be used to generate a new planton culture media, given the requirednutrients and plant hormone.”An otherwise costly procedure, tissueculture is performed at AREC ata minimal cost through the servicesand expertise that the AgriculturalSciences Department offers, combinedwith sponsorship from thedepartment and the companies orengineers they train. Students, professors,companies, and individual engineerslearn this procedure alongsidelocal farmers who also attend. Theythen use the knowledge they gainedwhen they return to their farms in theways they think best.Local farmers recently benefittedfrom another AREC initiative: mushroomcultivation. A two-day workshopwas held in May 2012 as part of theFarmer to Farmer Project, funded byUSAID and implemented by ACDI/VOCA (Agricultural CooperativeDevelopment International/Volunteersin Overseas Cooperative Assistance)who recruited a mushroom productionvolunteer expert from the United Statesin response to a request by AGSC.Center for Civic Engagementand Community Service(CCECS) is collecting gentlyused clothes to distribute tounderprivileged families.MAke dONAtiONs NOW!Bring them to the drop-offbox at West Hall or callextension 4430 to arrangefor someone to pick up yourdonation.For further information callCCECS at 01-350000, x4430or emailccecs(at)aub.edu.lbThe objective of the workshop wasto train farmers as well as studentsof agriculture, nutrition, and food scienceson the production of mushroomspawn and the cultivation of threedifferent species of edible mushrooms.AREC continued to produce oysterand shiitake mushrooms throughoutspring and summer. Mushrooms maybe sold at AUB at a later date.This mushroom cultivation processoffers easy to cultivate, fast-growingwww.aub.edu.lb/maingate |MainGate Fall 201221

crops. All farmers need to get mushroomsgrowing in bags is a suitablesubstrate, such as peat moss; themushroom spawns, and around fourweeks (for the oyster) or three months(for the shiitake) in partial darknessand cool temperatures. Harvestedmushrooms can be sold for $10 to$20 a kilogram. “Fruiting” (the actualmushroom growth) can take placeevery two weeks for two to three successiveharvests. Once the productionof mushrooms inside the bags hasstopped, the substrate can be usedas compost. It's a productive andaffordable investment for local farmers.According to Chairman Haidar,“AREC is a unique place in the MiddleEast that has a very powerful andfruitful research and training center inthe Beqa’a valley. We are talking about100 hectares of research and hands-oneducation that is equipped with all typesof facilities (dormitories, labs, tractors,machinery, animals, etc.). AREC is amajor strength that distinguishes ourfaculty from others in the region.”—S.J.S.Student NewsFemale FellowshipChosen as one of just 15 womenworldwide for the 2012 L’Oréal-UNESCO International Fellowshipfor Women in Science, AUB PhDstudent Dana Bazzoun is matter offact about her achievement. “It wasa simple application procedure,” shesays. “The hardest part was duringthe Paris ceremony week, attendedby VIPs, fellows, and laureates, whenwe had to present our research plan inthree minutes.”That plan won Bazzoun $20,000that she can spend on research inwhichever way she thinks best. Sheis using it to research cell behavior inrelation to breast cancer preventionas part of the International BreastCancer and Nutrition (IBCN) Projectat Purdue University. This is an “internationalmultidisciplinary collaborativeprogram to identify the impact ofnutrition on breast cancer developmentand recurrence and to elucidatethe cellular and molecular mechanisms,including genomics (geneticand epigenetic influence), involved innutrient-induced breast tissue alterationsand cancer development.”Bazzoun, a second-year biologyPhD candidate, is concentrating oncommunication between cells tounderstand their journey from normalto cancerous in the breast. Morespecifically she is tracking the roleplayed in prevention by a particularprotein, Connexin 43, which is foundat the edges of cell membranes andhelps transport molecules among cells,attracting accessory proteins that bindthemselves to it and are recruitedas important transducers. In their22 MainGate Fall 2012 | www.aub.edu.lb/maingate

absence the mechanism for pathwaysbetween cells is impaired, triggeringcell structure malfunction and preventingvital cell polarization. Bazzoun ishoping to understand what triggersthis chain reaction and what can bedone to prevent it.After four months in Purdue, shewill be back at AUB for the summerbefore returning for a further fourmonths in the United States, hopefullyfollowed by another year as a L’Oréal-UNESCO Fellow.—M.A.Faculty NewsCASAR Expanding, BringsNew ProfessorsIn advance of its new master of artsin transnational American studiesstarting in fall 2013, CASAR ishosting three visiting professors whoare leaders in international relations,gender and sexuality studies, andcultural geography.By bringing Professors Lisa Hajjar,Jaspir Puar, and Elena Glasberg toAUB, CASAR’s director, Alex Lubin,hopes to make the center a base forscholarly research and build on itssuccessful lecture series and internationalbi-annual conference."CASAR's new professors will helpus achieve our mission to educate theArab world about American cultureand history, as well as to demonstratethe range of relationships betweenthe United States and the MiddleEast and North Africa," Lubin said.“We are especially eager to expandAUB's capacity in studies of genderand sexuality in the context of the US/MENA relationship."A large part of the success ofresearch in gender and sexuality willrest on the shoulders of Puar, whohas been appointed the Edward SaidChair in American Studies. Puar, whois recognized internationally as a trailblazerin the field, plans to researchgender and sexuality issues as theyrelate to Palestinians while at AUB."Professor Puar will offer a courseon feminist and queer theory as wellas on homonationalism and pinkwashing,the Israeli practice of toutingits gay rights agenda in an effortto divert attention from its colonialpractices," Lubin said.Elena Glasberg, author of AntarcticaAs Cultural Critique: The GenderedPolitics of Scientific Exploration andClimate Change, relocates Antarctica—the proverbial end of the earth—asa beginning point for understandingthe current convergence of social,economic, and ecological “meltdown.”Glasberg has taught American literature,women's studies, liberal studies,and writing at institutions including DukeUniversity and Princeton University. Sheis visiting for the year from her currentposition in the Writing Program at NewYork University.CASAR will also focus on currentevents and contemporary politics inthe Middle East through the work ofHajjar, who has an interdisciplinaryapproach that explores the intersectionof sociology, law and society,and Middle East studies. Hajjar saysshe hopes to start a new projecttentatively titled “Following the TortureTrail through the Arab Spring,” withparticular focus on Egypt, Libya,Syria, and Bahrain. This will build onher previous studies of the so-called“war on terror.”“The most enduring theme of myresearch focuses on the relationshipbetween law and conflict and debatesover what is legal in war. I have aparticular interest in torture,” saysHajjar. “While I am at AUB, I plan tocomplete my second single-authoredbook, which is a study of US tortureand the anti-torture legal campaignthat was catalyzed to challenge interrogationand detention policies in the‘war on terror.’”—A.B.www.aub.edu.lb/maingate |MainGate Fall 201223

Partnershipfor LifeFuad Jubran (MD ’64)In the last 30 years, the 5,877 milesseparating the Cleveland Clinic and AUBMChave only become smaller.24 MainGate Fall 2012 | www.aub.edu.lb/maingate

“When someone like him tells you tocome,” remembers Dr. Fuad Jubran(MD ’64), “you don’t question it.You pack your bags.” He laughsremembering the conversation hehad more than 40 years ago with hisdear friend Hasib Sabbagh (1920–2010). An AUB alumnus (BEN ’41)and honorary doctorate recipient(2003), Palestinian businessman, andgenerous philanthropist, Sabbaghwas also Dr. Fuad Jubran’s patientat the time that conversation tookplace. He had come to Jubran, whowas a cardiologist at the AmericanUniversity Hospital (the forerunnerof today’s AUB Medical Center),complaining of chest pains. WhenJubran determined that Sabbaghneeded surgery, he asked him,“where is the best place in the worldto go for this?” “The ClevelandClinic” responded Jubran. “Then, let’s go,” saidSabbagh. And off they went.Jubran picks up the story. “After his successfulsurgery at the Cleveland Clinic, Hasib said he neededtwo things from me. He wanted to know what itwould cost to set up a catheterization lab at AUBsimilar to the one at the Cleveland Clinic—and alsowhat he needed to do to foster a relationship betweenthe two institutions.” When Jubran reported back,Sabbagh responded— with a check for $250,000to set up a catheterization lab at AUB—the first inthe Middle East—and another one for $1 million toestablish a fund at the Cleveland Clinic. Jubran wasappointed director of the fund. That was the beginningof an almost 30-year relationship that has grownand expanded over the ensuing decades under theguidance of Dr. Jubran and others and with generousfinancial support from the endowed fund that HasibSabbagh established in 1984.In 1986, Jubran was recruited from AUBMC bythe Cleveland Clinic, where he currently occupiesthe Fuad Jubran Endowed Chair in CardiovascularMedicine, Physician Director of Development forthe Middle East International Affairs, and directorMiddle East Medical Assembly, 1950of the Fuad Jubran Center for Middle East MedicalEducation. Despite his formidable responsibilities,he always manages to find time to promote therelationship between AUB and the Cleveland Clinic.In 1998, he traveled to AUB with Dr. ConradSimpfendorfer, the chairman of the Cleveland ClinicFoundation’s International Center, to meet withthen AUB President John Waterbury and sign amemorandum of understanding for visitor, student,resident, and physician exchanges. In some sense, theagreement merely formalized a relationship that hadalready started. Many AUB students (including AUB’scurrent Medical VP and Raja N. Khuri Dean of theFaculty of Medicine Mohamed Sayegh) had traveledto the Cleveland Clinic to do internships, residencies,and observations. Dean Sayegh completed hisinternship and residency in internal medicine at theCleveland Clinic Foundation in 1987.More than 60 AUB alumni are now working at theCleveland Clinic as doctors and scientists, includingJihad Kaouk (BS ’89, MD ’93), who helped develop therobotic surgery program and the stereotactic kidneyablation program at the Cleveland Clinic. He creditsJubran for the fact that he is at the Cleveland Clinictoday. So, too, does Loutfi Aboussouan (BS ’81, MDwww.aub.edu.lb/maingate | MainGate Fall 201225

’85), who still remembers working as an intern for Dr.Jubran at the Coronary Care Unit at AUB more than27 years ago. “I see him often now as a colleague andwe share several patients.”Also at the Cleveland Clinic since January 2012is Dr. Fadi Abdul-Karim (BS ’75, MD ’79), who travelsback and forth between the two institutions almost asoften as Dr. Jubran does. With a master’s in medicaleducation in addition to his MD degree, it is notsurprising that Abdul-Karim has been particularlyactive in that area. He spent 2010-11 at AUB as vicechair of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine andassociate dean of medical education and was veryinvolved in efforts to restructure MEMA (Middle EastMedical Assembly), the annual gathering that hasits roots as the medical conference, which was firststarted in 1911. He served as co-director of MEMA inMay 2012."More than 60 AUBalumni are now workingat the Cleveland Clinic asdoctors and scientists."Jubran points out that several people haverecently returned to AUB from the Cleveland Clinicincluding Dr. Yusuf Comair (neurosurgery), attractedby the opportunity to join VP Sayegh and his team asthey move forward with plans to implement AUBMC2020. One of the components of this multi-yearinitiative is to position AUBMC at the forefront ofmedical education through the Faculty of Medicine,the Rafic Hariri School of Nursing, and the recentlycreated Office of Continuing Medical Education(CME). Thanks to an historic partnership between theCleveland Clinic and AUB, the CME office at AUBMCcan now certify educational activities in Lebanon andthe region.Abdul-Karim, who continues to work closelywith the CME Office, says that the office is makingsignificant strides. “They take every remark, everyThe first medical conference, held in April 1911, marked theofficial birth of the Medical Alumni Association with Dr. SalimJalkh as president, Dr. Ni’ma Nucho as secretary-treasurer,and Dr. Harry Dorman as secretary of medical literature. Themedical conference was held annually except during WorldWars I and II. In November 1951, the medical conferenceunderwent a major change when the Faculty of Medicine, inconjunction with the Medical Alumni Association, organizedthe first medical symposium. Alumni from all over the world,together with international authorities in various fields ofmedicine, were invited to attend and participate in thesymposium at West Hall. In 1954, the symposium became theMiddle East Medical Assembly (MEMA).More on-line:staff.aub.edu.lb/~webaubmd/history.htmsuggestion seriously, and are making dramaticimprovements. On their latest visit to the ClevelandClinic, they impressed everyone with their capabilities,achievements, and professionalism.”Although Jubran’s role in fostering therelationship between the two institutions isinstrumental, Jubran credits the Cleveland Clinicfor its enthusiastic and long-term commitment toreach beyond its borders. “Our current CEO, Dr.Toby Cosgrove, believes strongly that medicine is auniversal profession. It belongs to no one place orinstitution or country. It belongs instead to the world.The Cleveland Clinic has always been very supportiveof my efforts to build this partnership.” Abdul-Karim agrees. “I’ve only been here [at the ClevelandClinic] for six months and am totally amazed at thecommitment to international outreach.”AUB is also enthusiastic about its relationship withthe Cleveland Clinic—and with other academic andmedical institutions as well. Associate Dean for ExternalMedical Affairs Fadi Bitar explains that these strategicpartnerships are critical to the AUBMC 2020 vision.“AUBMC is excited and delighted to have been able toestablish a partnership with the Cleveland Clinic—aworld renowned institution that shares its valuesand vision: a commitment to integrity, innovation,excellence, and diversity—and accountability toour communities and to the public.”26 MainGate Fall 2012 | www.aub.edu.lb/maingate

TreatingLebanonTo breathe is to live, but any medical practitioner willtell you that in Lebanon and other developing countries,it is also the most effective way to get sick whether withcancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, or osteoporosis.

Lebanese, divided bygeography or sect,economic status orpolitical preference, aremore likely than not toshare a predilection forsmoking or, at the least,a blithe lack of concernCancer remains both invisible and “taboo”across the region, and breast cancer cases aremore likely to appear in an advanced stage ofdiagnosis than their counterparts in, say, theUnited States, where a growing number of AUBmedical faculty have trained and worked.the bulk of tobaccoproducts in the Arabworld are western. Therapid invasion of globalgoods and practicesfrom the west hasalso generated a lessactive lifestyle that isfor its presence.According to statistics gathered in 2010 by AUBmedical faculty, more than a third of Lebanese adultsare smokers, and they consume a staggering 7.8 billioncigarettes per year. Lebanese women, on average, smokemore than women in any other country in the region.And those are just the numbers for adults.More than 75 percent of Lebanese children areexposed to smoking at home─compared to 53 percentin the United States (as of 2007–08), according to theCenters for Disease Control and Prevention. Amongyouth aged 13 to 15, more than 60 percent of boysand more than 50 percent of girls smoke shisha on aregular basis. Common attitudes toward the water pipequietly devastating vulnerable populations and drivingmedical faculty at AUB to step up their preventionand treatment efforts. They are buoyed by recentaccomplishments.A ban on smoking in all enclosed public places inLebanon went into effect this fall and it owes its success,in part, to the work of AUB’s Tobacco Control ResearchGroup, featured in the fall 2011 issue of this magazine.It’s a long anticipated win that will safeguard nonsmokers.But forcing smokers to change location is notthe same as persuading them to quit.Spreading awareness, physicians agree, is just thebeginning. People need to be prevailed upon to changetheir minds and their behavior.exemplify the misconceptions that challenge health-carepractitioners, not to mention state coffers.On streets plied by motorcyclists bearing nara,the lit charcoal that vaporizes tobacco, it has becomealmost a mantra that the water in water pipes filtersaway the “impurities.” It’s a mantra dismissed as worsethan myth by AUB cardiologist Ziyad Ghazzal (MD ’82)among others: “The purpose of the water is to humidifythe smoke . . . making it easier to inhale, and thereforemore harmful.”Serious harm generally takes years to manifest itself.In the meantime, due to the lack of regulations andgeneral awareness, Lebanese youth hear far less aboutthese consequences than their peers in other nations.They may not know that four major diseasesravaging their grandparents and parents all claim smokingas a leading─though not the only─contributor. Smokingposes particular health challenges as it can take the guiseof self-medication for other health problems: Obesesmokers may believe it will help them slim down, whereasthe anxious and depressed may light up to lighten up.Smoking enjoys a unique local cachet as evenArabic language textbooks portray it as an authenticexpression of Arab culture. Yet, the companies peddlingCatch Cancer Early“All the data indicates that we have a rise in theincidence of cancer cases in Lebanon,” says Dr. FadyGeara, chairman of AUBMC’s Department of RadiationOncology and director of the Naef K. Basile CancerInstitute. The most common cancer among Lebanesewomen is breast cancer, Geara says. Among men, it’sprostate cancer with lung cancer a close second.Cancer remains both invisible and “taboo” acrossthe region, and breast cancer cases are more likely toappear in an advanced stage of diagnosis than theircounterparts in, say, the United States, where a growingnumber of AUB medical faculty have trained and worked.“More than 60 percent of breast cancer cases[among Arabs] are locally advanced or metastatic atpresentation,” compared with only 10 percent in theUnited States and Europe, says Dr. Nagi El Saghir,professor of clinical medicine and director of the BreastCenter of Excellence at the Basile Cancer Institute.There’s more to it than smoking. Thanks to a$250,000 grant from the GlaxoSmithKline OncologyInternational Ethnic Research Initiative, El Saghir and28 MainGate Fall 2012 | www.aub.edu.lb/maingate

colleagues are conducting a major study to assess therole of family history in soaring breast cancer cases.Data-supported conclusions, however, remain theexception in the Arab world.El Saghir and Geara are fairly typical among medicalfaculty in dividing their time between treating patients,researching what causes trends in disease incidence, andorganizing or taking part in awareness campaigns.That’s what it means to treat cancer inLebanon─whether your patients are Lebanese or Iraqi,who form on average 20 to 25 percent of the overallgroup. Geara says that Iraqis, along with Syrians, areincreasingly likely to seek help beyond the borders oftheir own troubled medical systems.Even as a massive investment in cancer treatmentamong Lebanese youth, says Dr. Muhieddine Seoud(BS ’73, MD ’82), a professor of gynecology oncology.Human papillomavirus (HPV), essentially thesole cause of cervical cancer, can spread even duringprotected sex, and any campaign to combat it requiresmass vaccination of adolescent girls.“There is less than 17 percent uptake of the vaccinein the United States, which is very bad,” says Dr. Seoud,comparing it with Australia where 88 percent of thetarget population has been vaccinated.In order to have any chance of success, the vaccine(as currently priced) will have to prove cost-effectivefor Lebanon. The Amsterdam-based journal Vaccine,which Seoud edits, will publish an analysis of the costeffectiveness of the vaccine in its November issue.and research facilities forms a central part of the 2020vision transforming medicine at AUB, cancer and its kin,formidable opponents even in much wealthier countries,require devilishly inventive opponents. “This is the realchallenge,” Geara says. “To always provide the best care asefficiently as possible. You have to be creative and you haveto have a lean and efficient operation.”Even the most sophisticated equipment─and themedical center operates, wherever possible, on thecutting edge,─rarely exposes lung cancer before it hasbecome serious. Whenit comes to prostate andbreast cancer, however,Your HeartFor whatever reason, heart disease, as it’s commonlyknown, doesn’t terrorize its potential victims as cancerdoes, but it kills more people. “The first misconception isthat women are more vulnerable to breast cancer [than toheart disease],” says Dr. Samir Alam (MD ’72), professorand head of cardiology. The numbers tell a different story:“Across the world, one out of every two women above 40dies of heart diseases,whereas one in 25 diesof breast cancer.”El Saghir and Gearaemphasize that earlydetection can makeall the difference.Women should seekyearly mammographyFor whatever reason, heart disease, as it’scommonly known, doesn’t terrorize its potentialvictims as cancer does, but it kills more people.The same riskfactors cause orreinforce heart disease:smoking, family history,diabetes, hypertension,sedentary lifestyle,screenings starting at age 40.“Cancer does not mean death anymore,” El Saghirsays. “It’s important to keep repeating that information.If a woman has breast cancer, if we discover it early, shecan live, [and] she does not have to lose her breast.”When it comes to cervical cancer, doctors haveto contend with something more complicated thanignorance and fear: a persistent idea of innocence rootedin a cultural exceptionalism that has been, to someextent, grounded in fact. The Arab region has the lowestincidence of cervical cancer in the world, but that’sexpected to change as a result of evolving sexual habitsobesity, and elevated cholesterol levels. “And to somedegree stress and type A personality,” adds Dr. Ghazzal,professor of cardiology and associate dean for clinicalaffairs.Not to mention age itself, Ghazzal says: “Aswe grow older, our risk of heart attacks and strokeincreases.” To that end, he points to two exciting newprograms that will intensify efforts to prevent and treatcardiovascular disease.Ghazzal and his colleagues have created apreventive cardiology program that they plan to launchsoon and are planning an educational health fair for thewww.aub.edu.lb/maingate |MainGate Fall 201229

fall. While the clinic will offer personalized assessmentand testing, general guidelines established by theAmerican College of Cardiology and the American HeartAssociation remain widely applicable: Don’t smoke; getscreened for diabetes and hypertension; follow a healthydiet low in fat and carbohydrates; and do a half hour ofexercise several times a week.In addition, AUB intends to partner with LebaneseFirst Lady Wafaa Sleiman and sponsor an initiativeto offer Lebanese women free heart screenings. Theinitiative, which could start as soon as December,combines opportunities for service and research in whatAlam calls a “tremendous platform” for AUB to fulfill itsmission in the larger community.“AUB will provideacademic counseling…and be able to gatherLebanon’s numbers are low compared to some otherArab countries, but Salti cautions that they may increaseif people are not made more aware of associated riskfactors such as high blood pressure, triglycerides, andcholesterol, not to mention obesity─and what they can doto counter them.The overwhelming majority of people don’t realizethey have the disease until they experience symptoms,at which point complications may already havecommenced, Salti says. “Everybody above 30 shouldhave at least an annual checkup for diabetes.” Pregnantwomen are routinely screened.Under the umbrella of the Lebanese Order ofPhysicians and the Lebanese Society for Diabetes andEndocrinology, Saltiand his colleaguesobserve the Worlddata to establish adatabase, the firstof its kind, whichwill include a lot ofinformation on riskfactors, genomic factors,lifestyle issues─and thiswill open the way forIn addition, AUB intends to partner withLebanese First Lady Wafaa Sleiman andsponsor an initiative to offer Lebanesewomen free heart screenings. The initiativecould start as soon as December.Health Organization’s(WHO) Diabetes Day onNovember 14 each year.“For many years,we have had our owndiabetes programat AUB. It’s a miniprogramcompared withintervention,” he says.For a variety of reasons, cardiovascular diseasein women is underdiagnosed, which is a particularconcern since earlier intervention can save lives, Alamsays. “The first manifestation of [heart] disease, formany women, is sudden death.”The same collusion between changes in lifestylewhat the country needs, but we are actively participatingin both national and regional campaigns to improvepublic awareness of this disease and its management,”Salti says. “Of course, ultimately we would like toestablish a major diabetes center but that’s somethingwe hope to implement with the long-term plans of themedical center.”and family history that makes Lebanese and theirneighbors vulnerable to cancer and cardiovasculardisease also increases their risk of developing type twodiabetes, says Dr. Ibrahim Salti, a professor of medicineand head of the Division of Endocrinology.Diagnosing DiabetesApproximately 13 percent of Lebanese adults are livingwith diabetes, meaning that their bodies fail to produceor effectively use the insulin necessary to absorb glucosefrom the bloodstream into their cells, causing excessivethirst and hunger, frequent urination, and othercomplications.Brittle Truth: OsteoporosisTargets Men TooOsteoporosis operates in stealth mode. “It’s a silentdisease until fracture occurs,” says Dr. Ghada El-HajjFuleihan (MD ’83, MPH ’97), professor of medicineand specialist in endocrinology-metabolic bonedisorders and public health.In other words, most people don’t realize that theirbones are becoming more fragile and brittle until theybreak. Post-menopausal women above age 65 are most atrisk, but some medical conditions and─occasionally─even30 MainGate Fall 2012 | www.aub.edu.lb/maingate

their treatments exposemany other groups,El-Hajj Fuleihan says.It doesn’t requiremuch of a mental leap toconnect cancer and boneloss, but the potentiallyIn Lebanon, one out of five women and oneout of eight men over age 65 have vertebralfractures, and the incidence of hip fracturesis closest to that of Southern Europe.disease. Such parametersalready vary acrossborders, El-Hajj Fuleihanexplains. In the UnitedStates, for instance,physicians are advised totest anyone who shows adebilitating effects of medications for allergies, epilepsy,and depression may be less intuitive.More people are seeking testing thanks to growingawareness, El-Hajj Fuleihan says. Since she movedto Lebanon in 1997, she established the Calciumrisk of more than 20 percent, whereas Canadians are morelikely to treat someone who exhibits a lower risk.Thus, El-Hajj Fuleihan alludes to a more generalprinciple: Disease is universal, but the treatments needto be much more geographically and culturally specific.Metabolism and Osteoporosis Program, and in 2010the WHO Collaborating Center for Metabolic BoneDisorders, programs that played an important role inTeaming Up to Treat Obesityleading osteoporosis research and raising awarenessabout this disabling disease. In Lebanon, one out of and Mental Healthfive women and one out of eight men over age 65 havevertebral fractures, and the incidence of hip fractures isclosest to that of Southern Europe.Last fall, she led the first regional investigationto assess osteoporosis disease burden, covering theMiddle East and Africa, an initiative spearheaded by theInternational Osteoporosis Foundation. The statisticsmay be bleak—hip fractures in Lebanon are expected toquadruple over the next 30 years—but El-Hajj Fuleihanbelieves that Lebanon can stay ahead of the curve andspearhead efforts to contribute to regional well-being.Indeed, for the last decade, she has engagedseveral relevant stakeholders, officials at the ministryof health, ministry of social affairs, WHO, concernednational scientific societies, to push the osteoporosisagenda forward. These include the establishmentof a national osteoporosis task force; various patientand physician educational campaigns and programs;national osteoporosis guidelines on “who should betested” and “who should be treated”; scientific meetingssponsored by the Lebanese Society for Osteoporosisand Metabolic Bone Disorders, an osteoporosis academycourse that trains physicians and residents from a rangeof related disciplines; and the creation of a Lebanonspecificfracture risk calculator, FRAX Lebanon,launched on-line in September 2009.The composition of FRAX-based Lebaneseosteoporosis guidelines will further aid physiciansin deciding when to treat patients with or at risk forEfforts to develop treatments for obesity and mentalillness mirror one another in an important way. Inboth cases, two distinct professions emerged fromuniversities—doctors and dieticians versus psychiatristsand psychologists—and they had to learn to work withone another.When AUB began graduating dieticians in 1984,doctors were dismissive, says Dean Nahla Houalla,a professor of nutrition and dean of the Faculty ofAgricultural and Food Sciences. “I remember they usedto call them ‘the girls in the kitchen,’” Houalla says.AUB’s graduating dieticians, however, have “madethe profession look good,” Houalla says, and physicianshave begun to accept them as partners. AUB itself sits atthe heart of this transformation as new leadership at themedical school has accelerated the transition to a moreholistic health-care approach, Houalla says.By the time Brigitte Khoury, PhD (BA ’88), becamethe first clinical psychologist appointed to the Facultyof Medicine in 1997, psychiatry was similarly becomingmore welcoming, she says. “We see our work ascomplementary,” she says of her colleagues. “We reallywork in a biopsychosocial model where the patient istreated on all levels: medically, psychologically, socially.”Such an approach is needed because the culprit inboth cases is not an isolated phenomenon, but rathera sea change in how to live—one that is especiallychallenging for Arabs who must balance their own needswith that of their families and society at large, sayswww.aub.edu.lb/maingate |MainGate Fall 201231

Tima El-Jamil, assistantprofessor of psychologyin the Faculty of Artsand Sciences.Chair of PsychiatryThe made-up woman, the plastic-surgery womanis idealized here to a very great extent, throughoutall social classes. On the one hand, the familyand society perpetuate unhealthy body images;on the other hand, they ignore genuine signsPTSD of the Vietnamveteran dominates.“We do not havehigher rates of PTSDthan countries like theZiad Nahas says heof ill health in their children or in the elderly.United States, whichhas advised patientsis very interesting,”to try psychotherapy,in addition to orsometimes instead of medication. “Medication willnot teach you new skills,” he says. “It will relieve thesymptoms and prepare the stage for learning, but it willnot teach you new skills to cope with life’s adversity.” Headds: “Some patients refuse.”Houalla sees resistance to change as a majorobstacle. “We didn’t change our behavior to accompanythe change in technology and innovation,” she observes.“I see young people here waiting for the bus on lowercampus to take them to upper campus.”These same young people are also the most likelyto have adapted a western diet that is directly correlatedwith rising rates of obesity. “It’s not a thought, it’s a fact,”Houalla says, pointing to research that has identifiedfour dietary patterns in the country: western, traditionalLebanese, prudent, and fish and alcohol patterns. Ofthose patterns, only the western pattern has a “strongassociation with obesity and metabolic abnormalities.”On the flipside of obesity, El-Jamil says that shefrequently sees patients with eating disorders suchas anorexia and bulimia among her (mostly middleclass) clientele. “The made-up woman, the plasticsurgerywoman is idealized here to a very great extent,throughout all social classes,” she says. On the onehand, the family and society perpetuate unhealthy bodyimages; on the other hand, they ignore genuine signs ofill health in their children or in the elderly.Houalla and her colleagues have prepared a new setof general nutrition guidelines that the government willsoon distribute through health centers to inform peoplehow to maintain a healthy body weight. “We don’t call itideal,” she stresses. “We call it a healthy body weight.”Khoury and El-Jamil say that the high degree ofgeneralized anxiety they see could be culturally specificmanifestations of post-traumatic stress disorder thatgo largely unrecognized in the current American andEuropean diagnostic manuals, in which the “classic”El-Jamil says. “That’snot to say that we havenot been traumatized by the experiences [of war]. I justthink we express our trauma a little bit differently.”Khoury is part of a group effort to revise mentalillness classifications in the ICD-10, an initiative by theWorld Health Organization in Geneva to offer a Europeanalternative to the American DSM-IV (the fourth edition ofthe Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders).The new ICD (International Statistical Classification ofDiseases), scheduled for release in 2015, will include dataspecific to the Arab world, a significant advance.“I think this will really put Arab mental health onthe map,” Khoury says.Ever since she founded the Lebanese PsychologicalAssociation in 2004, she’s been working with colleagues,including El-Jamil, on a law that would regulatepsychological practices in Lebanon, mandating alicensing exam, among other stipulations, and helping toensure that a pool of qualified psychologists will grow instep with Lebanese demand.“Going to a psychologist is a fairly new concept forArabs, and Lebanese in particular,” El-Jamil says.Cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes,osteoporosis, obesity, and mental illness—they are allold diseases that are successfully exploiting the waymodern life has accelerated even as people themselvesare slowing down or stopping altogether.Most worrying is the way the major diseasesthat turn middle age into a killing field are oftencharacterized by degrees of silence: the mute terrorof cancer, the gasping anguish of heart disease, thedeceptive quiet of diabetes and osteoporosis, and thetormenting secrecy of obesity and mental illness.Whether in Lebanon or around the world, theaffected population has never been larger and the stakeshave never been higher. But what is the chance thatany individual will make a different choice─nottomorrow, but today?—S.M.32 MainGate Fall 2012 | www.aub.edu.lb/maingate

Building to HealDuring more than a century of continuous development,punctuated by a few ambitious large-scale expansions, thebuildings and networks of people that form AUB’s medicalcenter have adhered to a remarkably consistent vision.1870 18801867 SPC establishes aschool of medicine.1866 The Syrian Protestant College(SPC) is founded, renamed the AmericanUniversity of Beirut (AUB) in 1920.1873 SPC constructs a medicalbuilding currently housing AUB’sOffice of Regional External Programs.1871 The Medical School joins with theJohanniter Hospital, also known as thePrussian Hospital for clinical teaching.www.aub.edu.lb/maingate |MainGate Fall 201233

On November 6, 1954, just one month before he passedaway, President Stephen B. L. Penrose, Jr. dedicated anew hospital wing and seized the opportunity to remindlisteners to look beyond the building: “A hospitalbuilding is of no value whatsoever regardless of itsbeauty or its wealth of equipment unless it is manned bydevoted people, doctors, nurses and members of everylevel of the staff.”Sixteen years later, in mid-June 1970, Dr. CraigLichtenwalner, dean of the Faculties of Medical Sciences,told those gathered for the dedication of the then newmedical center that “people are the heart of the medicalcenter” and that it was otherwise “best defined by itsfunctions and these are identified as medical teaching,medical care, and medical research.”In 2009, Dean Mohamed H. Sayegh echoed hispredecessors when he articulated a daring vision, thename of which—AUBMC 2020—aims to express not justa projected date for the completion for the new medicalcomplex but a decidedly contemporary desire for clarityand transparency in vision.That inclination for transparency can also be seenin the glassy structures that make up the centerpieceof the planned complex, as a global proclivity for glassadapts (yet again) to suit a hot climate and an urbanfabric that already harmonizes brazenly modern edificeswith their gracefully graying relations.Over the coming decade of construction and culturalrenewal, the current 350-bed hospital will transform into a“Dean and VP Mohamed Sayegh and histeam have worked tirelessly to develop avisionary master plan charting the future ofthe medical center. It is daring, it is daunting,and it will require that every one of uscommits to ensuring its ultimate realization.The new 2020 plan is essential to the healthof the University and will help ensure thatfuture generations in the Arab world willhave life and have it more abundantly!“—Trustee Dr. David Bickers at the meeting of theBoard of Trustees, June 18, 2010600-bed institution dedicated to education, treatment, andresearch that aims to surpass its counterparts in the regionand distinguish itself on a world scale.All that ambition, however, begins and ends withpeople, Sayegh says. “The bottom line is teamwork.” He’salready recruited more than 80 new faculty membersfrom the United States and Europe, many of whom nowserve on one of the interlocking steering committees,task forces, and working groups designed to ensure thatthe medical culture evolves in step with the construction.“We’re not saying we’re going to build a buildingfor you, then go and occupy it,” Sayegh makes plain. Inorder to best serve patients—and hospitals increasingly1900 19101902 AUB establishes its ownteaching hospital (later called theAmerican University Hospital, AUH) onthe Adham property across from thecurrent Medical Gate.1905 SPC establishesthe School of Nursing.1910 SPC builds the Children’sand Orthopedic Hospital.1909 SPC builds the Eyeand Ear Hospital.1908 SPC builds a Maternity andWomen’s Hospital.34 MainGate Fall 2012 | www.aub.edu.lb/maingate

Far left: Academic and Clinical CenterLeft: Academic Lobbyrecognize that optimal values and revenues converge onthis point—the buildings will also need to reflect theworking ethos of the physicians and staff migrating intothem, beginning with the new medical school café andadministration building, both under construction, andthe academic clinical center that broke ground this fall.A floor-by-floor renovation of the existing hospitalhas been underway for a few years now and is expected totake several more years to complete, says Bassem Barhoumi,director of the Facilities Planning and Design Unit.A project of this scale requires the construction ofintermediary buildings into which people and programscan be decanted to allow for the real creative destruction tobegin. “It’s an existing, thriving, operating medical center,so you have to ensure that that all still carries on whileyou’re doing the construction,” says Joan Saba, partnerin the New York Office of NBBJ, a firm selected on themerits of its work (including Stanford University MedicalSchool’s Li Ka Shing Center for Learning and Knowledgeand Massachusetts General Hospital’s Lunder Building) andSaba’s own deep experience with academic medical centers.The flagship buildings remain in their “infancy,”Saba says; construction on them won’t begin until 2015at the earliest. She and her collaborators received thego-ahead only late last year, which means that all slideshows come with a caveat—anything and everythingcould yet change. Well, perhaps not everything.The overall plan calls for uniting the main andmedical campuses on one sustained and sustainable(LEED-certified) green-friendly note; integrating newand old buildings through sensitive design, locallysourced materials, and strategically-placed pathways;adapting under-used public space to make the area morewelcoming to patients, families, clinicians, and students;enabling mingling and collaboration from the courtyardto the exam room so that the complex itself becomes a“beehive of connections,” in Saba’s words; maximizingaccess to natural light above ground and parking belowground; instituting repetitive design wherever it will aidorientation; and directing pedestrian and traffic flow viamultiple access points.Saba has seen the typology of the hospital changesignificantly in the past few decades to become morewelcoming and amenable. That said, she knows thearchitectural equivalent of a euphemism when she seesone: “It’s not a spa, it’s not a hotel—I mean, it’s a hospital.”In contrast with, say, a community hospital, anacademic medical center poses unique challenges, allthe more so if it’s in an urban setting. Well before AUBtrustees started working their way down the list ofthe world’s top 100 architects, they toured a projectthat seemed to have some similar elements, the newlyconstructed Lunder Building at Mass General, and metBob Foster, a project adviser with 25 years of experiencein real estate development.Foster agreed to act as interim vice president forfacilities to provide on-site consulting. “All [they] knewis that they had an immediate need for beds and that it1920 19301920 SPC is renamed AUB.1926 AUB builds Dale Home tohouse the School of Nursing.1925 AUB builds the PathologyBuilding1929–30 AUB constructs the AmericanUniversity Hospital Outpatient ClinicBuilding, Chemistry Building, andMedical Science Laboratories Buildingto accommodate the expandingprogram for laboratory instruction.1931 AUB builds Van Dyck Hall, theoriginal medical science building. Namedfor Dr. Cornelius Van Dyck, it currentlyhouses the Faculty of Health Sciences.www.aub.edu.lb/maingate |MainGate Fall 201235

would likely have extensive repercussions on some otheruses,” Foster says.As a consultant, Foster tries to break down apotentially overwhelming enterprise into basic questionsthat can be answered: “What is it you have? What is it youthink you need? What kind of resources do you need?What’s the strategy? How do you build a team to executesomething this significant? Do you have enough land area?”“You don’t get into any kind of detail at that level,”he adds. “It’s just about: How big is it? How big can youbuild it? What can we afford to do? Does any of thismake sense in regard to where we are?”And the demands of the present are only thebeginning. “Remember you’re trying to design somethingthat doesn’t really come on-line for 10 years,” Fostersays. “You’re trying to imagine what this is going to bein the face of changing agendas and changing clinicalpractices, knowing that whatever you start with todayis very likely going to be different at the end of theday”—in part because so many additional people willhave a say in the proceedings, including politicians andgovernment bureaucrats.Barhoumi and his colleagues are drawing onwhat they learned about working with the Lebanesegovernment during the last decade of overhauling theUniversity’s master plan.Even when the last stone slides into place, thehospital is going to continue to develop, albeit ata slower pace. “Medical centers, especially, groworganically,” Foster says. “Mass General was built backbefore the [American] Civil War and each incrementalpiece gets added onto something that came before it.”Likewise, the former American UniversityHospital began to take shape with the purchase ofsomething like the current plot of land in 1902. Bythe end of the decade, three linked hospital pavilionshad materialized and the School of Nursing had beenfunctioning for five years.The Rockefeller Foundation funded additions to thepavilions in 1923 and, in 1931, the construction of VanDyck Hall, then the medical sciences building now hometo the Faculty of Health Sciences.The next major renovation ushered in Lebanon’swar years and in 1987, the war came home when a bombexploded in the lobby of the medical center, killingseven people and wounding 31.In the event of a war or another catastrophe, Sabasays, the access points will be easy to control, by design.“We’re required to have a war shelter on the lower levelsof the hospital.”“There has also been discussion about whathappens in mass casualty events,” adds Domenico Lio,a senior associate with NBBJ. “The whole courtyardcould… accommodate a greater amount of ambulancesand entries.”The medical complex serves as a reminder ofhow many different trends can proceed at one time inparallel—destructive, constructive, or both.1940 19501960 19701949 AUB builds theGulbenkian Infirmary.1954 AUB opens a new hospital wing, Building56; then AUB President Stephen B. L. Penrose, Jr.rededicates the entire hospital to “the care of thesick and the improvement of the health of men,women, and children throughout the Middle East.”36 MainGate Fall 2012 | www.aub.edu.lb/maingate

“Looking at those programs that are going toneed to grow and are going to enable moregrowth . . . All of this planning work that we“redoing? It“s important to get it right.““The facilities are so stressed right now because of thedemands on them,” Saba points out. “The workaroundsthat people have created—it’s phenomenal.”“Looking at those programs that are going to needto grow and are going to enable more growth…” Sheconcludes with understated simplicity: “All of thisplanning work that we’re doing? It’s important to getit right.”—S.M.Top left: LobbyAbove: Site plan1980 1990 200020101970 AUH is renamedthe AUB Medical Center;major new facilities open.1975 AUB completes the Diana TamariSabbagh Basic Science Building tohouse the Faculty of Medicine.2009 AUB constructsand names the RaficHariri School of Nursing.2010 AUB Board of Trustees approves AUBMC2020 vision to be the leading academicmedical center in Lebanon and the regionby delivering excellence in patient-centeredcare, outstanding education, and innovativeresearch. AUB breaks ground for new facilities.www.aub.edu.lb/maingate |MainGate Fall 201237

Artistic Legacy38 MainGate Fall 2012 | www.aub.edu.lb/maingate

When Samir Saleeby attended the inauguration of theKhalil Saleeby (1870-1928) exhibition showcasing worksfrom the exceptional art collection that he has generouslydonated to AUB, he felt his hopes and ambitions forthe collection had been fulfilled. “When I went to theopening on June 8,” he said, “I knew that I had done theright thing. I had been thinking of a museum of fine artsfor the collection since the seventies. Now I am alreadydreaming of the future, when the collection becomes thenucleus of an art museum at AUB to be named after myfather and mother.” His father, Shaheen Saleeby, receivedhis MD from the University, and Samir Saleeby and hisfive children all studied at AUB. Both father and son haddistinguished careers as ophthalmologists.The story of Samir Saleeby’s unique bequest toAUB has already stimulated interest from the art worldthroughout the region and beyond. It has also promptedacademics and collectors alike to consider the potentialfor future donations to AUB.A distant relative of Khalil Saleeby, one of Lebanon’spreeminentearly painters (he is considered to be oneof the founders of contemporary art in Lebanon),Samir Saleeby dedicated the collection to the memoryof his parents, Rose and Shaheen Saleeby. It comprises57 paintings and eight works on paper. Thirtythreepaintings are by Khalil Saleeby; the rest are bycontemporaries including Saliba Douaihy, Cesar Gemayal,and Omar Onsi. Initially started by Shaheen Saleebyupon the sudden tragic death of his artist-relative, onceSamir took over the collection it became his passion.Augmented over decades, it graced the walls of hisfamily’s home in Beirut for over 80 years.Samir Saleeby staunchly resisted all pressureto divide or sell the collection. Concerned for itssafety during the Lebanese civil war, he shipped it toLondon for safekeeping. In between he considered thepossibility of building his own museum but finallyrejected the idea as being less safe than a publicinstitution. “I wanted the collection to remain inLebanon and I wanted people to see it. I have made thecorrect decision. AUB is well equipped to look afterthe paintings and the new Rose and Shaheen SaleebyMuseum planned by AUB for 2020 is a dream cometrue.” At 87 years of age Samir Saleeby is not sure hewill attend its inauguration, but the thought of it giveshim enormous pleasure.President Dorman expressed his gratitude concerningthe donation, affirming that the University shares SamirSaleeby’s vision of making the paintings available to thepeople of Lebanon and to all who have an interest in artin the region. That suits Samir Saleeby perfectly. “Lebanonneeds a museum but the nation did not provide it, so AUBis the right place for the Saleeby collection.”Pending the opening of the Saleeby museum, anew two-story gallery has been created on the groundand lower floors of the Mayfair student residence just offcampus in Hamra. The current exhibition will be followedby a series of exhibitions that will draw upon other worksin the Saleeby collection. The newly appointed curator,Octavian Esanu will oversee the gallery as well as a newcontemporary art space that is being created on campus.He will also manage the University’s art collection thatfeatures other important works of art belonging to AUB.AUB recruited a top international art restorer, LuciaScalisi who spent months in Beirut restoring the Saleebycollection prior to exhibition. Seeing the paintings someticulously renovated, Samir Saleeby declared Scalisi’swork to be “fantastic.” A seasoned professional formerlywith the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, Scalisiwas amazed by the collection. “It is such a rare thing toget this many paintings by one artist in a single collectionand as a bequest to an institution,” she says. “KhalilSaleeby was a very good artist; he had formal training,was competent with his materials and techniques, andhe was definitely talented. This collection of his worksresonates at all levels, and it has been a huge privilege towork with such paintings in near original condition.”Khalil Saleeby’s life story reads like a novel: Bornin the village of Btalloun, an only son, his parentswere disconcerted by his propensity as a youngster forscratching out designs on the ground with matchsticks.Later he attended the Syrian Protestant College (nowAUB) and eventually he traveled to Edinburgh to studypainting. There he met leading American painter JohnSinger Sargent, who encouraged Saleeby to study inPhiladelphia. In the United States he met Carrie Aude,who later became his wife and muse, whom he paintedmany times.The couple lived in Edinburgh, London, and Paris,where Saleeby became acquainted with other importantpainters including Pierre-Auguste Renoir and PierrePuvis de Chavannes. He exhibited in the impressionistwww.aub.edu.lb/maingate |MainGate Fall 201239

gallery Durand-Ruel and at the Salon in Paris. In 1900,he and Carrie returned to Lebanon where Saleebyopened a studio on Bliss Street opposite the Main Gateof AUB and became an accomplished and respectedportrait artist. Tragically, he and Carrie were murderedin 1928 over a long-standing dispute over access towater in his village.Saleeby’s glowing portraits dominate the collection.In addition to the lovingly crafted ones of Carrie, theyinclude two arresting self-portraits, imposing renditionsof local personalities like Amin Rihani and Dr. SimonKhoury, portraits of villagers and tradesmen, and severalof young women, including a compelling portrait of hiscousin that stands out from the rest. Four challengingnudes were painted between 1901 and 1922, and wererecently loaned by AUB to the Institut du Monde Arabe inParis. They clearly defy the local conventions of the timebut represent an important chapter in the artist’s oeuvre.Lucia Scalisi found the works to be in remarkablecondition given their age and the fact that they hadbeen hanging in a private residence for so long. Mosthad been varnished with natural resin, which over timeinteracts with paint to cause surface discoloration.Stripping away the old varnish and replacing it witha new inert one, Scalisi was able to coax the originalcolors gently back to life. She was especially delightedby Saleeby’s passion for opalescent violets andturquoises impressionistically applied.Two thickly encrusted paintings of the HeliopolisPalace in Cairo provide sharp contrast with the rest of thecollection. They were part of a series of four painted bySaleeby that were exhibited in the 1921 Beirut IndustrialFair. They still have their original frames and can bespotted in a photograph taken during the fair.Art historians have already begun to scrutinize thecollection to decipher the different influences that werebrought to bear on Saleeby’s work over the years andthroughout his travels. This is the kind of academic studyAUB hopes to encourage among its art students. RicoFrances, associate professor of art history at AUB, hascalled the donation “an extraordinary gift for Lebanon”and in particular for his students, many of whom have nothad the opportunity to reallystudy an oil painting closely.Asked if he missed the collection after spendingall these years with it, Samir Saleeby repliedphilosophically, “After 80 years on the walls they lost40 MainGate Fall 2012 | www.aub.edu.lb/maingate

their brilliance. Now I am pleased that they look sogood. I don’t miss them. My dream was to share themwith others. I have made prints of a few of them toremind me. I still have some other paintings, and I willkeep adding to them. All the rest will go to AUB in mywill. I hope other people will donate and havetheir collections exhibited like mine.”—M.A.Page 39Khalil Saleeby, Self portrait, 1895Oil on canvasPage 40Khalil Saleeby, Nude-Carrie, 1922Oil on canvasPage 41Top left: Khalil Saleeby, College Hall, 1920Oil on canvasTop right: Khalil Saleeby, The Artist’s Cousin, 1920Oil on artist boardBottom: Khalil Saleeby, Heliopolis Palace, Cairo, 1914Oil on canvaswww.aub.edu.lb/maingate |MainGate Fall 201241

Beyond Bliss Streetleading conversationsLodestarOne family—originally from Khiyamat the very south of Lebanon—hasgraduated four generations of AUBmedical students. Dr. Karam Karam(BS ’62, MD ’67), the grandchild, son,and father of AUB alumni, has servedas chairman of the Department ofObstetrics and Gynecology (OB-GYN)as well as Lebanon’s minister ofhealth, minister of tourism, ministerof state, and minister of culturebetween 1998 and 2006. Today,Dr. Karam is a clinical professor ofOB-GYN at AUBMC.I am asked to write about AUB. Tome, Lebanon is AUB, and AUB meansmore to me than my hometown. Overthe past 55 years at AUB, the institutionhas gone through a lot. Duringthe civil war I did not spend a singleAs you have risen on theshoulders of your mentorsand teachers, the futuregenerations will rise on yours.hour away from its campus and vicinities.I taught and worked and sleptat the hospital at night. People growattached to objects as well as tohumans. I grew attached to AUB’strees, stone, campus, and all that theUniversity stands for.I had the opportunity of joiningsome of the best Ivy League medicalschools, but in the early 1970s, theAUB medical school was even betterthan all of them at all levels: education,qualification, and services. Four decadesago, at AUB, I conducted the firstminimal invasive surgery in the MiddleEast. Unparalleled in the region, AUBshared its knowledge and expertiseof the newest techniques by sendingphysicians as trainers throughout theMiddle East, myself included.AUB’s medical school (and center)is the star of AUB. It has taughtgenerations of physicians, manyof whom have gone on to becomepioneers in medicine throughout theworld, and has offered its medicalservices to many who sought themfrom the Arab region.AUB hasbeen challengedby difficult circumstances,but remainsa leading pioneerdespitethe growingcompetition.More can bedone today: AUB can harness moreof its resources to address the region’spressing needs in education, medicalcare, and environmental health. It canfurther emphasize diversity in thoughtand opinion and productivity in teachingand in service, both in the arts andin science. It can keep instilling in itsstudents the sense of civic responsibilityand objectivity. Furthermore, AUBcan strengthen and build upon itsrelationship with its alumni. Its alumnireturn to give back to AUB with all thevalues and goals it instilled in them.My message to faculty and staffis to keep holding the torch. It has litmany dark alleys over the past centuryand a half and it always will continueto do so. To students, your presenceat this great institution, though short,is rich with learning and education.Make the best of it. It was the bestpart of my life.Benefit from the beautiful campusand classroom experience. Thediversity you meet is unparalleled andthe free discourse is illuminating. Behumble. As you have risen on theshoulders of your mentors and teachers,the future generations willrise on yours.—as told to Safa Jafari Safa42 MainGate Fall 2012 | www.aub.edu.lb/maingate

Beyond Bliss Streetlegends and legaciesNassif al-YazijiLiterary LightAlthough he was only a member ofthe faculty of the Syrian ProtestantCollege for three years, he was oneof the more prominent individualsto be associated with the Collegein those early days. When he joinedSPC in 1866 as an Arabic teacher,Nassif al-Yaziji was widely recognized,along with Boutrus Bustani(see MainGate, “Legends andLegacies,” fall 2010, page 47),as one of the “two great figureswho dominate the intellectuallife of the period.” 1A Greek Catholic, al-Yaziji was born in Kfarchima(Baabda) in 1800 and wrotehis first poems at the ageof 10. He would go on tobecome one of the importantcourt poets—if not the mostimportant court poet—of PrinceBashir Shihab II, who ruled from1788 until 1840. According to AUBArabic Professor Nadeem Naimy,al-Yaziji is noted especially for hiscontribution to the translation of theBible into Arabic (1848-65), which hedescribes as one of the greatest literaryachievements of the nineteenthcentury. As a skilled linguist whoknew only Arabic, it was al-Yaziji whochecked the Arabic text that Bustanitranslated from Hebrew, Greek, andSyriac.Al-Yaziji also authored manybooks including some texts that wereintended originally for the schools ofthe American Mission. Many of thesebooks were later “adopted by a farlarger circle of teachers and studentsand continued, long after his deathin 1871, to govern the teaching ofthe science of Arabic.” 2 His mostfamous work was Majma’ al-Bahrain,which is a collection of 60 shortnarratives that is still, according toNaimy, “considered to be a landmarkin the renaissance of the gloriousArabic literature of the past.“In addition to being a prodigiousauthor, al-Yaziji is also rememberedas one of the founders of the Societyof Arts and Sciences that he helpedto establish with Bustani in 1847.Although the society, which has beendescribed as “the Arab world’s firstliterary society,” 3 dissolved afterfive years, it paved the way for theformation in 1857 of the SyrianScientific Society (al-jamiya alilmiyaal-suriya). Unlike the earliersociety that was restricted toChristians, the Syrian ScientificSociety included Druze andMuslims and was, accordingto Antonius, “the first outwardmanifestation of a collectivenational consciousness” 4 thatwould come to be known asthe Nahda or Arab Awakening.One of his 12 children,Ibrahim al-Yaziji, also went onto make a name for himself inthe Arab world. He is especiallyremembered for a poem he recitedduring one of the meetings of theSyrian Scientific Society calling forArab unity and also for developinga simplified Arab font that led to thecreation of the Arabic typewriter.Nassif al-Yaziji died inFebruary 1871.1 George Antonius, The Arab Awakening: theStory of the Arab National Movement, SimonPublications, 2001, page 45.2 Antonius, page 46.3 www.aljazeera.com/focus/arabunity/2008/01/2008525173546578323.html4 Antonius, page 54.www.aub.edu.lb/maingate |MainGate Fall 201243

Beyond Bliss Streett i m e f l i e sThe Moore CollectionDr. Franklin T. Moore, a graduate of Princeton University who came to Lebanon in 1891 at the age of 23 to teach at the SyrianProtestant College (now AUB), left an important historical archive in the form of glass plates, which were taken between 1892and 1902. Painstakingly restored, the images have been digitized and are now part of the AUB archives. Above: Eye Clinic.Patients sometimes brought food (Zawwadeh) in baskets to pay for their fees. November 1897.More On-line44MainGate Fall 2012| www.aub.edu.lb/maingate

Beyond Bliss Streetr e f l e c t i o n sWanted:Team Player, Grand AmbitionsA half century before AUB wouldinaugurate a new medical center aspart of what will become AUBMC2020, then-dean of the Faculty ofMedicine Craig S. Lichtenwalner,MD, marked a different milestone.He not only witnessed the 1970 openingof expanded medical operationsbut also played a key role in theircreation over the previous decade.He spoke with MainGate about theyears of change and turmoil and theresulting accomplishments.MainGate: When did you arriveat AUB?Dr. Craig S. Lichtenwalner: In thesummer of 1960. I had previouslyserved overseas as a member of theUS Public Health Service. I’d beenin Ethiopia for a couple of years, inVietnam for three years, and whenI came back to the United States,someone on the Board of Trusteesof AUB called me for an interview.They were looking for an assistant forDean Joe McDonald [Dr. Joseph J.McDonald], then dean of the medicalfaculty. I had been overseas forabout five years at that point withsome assignments back in the UnitedStates, but I was interested in internationalhealth affairs and the idea ofgoing to AUB appealed to me.What was your first impression?Dean McDonald met me at the airportand took me to his house on campuswhere I spent the first few days.My family had not yet arrived. Onvisiting the campus for the first time,I was impressed with the modernityof the neighborhood and the peacefultranquility behind the university walls.I remember Bliss Street was bustlingwith autos and bicycles and streetcars and a lot going on there, busyshops, and so on, but it was entirelypeaceful inside the University. Actually,I was surprised that most peoplespoke English. In Ethiopia and inVietnam, I was mostly used to hearingforeign tongues.Where did you spend most ofyour time on campus, as anadministrator and a teacher?I taught preventive medicine to firstyearmedical students. My office andmost of our classes were in Van DyckHall. I guess everybody who goesthrough medical education becomesa teacher and I considered myselfwww.aub.edu.lb/maingate |MainGate Fall 201245

Beyond Bliss Streetr e f l e c t i o n sDedication of AUB Medical Center, June 24, 1970. Leftto right: Dr. Raif Nassif, Director, School of Medicine; Dr.Samuel Kirkwood, President, AUB; HE Habib Moutran,Minister of Health; HE Rashid Karami, Prime Minister; Dr.Craig Lichtenwalner, Dean, Faculties of Medical Sciences; Dr.Calvin Plimpton, Chairman, AUB Trusteesa teacher, but I did not have a primaryrole as a teacher at AUB. Inthose days, the Faculty of MedicalSciences consisted of four schools—medicine, pharmacy, nursing, andpublic health—and the dean was alsoresponsible for the university hospitaland for the university health services,so it was quite a big administrativestructure. It was no wonder that DeanMcDonald needed some assistance.And meanwhile we were makingplans for the new medical center andhad an active planning committeethat met regularly.Shortly after I arrived, becauseof my background in public health,Dean McDonald appointed me asthe director of the School of PublicHealth. I served as director for about10 years in addition to other functions.I went from assistant deanto associate dean at one point andbecame dean of the medical faculty in1969. My academic title was professorof public health practice.What was the biggest change younoticed while at AUB?Well, I guess two things: One was thegradually increasing civil unrest in Beirutand nearby countries, which continuedduring my time there [1960-76].The biggest change at AUB wasconstruction of the medical center.You gave a speech in 1970 inhonor of the new medical center.What role did the center play intransforming medicine at AUB?There had been a shortage of spaceand the different services had notbeen able to do as much as theywere capable of doing. Also the buildingswere old and modern medicinerequires modern facilities.The planning committee hadjust been organized when I arrived.We would meet regularly with eachdepartment and determine what theywanted to see in their new space andthen, later, we met with architects tofigure out how to achieve those goals.Dr. Raif Nassif [AUB Reflections,MainGate, spring 2005, page 40] wasthe secretary of the planning committeeand he did an outstanding jobthroughout that period.I guess anybody who builds ahospital has a lot of thoughts aboutrendering service, but an academicmedical center does more than that.Of course it renders service throughthe community, but it also serves asthe prime location for teaching and forresearch. We had high hopes and I thinkthey were achieved. The completion ofthe center and the process that led upto that served to revitalize the teachingprograms and it served to modernizemedical care in that part of Lebanon.Do you have particular memoriesfrom the outbreak of the civil war?I remember that there was a resurgenceof hostilities in the summer of1975 that continued through the fall.We decided that my family—whichat that time consisted of my wife andfour children—should leave, whichthey did on Christmas Day of 1975.When President Kirkwood decidedto leave in January, I was appointedacting president in Beirut and stayedon until the summer of 1976 to fulfillthat function.There had been periodic violencefor at least three or four years beforethat. There would be an outbreak andthen a peaceful interlude and then anoutbreak and then another peacefulinterlude. And there were undercurrentsall along—from 1960 on therewere undercurrents—and every sooften they would come to the surface.In the early 1970s they came to thesurface more often and were seenas being instigated by outside forces.Even though the University had friends46 MainGate Fall 2012 | www.aub.edu.lb/maingate

Beyond Bliss Streetr e f l e c t i o n sand supporters in Lebanon, the outsideforces were not amenable to ourinfluence.On that Christmas Day in 1975,we were in fear that the airport wouldclose and that my family wouldn’t beable to get out. And the airport did closeshortly after that.After my wife and family had beenaway for several months, it seemedthat we would not be reunited inLebanon in any near future, and sowe decided to get on with our lives.That’s when I decided to leave. I think Igave the trustees something like threemonths’ notice.After I left, I know that Dr. SamAsper, who had been with us for threeor four years, fulfilled the functions in thedean’s office, along with Dr. Nassif, whowas director of the School of Medicine,and the hospital had its own director, sothings were in stable hands when I left.Another dean, Jim Cowan, dean of theSchool of Agriculture, was appointedas acting president, so there was asmooth transition there. MeanwhilePresident Samuel Kirkwood was stillpresident, but based in New York.Over the years we had plannedto become less and less dependenton faculty members from the UnitedStates. More and more Lebanese andother Middle Eastern nationals weretaking over the responsible posts atthe University, so that was all part ofthe plan that we would work ourselvesout of a job.When did you leave AUB? Haveyou been back?When I left AUB in 1976, I went toBahrain as head of the AUB ServicesCorporation. When it appeared thathostilities were going to continuefor some time, some AUB trusteesdecided to form a for-profit consultingcompany that could engage some ofour faculty members and keep themwithin range of the University and atthe same time perform consultingservices in the Arab Middle East,mainly in the Gulf area. The trusteesformed a for-profit corporation calledAUB Services. Trustee Najib Halabywas named by the board to be thepresident of that operation and I wasappointed as executive vice presidentand in charge of our operationsfrom an office in Bahrain. When I leftBeirut, I went to Bahrain and I did infact visit the campus several timesafter going there.I can only say that Ithink the plannersshould always planambitiously. Don’tmake any littleplans.I stayed in Bahrain for three yearsuntil the trustees decided that thetime had come to fold up the company.They did so and I went back toMassachusetts where I spent severalyears as the medical director of theMiddlesex County Hospital, which isjust outside Boston. And then I decidedto get back into straight public healthwork and I came to the Public HealthDepartment of the state of Georgia.Are you still in touch with friendsand acquaintances from AUB?Unfortunately, no. I think I’ve outlivedmost of them. I should note that I amnow 89 years old. I beg the indulgenceof readers for any errors or lapses ofmemory of events that occurred 40 ormore years ago.What do you think your studentsand colleagues most rememberabout your tenure at AUB?Well, I think they remember whatwe accomplished there together. Inaddition to the medical center construction,there was an importantprogram of faculty exchange withJohns Hopkins University. That waswhat first brought Dr. Sam Asper toBeirut. We had a number of JohnsHopkins faculty come to Beirut anda number of promising young facultymembers from AUB that wentto Hopkins for further polishing. Andwe had wonderful support from theCommonwealth Fund for that programand I think it was a greatsuccess. Some former students willalso remember going on weekends tovillages in South Lebanon to administeroral polio vaccine.What overall impact has AUB hadon your life?I can’t say that it changed my life. Itwas my life. My experience at AUBwas the highlight of my medical career.My hope is that AUB will continue toinspire others.Do you have something you wouldlike to say to your successors atthe AUB Medical Center, especiallyas they embark upon the creationof a new medical center?I can only say that I think the plannersshould always plan ambitiously.Don’t make any little plans.—S.M.www.aub.edu.lb/maingate |MainGate Fall 201247

Beyond Bliss Streeta l u m n i p r o f i l eHomewardBoundJoumana Kalot (BS ’89, MPH ’95) iscoming “home”—back to the cocoonshe left in 1995, older and (much)wiser than she was when she enteredthe “real” world of public health. Shebrings with her to the FHS Outreachand Practice Unit (OPU) a wealth ofpractical experience that she hasearned during a series of managerialassignments with UNDP, theLebanese Ministry of Social Affairs(MOSA), as well as with internationaland national NGOs working in areassuch as drug prevention, HIV/AIDS,and capacity building.Passionate about AUB andher work in public health, Kalot’smission is to merge her practicalexperience with the high quality,evidenced-based research for whichAUB is famous, to devise effectivecommunity-based programs andtraining modules.Working as a research assistanton a UNICEF-AUB water qualityassessment project back in 1990gave Kalot her first taste of fieldwork. Along with five colleagues shetraversed Lebanon interviewing peoplefrom different communities andperforming on-site water tests. “Itwas a real eye opener,” Kalot says,“But at the end of the day I knewI was heading back to AUB andour nice offices.” The combinationof practical and theoretical researchand the opportunity to enjoy life atAUB for two more years appealed toKalot and inspired her to tackle hermaster’s degree.48 MainGate Fall 2012 | www.aub.edu.lb/maingate

Beyond Bliss Streeta l u m n i p r o f i l eThe real impact of her chosenprofession was felt in 1995 when Kalotwas hired by MOSA to work in a Bourjel Barajneh community center. “I hadto get my father to take me there inthe beginning,” she confesses. “I didnot even know where it was. I arrivedwith my degrees and my ‘superior’knowledge and I got a real shock.The first two weeks were terrible; afterthat I gained great experience. NadiaTewtel, the director of the center, is alegend, an amazing person, and shethrew me in at the deep end, sendingme off to a gynecology clinic wherefor the first time in my life I witnesseda midwife in action and saw how shecounseled the women. I realized thenthat if I was going to achieve anything Ihad better start working on my Arabic.We were used to speaking two wordsin English for every one in Arabic.[After that experience] it immediatelybecame clear to me that I had betterimprove my communication skills. Ilearned so much from that center.”Subsequent positions haveincluded working as director of theNGO Resources and Support Unitfor a joint UNDP/MOSA projectwhere she worked on poverty reduction,followed by serving as trainingcoordinator for a reproductive healthproject jointly supported by MOSAand the United Nations PopulationFund (UNFPA).Kalot considers the 2006 waranother turning point in terms ofexperience. She was working withMOSA at the time and able to useall her professional, networking, andpublic relations skills to link internationalNGOs that were bringingaid to Lebanon with local NGOs onthe ground to avoid duplication andmake sure the aid reached thosepeople most in need.Later Kalot became director ofplanning and programs with MentorArabia, the only regional office ofMentor International, a worldwideNGO dedicated to drug prevention.“As the hub for drug prevention inthe region, we did a lot to combineevidence-based research with drugprevention knowledge from aroundthe world, Kalot explains. “We werenot inventing the wheel, but wehelped map what was happeningand what was needed. The programis still running.”Moving from one serious publichealth problem to another, Kalotaccepted UNDP’s offer to becomeregional project manager of its CairobasedHIV/AIDS regional program forArab states. This was a big challengefor her both professionally, as shetook on responsibility for countrieslike Djibouti, Somalia, Yemen, andSudan, and personally as she adjustedto living in a new country.While AIDS is stabilizing throughoutthe rest of the world, it is on theincrease in the MENA region andEastern Europe despite being limitedprimarily to injecting drug users, menwho have sex with other men, andsex workers. “We need awarenessand outreach programs throughNGOs and under the umbrella of anational AIDS program,” Kalot says.“The best way forward is a combinationof government, NGO, and privatesector initiatives. Government shouldset policy and monitor the situation,but it is up to civil society [organizations]to implement the programsaided by technical support from theUN and others.”Coming back to AUB was inone way a no-brainer. It was also,however, a difficult choice for Kalot.“It was partly a question of qualityof life, partly an issue of doingsomething for my country. I had agood position in Egypt as manager ofa regional program, but you have tocome back home at some stage andwhere better than AUB?” Kalot says.Joining the OPU as an instructorin public health practice, Kalot will behandling the portfolio of health workforcedevelopment in the region anddeveloping the unit’s training strategy.The OPU provides evidence-basedpractice and outreach while engagingstudents in social responsibility. Itworks through building networks ofresearchers, practitioners, policymakers,and communities of practice thatcontribute to health outcomes for theregion. Kalot brings a wealth of experienceto the table from her 20 years inthe field across sectors and organizations.The OPU, she says, is a greatskills fit for her. She cannot waitto see what the year brings.—M.A.www.aub.edu.lb/maingate |MainGate Fall 201249

01NORTH AMERICACalifornia | 01 02 The Northern California Chaptergot together for brunch on June 30 at the WaterFront Middle Eastern Restaurant in the San FranciscoBay area. It was an opportunity for the newly electedboard to meet chapter members and their families.The board shared its vision for the new term andreceived feedback from the alumni community onhow to best collectively support AUB usingWAAAUB’s professional channels and connections.02030405Montreal | The Montreal Chapter held a 5 to 7 eventon Canada Day (July 2) at the Terrasse of Aubergedu Vieux-Port. It was a pleasant get-together and agreat way to introduce new committee members andhand over the reins to the new committee. 03 Front,left to right: Hiba Tabbara (BS ’96), Aline Khayat(MS ’05), Zeina Chbaklo (BA ’02, MPH ’04). Back,left to right: Walid Accaoui (BEN ’95), WissamShaar (BEN ’02), Bassam Hajj (BBA ’98) | On July29 the Montreal Chapter held its annual iftar celebra-tion at Rumi Restaurant. 04 Left, back to front:Wissam Shaar (BEN ’02), Mira El Oud (MS ’07),Bassam El Oud; Right, back to front: Hala AbuAssi (BS ’10), Nagham Sayour Shaar (BS ’06, MA’09), Fadi Chlah (BS ’98, MBA ’08) |The chapter hosted a reception for President Dormanon August 25. It welcomed over 100 alumni from thegreater Montreal area as well as fellow AUBites fromother WAAAUB Canadian chapters in Toronto andOttawa. The president’s remarks were followed by arousing dabke performance by local dancers.05 President Peter Doman with Canadian Chapterleadership. Left to right: Johnny Kairuouz (BBA’02), Aline Khayat (MS ’05), Elias Absi (BS ’75),Zeina Shbaklo (BA ’02, MPH ’04), JihadWAAAUBElectionResultsOn-lineWAAAUB 2012 Election Results are on-line atwww.aub.edu.lb/alumni. Thanks to everyone who casttheir votes and participated in the elections.50 MainGate Fall 2012 | www.aub.edu.lb/maingate

Abdulnour, PhD (BS ’77, MS ’80), Peter Dorman,Wissam Shaar (BEN ’02), Naghan Sayour Shaar(BS ’06, MAFE ’09), Alumni Relations Director EvaKlimas, and Daniel Salti (BBA ’09)Recently ElectedWAAAUB New York ChapterRoland Abi Nader (BEN ’02), PresidentMohamed Badaoui Najjar, PhD (BS ’01, MS ’04),Vice PresidentGhada Issa (BS ’91), SecretaryValerie Gebara (BS ’08), TreasurerMember at LargeZiad Azar, JSD (BEN ’02), Irene Cordahi (BEN ’05),Georges Ephrem (BS ’03, MD ’07), Zeina HamdanSabah (BS ’05, TD ’06), Wael Younan (BBA ’02)06North Carolina | 06 The North Carolina Chapter helda potluck picnic at Umstead Park on July 15. | 07 OnAugust 11 the North Carolina Chapter held an iftarcelebration at Aladdin Restaurant in North Raleigh.07Ottawa | 08 The Ottawa Alumni Chapter held itspopular annual picnic at Vincent Massey Park lastJune. Chapter leadership, Left to right: LinaEl-Esber (BEN ’02), Elias “Maroun” Absi (BS’75), Nada Hamade (BA ’99), Elias Abou Hamad(BBA ’77), and Jihad Abdulnour (BS ’77, MS ’80).| 09 The chapter also held an iftarcelebration onAugust 1. Alumni and friends joined new first secretaryand chargé d’affaires of the Embassy ofLebanon Sami Haddad and Councilor Eli-Elchantiriand his wife Maha for the festivities.08Recently ElectedWAAAUB Toronto ChapterTalar Sahsuvaroglu (BS ’98), PresidentDaniel Nasri Salti (BBA ’09), Vice PresidentChadi Bou Karroum (BS ’95, BS ’98), SecretaryTammam Al-Dandachi (BEN ’06), TreasurerAdel Kanso (BBA ’09), Public Relations Officer09MIDDLE EASTBeqa’a | 10 11 The chapter hosted a rafting weekendJuly 14-15 on the Al Assy River in Hermel.Alumni and friends stayed at the L’Kaa countrylodge, a newly created resort by Jamal Farha10 11www.aub.edu.lb/maingate |MainGate Fall 201251

12 1314(BEN ’95), an alumnus from the Beqa’a. On August10 the Beqa'a Chapter held their annual fundraisingiftarunder the patronage of President Najib Mikatiat Sama Chtaura Resort. |12 Minister BanosManoujian represented the president at the iftarwhere guests included a diverse group of politicaland social personalities. Funds raised will be usedfor tuition assistance for needy students from theBeqa’a. | 13 The chapter organized a conference,The Reality of Food Safety in Lebanon, sponsoredby HE Minister of Agriculture Houssein Hajj Hassan.Dr. Rabih Kemleh discussed current practices andLebanon’s proposed food safety law; MoussaFreiji (BS ’57) discussed food safety practices inthe industrial sector and Minister Houssein HajjHassan wrapped up with a summary of the government’ssuccessful efforts to raise food industryquality standards. Around 250 people attendedfrom many different universities. Left to right: GhadaKaraawi (BBA '04, MPH '06) and session moderatorSamar Salloum Araji (BS '84)15Mount Lebanon and South Lebanon | 14 15 TheSouth Lebanon and Mount Lebanon Chaptersorganized a tour of southern Lebanon last May.Sixty-five alumni enjoyed the visits to Saida, MlitaShkeef Beaufort, Khima, and Hosn Wazzani—passingby Fatime Gate on the way back to Beirut.WAAAUB 4th Annual AUB Legacy Ceremony | “In a fast paced world where change is the norm, high quality educationremains our only constant,” said MC Khouloud Kassem (BA ’89), at the ceremony that welcomes the children of alumni whoare enrolling at AUB. It was an event full of opportunities to reminisce about college days, but also reflect on the life-long impactof an AUB education as parents introduced the University to their children.Keynote speaker Nadim Kassar(BBA ’83) and Fransabank Chairman noted, “The real legacy of AUB,aside from education, was teaching me how to interact with my peers and understand that the oneswho disagree with me aren’t my enemies,” he added. “It is what Lebanon is and the promise ofwhat Lebanon can be.” Kassar’s daughter joined AUB this fall, following her two older sisters.Fellow keynote speaker and alumnus parent Riad Salemeh (BA ’73) stated, “AUBnot only gave me knowledge and an education but helped me build my personality andput me in touch with the different religious groups and political factions of my country.”Salemeh, who is the Central Bank Governor, added, “I was able to understandLebanon and society, allowing me to build my own personal system to survive in anever changing world. Like all young people, we thought we would not only changeLebanon but maybe the world as well.”More On-line52 MainGate Fall 2012 | www.aub.edu.lb/maingate

FOURTH ANNUALAUB alumni achievements took center stage at the WAAAUB fourth annual conventionSeptember 21-23, during which WAAAUB distributed awards to distinguished alumni,WAAAUB members, and chapters. “Our mission is to strengthen the ties between AUB andits alumni,” said Dr. Nabil Kronfol (BS ’65, MD ’69), secretary of the WAAAUB board, inhis welcoming speech. “The objective of our annual event is to have our elected leadershipmeet in person, establish our yearly program, and discuss subjects of concern for both AUBand the alumni.” “Our annual convention is a great occasion to review and celebrate whatwe have accomplished and how to continue moving forward,” said WAAAUB PresidentNabil Dajani (BA ’57, MA ’60). “We want to reach all our alumni, those separated by greatdistance but also those who are in Lebanon.”Convention keynote speaker Paul Salem, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center inBeirut, gave an address entitled “Between Arab Spring and Winter: The Promise of Progress,the Risk of Regression and the Role of Universities.” “We are living in the best and worst oftimes, where the mettle of men and the fortitude of women are tested… We are seeing historicaldrama unfolding in front of us in a multitude of layers and outcomes, with some succeedingmore or less peacefully, while others sink into brutality and chaos,” he added.Salem stressed the need to propagate quality education as the key to advancingchange and democracy. Sadly, he said, the moneys spent in the past 10 years in MiddleEast conflicts would have established 1,000 AUBs all over the region. “The future will bewon in classrooms and not in war theaters,” he noted.The convention weekend continued with panel discussions, a visit to the AUB ArtGallery, a gala dinner at Eau De Vie, Phoenicia Hotel, a family excursion with wine tasting atChateau St. Thomas, and lunch hosted by Dr. Fadlo Touma (BE ’66, ME ’69) at his farmin Kab-Elias, in the Beqa’a Valley.WAAAUB Awards2012WAAAUB Distinguished BoardMembers Award:WAAAUB Founding BoardWAAAUB Distinguished CommitteeMember Award: Mahmoud AbdulBaki (BE ’60, ME ’66), Maha Zabaneh(BA ’84), Talal Farah (BA ’62, MA ’70),Genane Maalouf (BBA ’98), MohammadShatila (BE ’95), Ayman Kichly (BE ’03),and Elie Moussali (BS ’69, MS ’72),awarded posthumouslyWAAAUB Outstanding ChapterAward:Abu Dhabi, Jordan, and Ottawa ChaptersWAAAUB Distinguished AlumniAward: Hagop M. Kantarjian (BS ’75,MD ’79) and Samih Darwazah (BS ’54)Read the full list of 2012awardees on-line.www.aub.edu.lb/maingate |MainGate Fall 201253

Beyond Bliss Streetc l a s s n o t e s1960sWilliam A. T. Haddad (BEN’60) writes: “I have cherishedmemoriesof AUB asthe yearsthat preparedmeto meetthe challenges of life. Soonafter graduation, I went backto Syria and worked on twomajor projects before joininganother great learning institution,Consolidated ContractorsGroup (CCC) in Aden. CCCthen transferred me to Libyawhere I worked in the field—the desert—in the gas and oilindustry. In 1968, I foundedMechanical and CivilEngineering ContractorsCompany (MACE), Ltd, whichallowed me to expand intoLebanon, Saudi Arabia, andthe Gulf Corporation Councilcountries. In spite of all theupheavals, MACE grew steadilyand is now 44 years old. Ithas been cited as the 50thmost influential company in theMENA and Gulf areas. Thecompany motto is, ‘Service toHumanity.’”1970sRonald Beylerian (BBA ’70)writes that he really enjoyedhis college years at AUB andstill has warm feelings forAUB after all these years. Hesubmitted this photo he tookof College Hall a few yearsago. [ronaldbeylerian(at)gmail.com]Iskandar Karam (BEN ’70)is a structural consultant.He owns Iskandar KaramConsulting Engineers, whichdesigns steel and concretestructures for residential andcommercial buildings, towers,bridges, and other structures.He is also the chairmanand general managerof STEN, SARL Contractingand Trading. Karam is marriedto Dolly E. Wakim. Theylive in Ashrafieh, Beirut.[iskandarkrm(at)yahoo.com]Adnan Alsharif (BS ’73, MS’75) received his master’sdegree in geology at AUBand worked with the SaudiAramco Oil Company inDhahran, Saudi Arabia for 35years. In 2010, he retired aschief geologist in charge of oiland gas exploration and fieldassessment for many giantonshore and offshore fieldsin Saudi Arabia. He is picturedwith his wife Diala andyoungest son Rami, who didsome pre-med studies at AUBand received his MD from theRoyal College of Surgeonsin Ireland. [adnanalsharif(at)hotmail.com]Tony Haddad (BEN ’75) Afterearning his degree in electricalSIBLINGSSPOUSESIbrahim Salti (BS ’59, MD ’63)Nuha Nuwayri (BS ’63, MD ’67)After graduating with distinction, Salti did post-graduate training in internal medicine and specialtytraining in endocrinology at the University of Toronto before earning his PhD there in medical sciences.He returned to AUB in 1970 and is currently professor of medicine and head of the Divisionof Endocrinology and Metabolism. Nuwayri is a former professor at the Department of HumanMorphology. She completed her post-graduate training in pediatrics and immunology at the Hospitalfor Sick Children and Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto.They have three children and two grandchildren. Two of their children are faculty members atAUB: Haytham Salti (MD ’96) in ophthalmology and Nisreen Salti (BA ’97) in economics.How did you meet?In the sixties, unlike now, there was much morecommunication between students on the maincampus and medical students. We actually meton campus when Nuha was still a premedicalstudent in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Infact, we were introduced to each other by fellowstudents who were in fields other than medicine.How did you know she was the one?Intellectual compatibility and common socialvalues were decisive factors.Do you think you’ve influenced one anotherin terms of your work?It is only natural when a couple are academiciansand in the medical profession that therewould be a mutual interaction and sharing ofideas, experiences, and teaching philosophy.Who or what were your main influences asstudents at AUB?There is no doubt that traditionally, AUB hasbeen privileged to have a number of outstandingand stimulating teachers who were rolemodels for us as students. They were giants intheir fields and their impact on the careers ofour generation remains evident until the present.54 MainGate Fall 2012 | www.aub.edu.lb/maingate

Beyond Bliss Streetc l a s s n o t e sengineering, Haddad establishedTechnica InternationalSAL where he currently servesas general manager. Technicahas a factory in Bickfaya andbranches in seven countriesthroughout the MENA regionand Africa. It manufacturesconveyors and automationequipment. The company,which has earned a globalvendor status with Proctor& Gamble, recently starteda robotics division. Haddadwrites, “We welcome talentedengineers to developtheir expertise in this field.”[technicaintl.com]N a f i zKabalan(BS ’75)worked asa translatoruntil1979 when he became blind.He then worked as a switchboardoperator at the CentralBank until 2010. Kabalan andhis wife live on Saleem BustaniStreet in the Watwat district ofBeirut. [nafizroy(at)hotmail.com]Issam Ahmad Hamed Mousa(BS ’78, MPH ’80) received hisMPH in hospital administration.In 1996, he shifted to theinsurance industry where henow heads Special Projectsat Corporate Life & MedicalInsurance, a leading JordanianInsurance company. He hasbeen married since 1989.[issamm56(at)yahoo.com]1980sLina Balluz (BS ’83, MPH’86) In 1989 Balluz earnedher doctorate from the TulaneSchool of Public Health andTropical Medicine. She joinedthe Centers for DiseaseControl and Prevention (CDC)as an epidemic intelligenceofficer in 1995. In September2008, Balluz became theprogramdirectorfor theBehaviorR i s kFactorSurveillance System at theCDC in Atlanta, Georgia.[Lballuz(at)cdc.gov]Antoine G. Tohmeh (BS’79, MD ’83) A physicianwith Northwest OrthopaedicSpecialists in Spokane,Washington, Tohmeh is thefounder of the Spine ResearchInstitute of Spokane. He hasreceived the XLIF PioneerAward, is a member of theNorth American Spine Society,and is a founding member ofthe Society of Lateral AccessSurgery. Tohmeh completedhis residency and a spinesurgery fellowship at theUniversity of Maryland Hospitalin Baltimore.1990sLina Shebaro Germann(BS ’90)has beenliving inthe UnitedStates for22 years.She has been married to TimGermann for 15 years and hastwo graduate degrees (a PhDin chemistry from BostonCollege and an MBA from theUniversity of New Mexico).She is a chemistry instructor,a freelance consultant, a communityactivist, and the motherof two boys, Carl and Will.SIBLINGSRita S. Balian (BA ’61)Annie Simonian Totah (BBA ’66, MBA ’69)SPOUSESAccording to older sister Rita,their mother’s commitment toeducation for women sowed theseeds for extraordinary lives ofactivism for these two remarkablesisters. Not only were thesisters educated at AUB, butthey met their lifelong matesthere too. Balian was married tothe late Varkess Balian (BAR’57) a Penrose scholar; Totahis married to Sami Totah (BBA’66, MBA ’68).Widely recognized for their effective leadership, philanthropy,and untiring commitment to political, cultural, health,and gender-related issues, Balian and Totah have made adifference on a local, national, and international level. Bothwomen have been particularly active in Armenian causes.Balian is the founder, president, and CEO of the ArmenianAmerican Cultural Association, which sponsors health andhumanitarian assistance projects for the people of Armeniaand promotes Armenian cultural, educational, and scientificendeavors in the United States. In 1997, she established theArmenian American Wellness Center (AAWC) in Armenia for theearly detection of breast and cervical cancer—the two mostdeadly cancers among women in Armenia. In addition to healthcare, Balian is deeply committed to education and has beenrecognized with three honorary doctorates from prominentArmenian universities.Totah has a long andimpressive record offundraising for Armeniaand women’s healthissues in addition tohigh level political activismin Washington, DC.Both sisters havewon numerous awardsand have repeatedlybeen honored by the United Nations, the US and Armeniangovernments, and major nonprofit organizations for theirvision, selfless service, perseverance, philanthropy, and politicaleffectiveness.More On-linewww.aub.edu.lb/maingate | MainGate Fall 201255

Beyond Bliss Streetc l a s s n o t e sSIBLINGS SPOUSESWilliam A. Zoghbi (BS '76)Huda El-Hibri Zoghbi (BS '76)William A. Zoghbi (BS ’76) was honored to be a torchbearer for the 2012 LondonSummer Olympics. Representing the American College of Cardiology, Zoghbi commented,"Every four years, Olympic athletes inspire us with their physical abilitiesand their dedication to health, sport, and country. I was thrilled to carry the Olympictorch in the name of health—body and mind." A leader in the field of echocardiographyand Doppler ultrasound for heart disease, Zoghbi is the William L. WintersEndowed Chair of Cardiovascular Imaging at the Methodist DeBakey Heart Center,the director of the Cardiovascular Imaging Institute at the Methodist Hospital inHouston, Weill Cornell Medical College professor of medicine, and the standingpresident of the American College of Cardiology. He met his wife, AUB trusteeHuda El-Hibri Zoghbi (BS ’76), when they were medical students at AUB. She isa pioneer in the study of Rett Syndrome and related autism spectrum disorders. AtBaylor College of Medicine, Huda is professor of pediatrics, molecular and humangenetics, neurology, and neuroscience, an investigator with the Howard HughesMedical Institute, and director of the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological ResearchInstitute at Texas Children’s Hospital.How did you meet?We met as first-year students in the medical school.How did you know s/he was the one?Huda: I knew William was special when I first saw his smile andthen learned how genuine he is.William: Well it was love at first sight. As we got to know each otherbetter it was clear we were compatible in thinking and philosophyand shared similar values.Do you think you’ve influenced one another in terms ofyour work?Absolutely. We approach work and family life as a team. Neitherof us would have been successful without the support wepassed back and forth. When our children were young, therewas always one of us taking care of them when the other wasin the midst of preparing a grant or taking a work-related trip.We also took deep interest in each other’s work and exchangedideas, supported each other during challenging times, andcheered each other’s success.Who or what were your main influences as students atAUB?Huda: I loved my undergraduate education and the depth of thecourses, especially “Cultural Studies.” In medical school I wasmost inspired by Dr. Suhail Jabbour (BA ’52, MD ’56) and mytwo neuronatomy professors: Drs. Adel Afifi (BA '51, MD '57)and Ronald Bergman. These three individuals have left an indeliblemark on me and nurtured my love for neuroscience.The Zoghbis are pictured here with world champion figureskater Michelle Kwan.William: I have fond memories of my chemistry professor, Dr.Costas Issidorides; during medical school, I thoroughly enjoyedthe teachings of Drs. Adel Berbari and George Fawaz (BA'33, MS '35). These inspiring professors enforced my interest inphysiology and the academic pursuit of medicine.56 MainGate Fall 2012 | www.aub.edu.lb/maingate

Beyond Bliss Streetc l a s s n o t e sWassim Mazraany (BS’91, MD ’95) is a surgeonat Saints Medical Center inLowell, Massachusetts. Hiswife, Monica Nelson, PhD,teaches clinical nutrition atNorthern Essex CommunityCollege. Along with their childrenAmeera (9), Aayah (5),and Moussa (2), they enjoya fabulous vacation in Houla,Lebanon every June and July.Bana Kalash Kobrosly (BS’95) is the country managerof Boecker Public Health,Lebanon. She is a certifiedtrainer from the CharteredInstitute of EnvironmentalHealth, UK, and a holder of anadvanceddiploma infood safetymanagementfrom theRoyal Society of Public Health,UK. Kobrosly is currently thepresident of the Rotary Clubof Saida where she and herhusband Mahmoud Kobroslyreside with their two children.[Banakk(at)hotmail.com]Ramez Wazzeh (DIPLM ’95)After earning his diploma,Wazzeh joined the RadiologyDepartment at AUBMC wherehe is a picture archiving andcommunicationssystemscoordinator.Heand hiswife Suzanne Harb live inBeirut and have three childrenLouna, Jouanna, andAbdallah-Omar. [rw03(at)aub.edu.lb]Sami Lahoud (MMB ’96) hasbeen appointed vice presidentof communications forthe Middle East and Africaat MasterCard. Previously,Lahoud worked for Barclayswhere he established thecorporate affairs function forthe emerging markets regionand for leading communicationsconsultancies such asWeber Shandwick and Hill &Knowlton. He was also thebusiness editor of Al IktissadWal Aamal magazine, a leadingpan Arab business publication.He is based in Dubai.(Continued on p. 60)SIBLINGSSPOUSESGhaleb Hasan Daouk (MD '84)Rima Kaddurah-Daouk (BS '78, MS '80, PhD '83)Daouk is director of Extramural Clinical Services at the Childrens Hospital of Boston and assistantprofessor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School. He earned his BS magna cum laude at SyracuseUniversity and an MS in management of technology at MIT Sloan School of Management. Formerlya clinical director of pediatric nephrology at Massachusetts General Hospital, Daouk served on theAANA Board of Directors in the 1990s and currently serves on the Board of Visitors of his almamater, Syracuse University. Kaddurah-Daouk is an associate professor in psychiatry and behavioralsciences and an adjunct associate professor in molecular psychology at Duke University Schoolof Medicine. She is a pioneer in the field of metabolomics and has founded several biotechnologystartups, the latest of which is Metabolon, Inc., one of the field's leading biotechnology companies.Kaddurah-Daouk is the founder and immediate past president of the International Society of Metabolomics. She is the former presidentof the AUB New England Alumni Chapter. The couple has a son and a daughter and live in the Boston area.How did you meet?Rima was a biochemistry graduate student at AUBFM working inthe same department where Ghaleb was conducting research asa medical student. Fate brought us to share scarce resources,and conflicts led to friendship and the rest is history.How did you know s/he was the one?Initially I knew that she was not the one, but Rima knew otherwise.We each went our separate ways for post-doctoral trainingin the United States. A brief encounter at JFK [airport in NewYork] made me realize that Rima really was the one. It was ameeting of the minds and the hearts.Do you think you've influenced one another in terms ofyour work?Absolutely. That was the basis of our lifelong collaboration leadingto the formation of our first biotechnology startup, whichwe think of as our third child. Work was really our nourishmentand special treat often discussed at the dinner table and amongfriends.Who or what were your main influences as students atAUB?Our professors, mostly Rima's mentor, the late ProfessorUsama Al-Khalidi (BA ’51, MS ’54); Ibrahim Salti (BS ’59, MD’63), Adel Afifi (BA ’51, MD ’57), Adnan Mroueh (BS ’57, MD’61), Jean Rebeiz (BS ’58, MD ’62); residents, some of whomare Kamal Badr (BS ’76, MD ’80), Nakhle Tarazi (BS '73, MD'79); our friends whom we shared in common, such as Drs. TalalChatila (BS ’79, MS ’81, MD ’84), Iman Nuwayhid (BS ’80,MD ’84), Salah Shorbaji (BS ’79, MS ’81, MD ’84), GhassanBaasiri (BS ’73, MD ’79), and many other friends and teachersat AUB—too numerous to count.www.aub.edu.lb/maingate | MainGate Fall 201257

Beyond Bliss Streetc l a s s n o t e sSIBLINGSSPOUSESMohamed H. Sayegh (BS ’80, MD ’84)Samia J. Khoury (BS ’80, MD ’84)Mohamed H. Sayegh (BS’80, MD ’84) and his wifeSamia J. Khoury(BS ’80,MD ’84) are back on the campuswhere they met more than25 years ago. In 2009, Sayeghwas appointed vice presidentfor medical affairs and Raja N.Khuri dean of the Faculty ofMedicine. Khoury has recentlyjoined her husband in Beirut tohead AUB’s Multiple SclerosisCenter and the Abu-HaidarNeuroscience Institute. Bothcome from Harvard MedicalSchool, where he was professorof medicine and pediatricsand director of the SchusterFamily TransplantationResearch Center; she wasprofessor of neurology andcodirector of the Partner'sMultiple Sclerosis Center. Theyboth held endowed chairs atHarvard Medical School.How did you meet?Samia: We met in pre-med but started interactingafter the first year of medical school whenwe worked together with two other students ona summer research project in public health. Wehad very intense intellectual discussions at thetime and developed a great respect for eachother's intellect.Mohamed: We met in 1980 at AUB MedicalSchool when we were first-year students.How did you know s/he was the one?Samia: We faced a lot of family pressurebecause of our different religious backgroundsyet in spite of everything we felt that webelonged together.Mohamed: I knew she was the one after I sawher eyes.Do you think you’ve influenced one anotherin terms of your work? Who or what wereyour main influences as students at AUB?Samia: We are both competitive and we playfullyegged one another on professionally, butwe also helped each other by exchangingideas, working collaboratively, and reading andcriticizing each other's grants and manuscripts.I think we have synergy at work. I am sure that Iwould not have been able to achieve what I haveachieved professionally without Mo's support.At AUB, we had several wonderful teachersand clinicians. The ones who influenced methe most were Dr. Adel Afifi (BA ’51, MD ’57)and the late Dr. Khalil Abou Faisal.Mohamed: I can definitely say she has hada huge influence on my career starting whenwe were medical students. This has continuedthroughout my career. We, in fact, were collaboratorson various research projects, publishedtogether, and even had NIH grants together.She is the smart one in the family for sure.How does it feel to be back? Do you havea sense of renewal both personally andprofessionally?Samia: Being back at AUB feels like cominghome… in some ways it feels as if we never left.It is wonderful to be able to share in this specialtime of revival for the medical center, whereI feel that everything is possible and where Ican contribute to the positive changes that arehappening.Mohamed: Absolutely. We were both veryhesitant and skeptical for many reasons relatedto the institution and the country. But now weknow we made the right decision. AUBMCand the Faculty of Medicine are undergoing atransformational change and we are happy andproud to be part of it.We know you're onFacebook, LinkedIn, andSkype...Share your Facebook, LinkedIn, and Skype account detailswith us so we can send you the latest news from AUB andkeep you in touch with your fellow alumni.Send your Facebook username, LinkedIn profile URL, andSkype username to alumnisocialmedia@aub.edu.lb58 MainGate Fall 2012 | www.aub.edu.lb/maingate

Beyond Bliss Streetc l a s s n o t e sSIBLINGSAli Abu-Alfa (BS ’85, MD’85) is a professor of medicineand head of the Division ofNephrology and Hypertensionat AUB. Ali also holds anadjunct faculty position at YaleUniversity.Amer Abu Alfa (BS ’85, MD’89) is the executive medicaldirector of GastrointestinalPathology at Dianon Systemsin Shelton, Connecticut.Ghassan Abou-Alfa (BS’88, MD ’92) is an associateprofessor of medicine,Section of GastrointestinalOncology at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center(MSKCC) and the WeillMedical College at CornellUniversity in New York City.SPOUSESWhat prompted all three of you to becomemedical doctors? Were your parents orother close relatives in the health careprofession?Our mother’s dream was that the three of uswould follow in her late father’s footsteps. Hewas a successful physician who died relativelyyoung and she never got to know him.She hoped to uphold his legacy through herchildren. Our grandfather’s dedication to medicine,our parents’ determination, and our ownscientific curiosity combined to make choosingthe medical profession a fait accompli for allthree of us.How did each of you decide on yourspecialization? Who were your AUBmentors?Ali was encouraged by the late Dean RajaKhuri (BS ’55, MD ’59), a renal physiologistand nephrologist who had spent timeat Yale, and his wife Dr. Sumayya MakdisiKhuri (BS ’60), a mathematician, to pursuehis love of mathematics as an undergraduatemajor and enter medical school later. Thiswas a first for AUB students back in 1979.He decided on nephrology upon meeting Dr.Edmond Shuwayri (BA ’42, MD ’46), a truerole model, a mentor to many and for whomAli holds immense admiration and gratitude.Dr. Shuwayri recognized Ali’s analytical mindand unequivocal attention to details. Thus, Ali’scareer started at Yale and came back full circleto AUB as division head, and as director forthe Human Research Protection Program; andthe Clinical Research Institute at the FM. Todayhe continues Dr. Shuwayri’s mission, strivingfor humanism and excellence in patient care,education, and innovation.Amer was influenced by the late Dr.Amjad Mufarrij (BS ’72, MD ’76) who oncetold him that the pathologist is the patient’sadvocate. He finds pathology a fascinatingfield that in essence tries to answer why andhow a disease affects a particular patient at thecellular and molecular levels. For Amer, tissueon a glass slide belongs to an anxious patientAli Abu-Alfa (BS '85, MD '85) *Amer Abu Alfa (BS '85, MD '89)Ghassan Abou-Alfa (BS '88, MD '92)wondering what went wrong and how to getbetter. He completed his fellowship in gastrointestinalpathology at Yale University wherehe subsequently served as a faculty memberbefore joining Dianon Systems.Ghassan’s interest in genetics and molecularbiology led him to a career in medicaloncology and hematology with a specializedinterest in gastrointestinal malignancies. Hewas mentored by Dr. Ziad Salem (BS ’69, MD’73), a great teacher whom Ghassan describesas a careful listener allowing students to discoverthings for themselves. After completing histraining at Yale, Ghassan joined MSKCC wherehe focuses his research on gastrointestinal cancerand primary liver and biliary cancers. Witha gift from Mamdouha Bobst and the BobstFoundation, he helped establish a generouslyendowed fund to support an array of sharededucational activities in oncology between AUBand MSKCC.Do you have any special memories of yourtime together at AUB?Actually, the three of us never studied togetheron campus, but we all have shared memoriesof our life on campus, which was and remainsa peaceful island that provided much reprievefrom outside strife. We were, however, alltogether at Yale during our postgraduate training.This created a short-lived confusion until itwas clear that there were actually three Abu-Alfas on campus. Amer may have been calledto dialyze a patient, Ghassan to review slides,and Ali to write chemotherapy orders.Wherever we are, and whatever we do,we always feel grateful for our parents’ dedicationand love, for our rich heritage, and for ouralma mater.It may have been confusing at times forprofessors to figure out who among the Abu-Alfasthey were dealing with, but we all managed tocarve out our own professional identity thanks toAUB mentors.* In the 1980s AUB had a program that allowed studentsto simultaneously earn a BS and an MD.www.aub.edu.lb/maingate | MainGate Fall 201259

Beyond Bliss Streetc l a s s n o t e sMohamed Ali Hodeib(BS ’97)Riham Sanjakdar(BS ’96, MPH ’98)Mohamed Ali Hodeib (BS’97) is the managing directorof Sukleen/Sukomi inBeirut. He earned an MBAfrom Ecole Supérieure desAffaires in 2005 and attendedthe International ExecutiveProgramme at INSEAD in2008. Hodeib believes thatFHS provided him with threeessentials for a good startto any career in health orenvironmental sciences: anexcellent educational foundation,exposure, and communityinvolvement. His wife,Riham Sanjakdar (BS ’96,MPH ’98), agrees. She nowheads the President’s Officeat Hôtel-Dieu de FranceHospital. Hodeib’s four sistersalso attended AUB: ZeinabSami Houdeib (BS ’90, TD’06), Amal Sami Houdeib(BBA ’92), Aya Sami Hodeib(BBA ’98), and Heba SamiHodeib (BA ’02, MA ’10).Hodeib and Sanjakdar havetwo children: Sami (7) andMaher (4). They live in Beirut.[mohamedali(at)hodeib.com]Silva Dakessian Sailian (BS’96, MPH ’00) writes, “I amcurrently an instructor teachingnursing theory and practicumin the Nursing Program ofthe Faculty of Health Sciencesat [the] University of Balamand.I strive to uphold the image ofnursing and plant the seeds ofprofessionalism in my students.I am married to JohnnySailian and I have beautifultwin girls. AUB gave me highstandards for excellence ineducation and service.”2000sWissam Abbas (BEN ’00) is ageneral manager at Future PipeIndustries in Houston, Texas.Rihaf Yazbek (BS ’02, MPH’05) is a certified quality reviewLayal Mohtar (BS ’08, MPH ’10)Tarek Abou Hamdan (BS ’02, MD ’06)analyst at AUBMC. In 2005she earned her MPH with aconcentration in health managementand policy. Yazbekand her spouse Ali El Hage(MEN ’12) have two childrenYara (4) and Ahmad (1). Theylive in Beirut. [ry03(at)aub.edu.lb)Mohammad Baydoun (MUD’05) is a project manager atMillennium DevelopmentInternational. In 2009 heearned anE M B Afrom theLebaneseAmericanUniversityand, in 2012, he earned a doctoratein business administrationfrom Grenoble Ecole deManagement. Baydoun and hiswife Ghinwa Bawwab have twochildren and live in Beirut.[mbaydoun1(at)gmail.com]Layal Mohtar (BS ’08, MPH ’10) is a quality review analyst atAUBMC. In 2010, she earned her MPH in health management andpolicy. Mohtar met her husband, Tarek Abou Hamdan (BS ’02,MD ’06), at College Hall on October 10, 2007. They live with theirsix-month old baby, Imad Abou Hamdan, in Khaldeh, Lebanon.Mireille Daoud (BA ’07,MA ’10)graduatedwith a BAin publicadministrationinFebruary 2007 and then joinedthe Office of UniversityAdvancement as a gifts coordinatorwhile pursuing a master’sdegree. In August 2012,she was promoted to the postof stewardship coordinator inAdvancement. She writes,“Through the Work StudyProgram I became a studentassistant in Human Resources.After graduating, I became afull-time employee. AUB issuch a wonderful and uniqueexperience. It has provided mewith a strong foundation for myacademic, personal, and professionalgrowth… I will alwaysbe AUB and PROUD TO BE!”[mmd_pa(at)hotmail.com]Elias Ghanem (BBA ’10) is amergers and acquisitions analystat GulfMerger. Upon graduation,he joined Ernst & Young,where he providedauditing servicesforfinancial institutionsincluding oneof Lebanon'stop banks. Ghanem is currentlya member of the WAAAUBCouncil and the LebanonChapter. He has successfullycompleted the Level I examinationof the CFA® Program andis currently a Level II candidate.He lives in Beirut.SIBLINGSSPOUSES60 MainGate Fall 2012 | www.aub.edu.lb/maingate

Beyond Bliss Streetc l a s s n o t e sRECENTLYHONOREDNuhad Daghir (BS ’57),FAFS dean emeritus, hasbeen inducted into theInternational Poultry Hall ofFame, which is the highesthonor that the World PoultryScience Association (WPSA)bestows. The induction ceremonywas held in Salvador,Brazil during the 24th WorldPoultry Congress last August.Daghir is the first Arab toreceive this distinction. TheWPSA has branches in 90countries on five continentswith a total membership of8,000. In 1963, Daghir helpedestablish the Lebanesebranch of the WPSA andserved as its president from1963 to 1984. The plaquethat Daghir received from thepresident of the association,Robert Pym, PhD, reads, “Inrecognition of dedicated contributionsto Poultry Sciences,and the world-wide poultryindustries, above and beyondthe call of duty.”After earning an MSand a PhD from Iowa StateUniversity in 1959 and 1962respectively, Daghir returnedto AUB and became a fullprofessor in 1975. In 1996,he was appointed dean ofthe Faculty of Agricultural andFood Sciences and served inthat capacity until 2006 whenhe became AUB’s only deanemeritus.Daghir’s eminence in hisfield made him an inevitablechoice for membership in severalimportant committees. Heserved for many years as thesole Middle East representativefor the Animal NutritionCommittee of the InternationalUnion of Nutrition Sciencesand chairman of its subcommitteeon Poultry Nutrition. Hewas also the only Middle Eastrepresentative on the StandingCommittee on NutrientRequirements of the WorldPoultry Science Association.He helped establish theLebanese Nutrition Society in1970 and served as its presidentuntil 1975 when the civilwar broke out in Lebanon.Daghir has publishedextensively and his scientifictexts are classics in the field.He has led seminal projects inpoultry production and animalnutrition from Saudi Arabia toCanada. He was selected bythe International BiographicalCenter in Cambridge, Englandas one of the 2,000 outstandingpeople of the 20th centuryand by the AmericanBiographical Institute asan honorary member of itsresearch board of advisers.Daghir’s resume has appearedin Who’s Who in Lebanon,Who’s Who in the Arab World,and Who’s Who in the World.For more on DeanDaghir, see MainGate’s“Reflections” interview, Spring2008 Vol. VI, No. 3.Kevork Karajerjian (BAR’58) has received the 2012Ellis Island Medal of Honor,an award that recognizesimmigrants who have madeoutstanding contributions tothe United States. Since the1960s, Karajerjian has beeninvolved in the building andrestoration of landmark buildingsand community centersin Lebanon and Los Angeles,California where he currentlyresides. Shortly afterhis graduation from AUB,Karajerjian helped build theShell Building, the first highriseto be constructed on theMediterranean coast in Beirut.For his renovation of theCatholicosate of Cilicia inAntelias, Lebanon in the 1960s,he was given the honorary titleof “National Architect” by HisHoliness Catholicos Khoren I.Rebuilding Los Angelesafter the 1994 earthquakeand providing extraordinaryleadership in other large scaledevelopment projects broughtKarajerjian commendationsfrom the mayor of LosAngeles, the governor ofCalifornia, and the presidentof the United States, as wellas a US Congressional Medalof Honor. Throughout his lifehe has served on the boardsof cultural, architectural, educational,and social institutions.A devoted family mandedicated to preservingArmenian values andLebanese traditions,Karajerjian is married to SatoYerevanian, a renowned artistand a certified interior designer.The couple has threegrown children.George Kyrala (BS ’67) of LosAlamos National Laboratory isamong a team of researchershonored with the 2012 JohnDawson Award for Excellencein Plasma Physics Researchfor its work on a far-reachingdiscovery about laser-matterinteraction. Established by theAmerican Physical Society(APS), the Dawson Awardwas bestowed officially at theannual meeting of the APSDivision of Plasma Physics inProvidence, Rhode Island lastOctober. The citation reads“For predicting and demonstratingthe technique of laserscatter on self-generatedplasma-optics gratings thatenables generation and redirectionof high-energy laserbeams important for indirectdrive inertial confinementfusion and high-power lasermatterinteractions.”Leila Fawaz (BA ’67, MA’68) has been named a chevalierin the French NationalOrder of the Legion of Honorwww.aub.edu.lb/maingate | MainGate Fall 201261

Beyond Bliss Streetc l a s s n o t e sin recognition of her “exemplarypersonal commitmentto French-American relations.”She is the Issam M.Fares Professor of Lebaneseand Eastern MediterraneanStudies and was the foundingdirector of the Fares Centerfor Eastern MediterraneanStudies at Tufts University.Fawaz served on the governingboards of HarvardUniversity as an overseerbetween 1996 and 2012and was elected presidentof the Board of Overseers for2011-12. A Carnegie Scholar(2008-10), she also servedon the Advisory Board of theCouncil for the InternationalExchange of Scholars(CIES) and chaired the CIESFulbright Review Committee.She spent time in France asa visiting professor at theUniversité de Provence and atl’École des Hautes Études enScience Politiques et Socialesin Paris. She also servedon the steering committeeof the European ScienceFoundation in Strasbourg,France for the Individual andSociety in the MediterraneanMuslim World program (1994-99) and was a member ofthat organization’s planningcommittee (1993) and publicationscommittee (1996-99). Currently she serves onthe Comité Scientifique de laMaison Méditerranéenne desSciences de l’Homme at theUniversité d’Aix-Marseille inFrance. A former presidentof the Middle East StudiesAssociation of North America,she has served as editor ofthe International Journal ofMiddle East Studies (IJMES)and in editorial board positionswith the AmericanHistorical Review, IJMES, theBritish Middle East StudiesAssociation Review, andother publications.Zaha Hadid (former student1968-69), the architect of theIssam Fares Institute’s newbuilding, was recently awardedthe title Dame Commanderof the Order of the BritishEmpire (DBE).Lina J. Karam (BEN ’89) hasreceived the 2012 IntelOutstanding ResearcherAward in High VolumeManufacturing. She earnedMS and PhD degrees in electricalengineering from theGeorgia Institute ofTechnology in 1992 and 1995respectively. Karam is currentlya professor at ArizonaState University where shealso serves as the director oftheir Image, Video, andUsability, the Multi-Dimensional DSP, and theReal-Time Embedded SignalProcessing Labs. She wasthe technical program chairof the 2009 Institute ofElectrical and ElectronicsEngineers (IEEE) InternationalConference on ImageProcessing, an associate editorof the IEEE Transactionson Image Processing, andthe lead guest editor for thespecial issue,"Visual QualityAssessment" of the IEEEJournal on Selected Topics inSignal Processing. Karamserves on the technical committeesof IEEE conferences,including InternationalConference on Acoustics,Speech and Signal Processing(ICASSP), InternationalConference on ImageProcessing (ICIP), InternationalSymposium on Circuits andSystems (ISCAS), andAsilomar. She is the recipientof a National ScienceFoundation CAREER Award.This comes to us from proudfather Zaki Marashli (BEN’74): Wael El Maraachli (BS’98, MD ’02) received anaward for outstanding overallperformance and dedicationto patient care and the practiceof medicine during hisfellowship at the University ofCalifornia, San Diego.PUBLISHEDAND PRODUCEDSalah D. Salman (BS ’57, MD’61) Scrubbed Out: Revivingthe Doctor's Role in PatientCare. He writes, "When I comparemodern medicine with thetraditional Hippocratic medicinepracticed not too long ago, Ifeel a consuming anguish thatdrives me to speak for patientsand the medical professionitself. The patient and the doctorhave both become sidelined.The sacred trust of caringfor health has fallen into ruin,replaced by corporations andbureaucracies that are blind toall but profit. Instead of resisting,the medical profession and itsleaderships have unfortunatelyaccepted their new fate passively.I have written ScrubbedOut with the fervent hope ofmotivating the medical professionto re-assume the healthcare driver's seat and put carefor patients and respect for thepractice of medicine in theirrightful place."After graduating fromAUB as a Penrose Scholar,Salman completed his trainingin otolaryngology at AUBMCand Johns Hopkins. In 1968,he returned to AUB to starthis chosen career in academicmedicine. He climbed theacademic ladder to becomethe professor and chair-62 MainGate Fall 2012 | www.aub.edu.lb/maingate

Beyond Bliss Streetc l a s s n o t e sman of AUB’s Department ofOtolaryngology.In 1986, the Lebanesewar drove him and his family tomove to Boston, Massachusettsto continue an academic career.He became a surgeon at theprestigious Massachusetts Eyeand Ear Infirmary, the foundingdirector of its Sinus Center,and a lecturer at the HarvardMedical School.Salman has publishedtwo textbooks, An Atlas of theNasopharynx and An Atlas ofDiagnostic Nasal Endoscopy,chapters in textbooks, andnumerous articles.In 1972, he was theLebanese minister of publichealth, and from 1976-79he served as minister of theinterior and minister of housingand cooperatives. Heis a member of the AlphaOmega Alpha Honor MedicalSociety. In 2010, he retired andreturned to live in Beirut. [http://scrubbedoutdoctors.com/]Arda Arsenian Ekmekji (BA’71, MA ’74) has annotatedand translated from Armenianto English the memoirs of hergrandfather, Hagop Arsenian,who was a pharmacist andsurvivor of the Armenian genocideof 1915. Arsenian documentedhis early life in thesuburbs of Constantinople, hisfamily’s eventual deportation toAleppo, Syria, and his life inPalestine from 1919 until 1940.Ekmekji is dean of artsand sciences at HaigazianUniversity. After earning hermaster’s in ancient history atAUB, she received her doctoratein archaeology from theUniversity of Paris. Ekmekjiis the daughter of NoubarArsenian (PhC ’35), the wifeof Jacques Ekmekji (BEN’71), and mother of KarmaEkmekji (BS ’04).Towards Golgotha, publishedby Haigazian UniversityPress, is available in bookstoresthroughout Lebanon, at amazon.com,and the ArmenianMissionary Association,[amaa@amaa.org] A descriptionof the book can be foundat [amaa(at)amaa.org]Nidal Mawas (BA ’09, MA’12) is AUB’s web editor.His first book, Israel andthe United Nations: 1949-1955 has just been publishedby Lambert AcademicPublishing. Mawas arguesthat since its inception asa state, Israel has beennoncompliant with UnitedNations resolutions anddemands. The book can bepurchased at https://www.morebooks.de.Partnershipsfor AUBThe Samir Zaabri Endocrinology Laboratory at the AUB Medical Center“I promised Dr. Salti that I would donate a laboratory for diabetes in his honor. Please make sure you transfer the fundsthis week.” This was my father’s last wish on March 21, 2011, just hours before he went into a deep coma.My father, the late Samir Ahmad Zaabri (BAA ’70), always believed that the success he had achieved in lifewas due to the skills and experiences he acquired at AUB. He always said that it is only after we grow up that webegin to realize the important role our education plays in our day-to-day life. He valued not only the education heacquired, but also the opportunity to participate in student activities—and even more the lifelong friendships heforged during those years.My father established the Samir Ahmad Zaabri Current and Endowed Scholarship in 1991 because he wasalways happy to support students at AUB. One of his proudest moments was the inauguration of the Samir ZaabriScience Lecture Hall that we celebrated together in February 2011. During his speech at the ceremony he said, “Whatwe give to our university is not a contribution, but a duty and an expression of gratitude.” The Science Lecture Hall wasthe duty and expression of gratitude that my father felt to AUB. The Samir Zaabri Endocrinology Laboratory is the greatestgift I could give to my late father and to AUB.Ahmad Zaabri (BA ’00)Abu DhabiGiving makes a difference.Contact giving@aub.edu.lb to learn more.www.aub.edu.lb/maingate | MainGate Fall 2012give.aub.edu63

Beyond Bliss Streetc l a s s n o t e sIs there an oversupply of physiciansin Lebanon? Accordingto the latest Kaiser FamilyFoundation global health data,Lebanon has 35 doctors forevery 10,000 people; theUnited States has 24.Lebanon also has morehospital beds per capita thanthe United States. It hasfavorable rates of childhoodimmunization and much lowerrates of obesity. Yet it appearsthat having more doctorsand hospitals may not leadto better health outcomes.Lebanese infant mortality ismore than twice that in theUnited States, and life expectancyis more on a par withTurkey’s than with America’s.Lebanon does not lackhigh quality medical education.The small nation has sevenaccredited medical schools—the oldest and largest beingthe Faculty of Medicine atAUB, which has graduatedmore than 4,200 doctors sinceits founding in 1867, shortlyafter the founding of theUniversity itself.Yet, according to Dr.Alexander Geha (BS ’55, MD’59), a Lebanese-AmericanMedicallySpeakingcardiothoracic surgeon andtrustee emeritus of AUB,“Medical practice is very competitivein Lebanon. In additionto our Lebanese medicalschools, many people alsostudy in Eastern Europe, sothere are a large number ofpeople with medical degrees.The oversupply of physiciansrequires young doctors to betruly outstanding in order tosucceed. Some of our bestgraduates look at this situationand decide to leave the countryto pursue further training.Many do not return.”Dr. Geha’s long and successfulcareer in the UnitedStates is a case in point. Afterreceiving an MD in 1959, heremained in Beirut as a surgicalresident at the AUB MedicalCenter (AUBMC), becomingchief resident in surgeryin 1962. At that time—andas they do today—AUB studentsreceived an Americanstylemedical education, withmany members of the facultyhaving close ties with leadingAmerican institutions.In the 1960s, young Dr.Geha enjoyed internationalmobility within the medicalprofession largely because,from 1957 until 1988, the AUBMedical School was a memberof the Association of AmericanMedical Colleges. It wasalso accredited for nearly 20years by the US-based JointCommission on Accreditationof Healthcare Organizations(JCAHO)—a rare privilegefor a medical school outsidethe United States—one thatthat ended in 1983, when theLebanese civil war preventedregular site visits by membersof the commission.64 MainGate Fall 2012 | www.aub.edu.lb/maingate

Beyond Bliss Streetc l a s s n o t e sDr. Geha continuedhis education at the famedMayo Clinic in Rochester,Minnesota, where he servedas a resident and researchfellow from 1963 to 1967. Hewent on to teach at medicalschools in Vermont, Missouri,and Connecticut, where herose to chief of section in cardiothoracicsurgery at the YaleUniversity School of Medicine.Leaving Yale in 1986,Geha served for more thana decade as the AnkeneyProfessor and director of thedivision of cardiothoracic surgeryat Case Western ReserveUniversity School of Medicine inCleveland, capping his careerwith eight more years as chiefof cardiothoracic surgery at theUniversity of Illinois–ChicagoSchool of Medicine, where heis now professor emeritus.Married in 1967, he andhis wife, Diane, have threedaughters—two of them physiciansand the third a lawyer.Dr. and Mrs. Geha now live inRancho Santa Fe, California,where he teaches part-timeat the University of California–San Diego Medical Center.Dr. Geha reached the pinnacleof professional success inthe United States. He becamean American citizen and raisedan American family, yet like millionsin the Lebanese Diaspora,he also retained close ties to hishomeland. His parents neverleft Lebanon, and both his sisterSamia and her husband, Dr.Usama Khalidi, taught at AUBuntil the civil war promptedthem to move to Bahrain. Thewar also caused his brother,Raif S. Geha (BS '65, MD'69), who joined the AUB facultyin January 1974, to leavefor Harvard Medical Schooland Boston Children's Hospitalin 1976. Today he is theJames L. Gamble Professor ofPediatrics at Harvard MedicalSchool and chief of the Divisionof Immunology at BostonChildren's Hospital.The Lebanese diasporais also referred to as “GreaterLebanon.” According to theUnited States Committee for aFree Lebanon, there are morethan 12 million Lebanese andtheir descendants living outsidethe country—includingtwo and a half million in NorthAmerica and eight and a halfmillion in Latin America and theCaribbean—all from a nationwith a current population of alittle over four million. GreaterLebanon is a formidable engineof influence and economicsupport for the home country—largelythrough remittances,variously estimated atbetween $500 and $1,500 perLebanese citizen each year,plus other forms of financial,political, social, cultural, andreligious involvement.“Lebanese migrants havemaintained pulsating networkswith each other and with theirhomeland,” writes scholar GuitaHourani. “Their memory andvision of the homeland, furtherstirred by visits or news, andtheir commitment to restoringLebanon to its old glory, hasdriven them to maintain andnurture a continuing relationshipwith the homeland.”Except at the height ofthe war, Geha visited Beirut atleast twice a year, sometimeslecturing on cardiothoracic surgeryat the medical school. Hedeepened his ties to AUB asa representative of the NorthAmerican Alumni Associationon the Board’s Academic Affairsand Health and Hospital committees,becoming a full memberof the Board in 2005, andemeritus in 2012. Among hisfamily’s philanthropic contributionsare an endowed lectureshipfund in Dr. Geha’s nameand support for the educationof children in the Palestinianrefugee camps in Beirut.Medical education—andespecially surgical procedures—haschanged radicallysince Geha attended medicalschool more than 50 years ago,yet as a teacher as well as a clinician,he has seen generationsof students and doctors adaptto each advance. “The greatestchange,” he observes, “hasbeen the decline in highly invasivesurgeries and the resultingreduction in surgical trauma.Instead of surgeons lookingdown into an open surgicalfield, they are now operatinglooking up at monitors whilespecialized instruments do theirwork through small incisions.Even some heart and lungsurgeries are being conductedusing these ‘scopes.’”Geha says that AUB’smedical educators are keepingup with their Americancounterparts. When Gehaattended, he was taughtlargely by American-born professors;now, he says, moremembers of the faculty arenative-born Lebanese. Mostof them have received sometraining in the United States.With the end of theUS-based Joint CommissionAccreditation, the path toadvanced training in Americanteaching hospitals became lessautomatic. But, Geha says,those pulsating networks of thediaspora are still doing the job:“We try to help AUB studentsfind further training or residenciesin academic medical centersin the United States.”In 2007, AUBMC gainedaccreditation by the JointCommission International—anarm of the US commission.Geha is not optimistic that theschool’s clinical programs willregain their former direct pipelineto American hospital residencies.International competitionfor such accreditationis very fierce, and the USJoint Commission occupiesitself largely with US-basedprograms.With the country andAUBMC looking forward again,the medical school and hospitalcomplex are being remadeunder the 2020 vision, whicharticulates—and has alreadyimplemented—parts of sixpaths toward becoming “theleading academic medicalcenter in Lebanon and theregion by delivering excellencein patient-centered care, outstandingeducation, and innovativeresearch.” In addition toexpansion and improvement offacilities and technology, oneof these paths is to reverse the“brain drain” of highly talentedphysicians and teachers.Dr. Geha puts it this way:“The country needs talent andthese young people have tremendouspotential. We needto harness that to further theireducational standard. Superbtalent needs to be nurtured—and there needs to be a politicaland economic climate tocome back to, to serve thecountry in return.”—J.L.www.aub.edu.lb/maingate | MainGate Fall 201265

ALUMNIMunir T. Jabbur (BS ’48, MD’52) Born in Yabroud, Syria in1925, Jabbur passed awayat his residence in Albany,New York last May. Heserved his orthopedic residencyat the Albany MedicalCenter and at the Children’sMedical Center in Boston.From 1959 to 1962 he ranthe Danish Mission Hospitalin Nebek, Syria. He thenreturned to Albany to start aprivate orthopedic practiceand retired in 2004. A truepioneer in his field, Jabburwas the first orthopedic surgeonin upstate New York tosuccessfully perform totaljoint replacement. In 2002,he was honored by theMedical Society of New YorkState for 50 years of devotedservice to the public inthe practice of medicine. Heis survived by his wife EllenMouritsen Jabbur, hisdaughters Norma and Rima,and Rima’s husband WadihMacksoud (MD ’80); twosisters, Munira Jabbour andHuda Jabbur Baird (formertry industries. In 1962,Nasrallah was instrumentalin founding the Lebanesebranch of the World PoultrySciences Association andserved as its president inl964. He also founded theSyndicate of Chemists inLebanon. Returning toBeirut after his studies in theUnited States, Nasrallahjoined Imperial ChemicalIndustries (ICI) where hewas the technical sourceengineer for Lebanon, Syria,and Jordan.Throughout this period,he maintained a small poultryfarm in the Beqa’a, whichhelped him realize that poultrywas his first love. Hethen resigned from ICI andwith two partners from hisbirthplace of Zahleh, starteda poultry business calledUnited Foods (Unifood) withthe produce brand nameof Lipoul. During Lebanon’scivil war the business wasdestroyed, rebuilt, anddestroyed again, along withhis family home in Ras Beirut.Undaunted by thesesetbacks, Nasrallah joinedwith his lifelong friend fromZahleh, Moussa Freiji (BS’57), and established WadiPoultry in Egypt. Nasrallahmanaged the new companyfor ten years assisted by hisson Ramzi and Tony Freiji(BS ’81), Moussa’s youngerbrother. This new venturegrew to become one ofEgypt’s biggest enterprises,expanding into a widearray of agricultural produceand products. In retirementNasrallah published volstudent’54); and two brothers,Samir Jabbur (BBP’60) and Munther Jabbur(BS ’68).Sami Makarem (BA ’54, MA’57) Born in Aitat (Aley) in1931, Makarem passedaway on August 21 followinga sudden illness. In 1963, heearned his doctorate at theUniversity of Michigan inMiddle Eastern studies with aspecialization in Islamic Batinistudies. A renowned Arabicand Islamic scholar, a calligraphyexpert, and a longtimeprofessor at AUB, Makaremtaught part-time until hisdeath. The son of SheikhNassib Makarem, the mostcelebrated Arab calligrapherof his generation, Makaremwas a respected scholar ofmysticism. During his years atAUB, he twice held the positionof chair of the Departmentof Arabic Literature and NearEastern Languages (1975-78and 1993-96) and alsoserved as director of theUniversity’s Center for Araband Middle Eastern Studies(1975-78). Makarem was amember of the Board ofRegents of the LebaneseFoundation for PermanentPeace, secretary general ofthe Druze Council forResearch and Development,and head of the Departmentof Scientific Studies andResearch at the DruzeHeritage Foundation. Duringhis career, he receivedawards and honors from thecity of Houston, Texas; theLion’s Club; the Union of ArabHistorians; the LebaneseMinistry of Culture; and theAntelias Cultural Movement,among others. He is survivedby his wife, Leila AdelMakarem; daughters Saharand Rand Sami MakaremKaedbey (BA ’86); andsons, Nassib (former student)and Samir.Philip Nasrallah (BA ’46)passed away on June 8.After graduating from AUB,he joined the CaliforniaPolytechnic Institute tostudy poultry sciencesbefore entering StanfordUniversity, where he specializedin chemistry. He haddistinguished careers inboth the chemical and poul-66 MainGate Fall 2012 | www.aub.edu.lb/maingate

umes of Zajaliyat (popularArabic poetry) about his life,his family, and his friends.He is survived by his wifeEmily Nasrallah, a renownednovelist and writer, and fourchildren: Ramzi; Khalil (BS’86); Maha (BAR ’83), anarchitect at FEA; and Mona(MD ’95), an endocrinologistat AUBMC.Elie Ibrahim Moussalli (BS’69, MS ’72) was born inBeirut in 1947 and passedaway on September 3 inOttawa, Canada.He taught biology atInternational College beforemoving to North America todo graduate studies at theUniversity of California, SanDiego, and the University ofBritish Columbia. An oceanographyand fisheries expert,he worked for many prestigiousinternational organizationsincluding the FoodAgricultural Organization ofthe UN, the UN DevelopmentProgramme, and the WorldBank. In the midst of adecade long battle with prostatecancer and myeloma, heundertook on-site projects inYemen and Egypt.An active member ofWAAAUB’s Ottawa Chapter,Moussalli served as its secretaryand president in theearly 2000s. He also servedon AANA’s board of directorsand as founding editorof the WAAAUB e-newsletterAl Jame’a.Moussalli leaves behindmany close friends in the AUBcommunity who rememberhim as a true citizen of theworld and as a gentle soulwith a talent for explainingany subject no matter howserious, funny, sad, scientific,simple, or complicated.He was known as someonewho pursued his passions,supported worthy causes,and wholeheartedly loved hisbeautiful wife Kathleen Dayand talented daughter RimaElizabeth, who survive him.He will be missed.Edwin Bell Hanna (MA ’81)Born in Staunton, Virginia,Hanna passed awayon July 26 at the age of85 in a nursing home inAlabama. An advocate forpeace and social justice,Reverend Hanna servedthe Presbyterian Church(USA) for nearly 35 yearsand worked as a missionaryin Lebanon during thecivil war with the NationalEvangelical Synod of Syriaand Lebanon. After hisreturn to the United Statesin 1985, he served as a pastorin Kentucky. Throughouthis ministry he was joinedby his wife, the late ArpinéYenovkian Hanna from Acre,Palestine.Hanna was a graduateof Miami Universityin Ohio and held graduatedegrees from the LouisvillePresbyterian Seminary andthe University of Kentucky.He was also a student atBerea College under theUS Navy’s V-12 program.Survivors include his threesons: C. Philip Hanna, EdwinA. Hanna, and Rev. RichardB. Hanna; his brother CharlieHanna; his sister Bette Sikes;four grandchildren, and fourgreat-grandchildren. A classnote appeared in the fall 2011issue of MainGate.FORMER FACULTYAND FRIENDSAUB Trustee Emeritus SirAndrew Duncan Crockettwas born in 1943 inGlasgow. He passed awayafter a long illness at hishome in San Francisco onSeptember 2.After completing hisstudies in economics atCambridge and Yale, hebegan his career at theBank of England in 1966.Widely credited with globalizingcentral bankingthrough senior posts heldat the Bank of England,the International MonetaryFund, and the Bank forInternational Settlements,where he served for tenyears as general manager,he was known as a monetarydiplomat who broughtemerging markets to theattention of the west longbefore the age of financialglobalization.Of his service as adedicated AUB trustee,2004-08, Board of TrusteesChair Philip S. Khoury commented,“Andrew was awonderful friend to AUBand its Board of Trusteeson which he ably served. Hecared about our institutiondeeply, especially about thecomplex issues surroundingfinance and audit. He madeeveryone he encounteredfeel very comfortable in hispresence. He was genuinelydistinguished and yet somodest about his accomplishments.I will rememberhim with great fondness.”Former Board Chair ThomasQ. Morris remarked, “As chairof the Audit Committee helaid the groundwork for fiscalaccountability and transparencyat AUB. His leadershipwas outstanding.”Crockett was honoredby Queen Elizabeth as knightbachelor in 2003. He finishedhis career at JPMorgan as anadviser to the bank’s chairman.He is survived by hiswww.aub.edu.lb/maingate |MainGate Fall 201267

wife of 46 years, Marjorie,and their three children, twograndchildren, his mother,and two brothers.The AUB community issaddened by the passingof Wadad GeryesSabbagh Khoury on July18. She was the wife ofSaid T. Khoury (former student),who cofounded theConsolidated ContractorsInternational Company in1952 with her brother thelate Hasib Sabbagh (BA’41). Survivors include herdaughter Salwa Said Khuri(BA ’82), her son-in-law andSalwa’s husband, SamirNayif Khuri (BEN ’73), andher niece, AUB Trustee SanaHasib Sabbagh.The US Presidential Medalof Freedom was posthumouslyawarded last Mayto Gordon Hirabayashiwho boldly defied ExecutiveOrder 9066 which sent tensof thousands of Americans ofJapanese ancestry to internmentcamps. Hirabayashi,who taught sociology at AUBfrom 1951 to 1954, earnedhis PhD at the University ofWashington and had a longcareer as a noted professorof sociology at the Universityof Alberta, Canada. His obituaryappeared in thespring 2012 issue ofMainGate.We RememberAlumni and FriendsSuhayl Saleem BisharaBBA ’40May Said HamadahBA ’42Muhammad Munthir JundiBA ’45, BSCE ’46Dr. Fuad G. AshkarBA ’49, MD ’53Dr. Souheil G. KhammarBA ’52, MD ’56Wajeeh S. KaylaniBA ’55Farid Ishak Yusuf HabibBA ’56Bassam M. KhuriBBA '59Roger Boutros HashimBBA ’60Carolyn J. EmeryBA ’61Dr. Muhiba M. FanusBS ’61, MD ’65Mulazim H. A. S. HamdaniMA ’62Aida S MatniBA ’62Dena Abigail WoodMA ’62Khalid Abdul-WahabOmariBS ’63Sami Tarek YafiBBA ’64Majed S. MusallamBEN ’66Atif N. NakhkhulBEN ’66George Hanna Jum'ahBBA ’68Mohammad AftabuddinCERT ’69Talaat S. DadaBA ’70, MS '73Victor Michel KashkoushBA ’70Zahi S. HibriBS ’71Haralambos M.HadjitheodosiouMA ’74Walid F. RiyashiBEN ’75Imad Ramez JundiBA ’79Wadad M. KibbehBS ’84Dr. Abdel-Kader ZuheirMehioBS ’88, MD ’93Mireille Georges SakrBS ’89Jad Mohammad Said AlBalaaBS ’02Kamel Ahmad KaddouraMPH ’05Ali Nayef RammalBS ’05Helen Fawzi AtiehBA ’06Mouhamad Jamil BazziAUB FriendAli Khalil ChoucairAUB FriendGilbert GebeilyAUB FriendNinette RizkAUB FriendAbdel Fattah YafiAUB Friend68 MainGate Fall 2012 | www.aub.edu.lb/maingate

Last GlancePhoto © AUB Photography Department / Ahmad El ItaniThis lucky Phoenician would have lost six of his teeth without the help of a clever dentist who used a gold wire to deftly tie histeeth together. The mandible was discovered in a marble sarcophagus in Sidon in 1901 by George Ford, PhD.See this antique example of retentive dentistry at the AUB Archaeological Museum.

Dr. Joseph J. MacDonald, AUB professor of surgery, with a grateful patient who traveled many miles to bring the doctor a gift of two sheep. Spring 1948.Receiving multiple copies of MainGate? Save paper and let us know—we’ll send one copy to your home or business.Email: maingate@aub.edu.lbReturn AddressLebanonAmerican University of BeirutDevelopment OfficePO Box 11-0236Beirut, Lebanon 1107-2020USAAmerican University of Beirut3 Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, 8th FloorNew York City, NY 10017-2303