From the President (Views from Campus) – Fall 2019/Winter 2020

On September 2, 2019, I made my opening day remarks in Assembly Hall, including the statement: “We are committed, as we have always been, to the education of our students, in good times and in bad. As Lebanon and the region move into a period of increased instability, we are committed to helping all our students complete a world-class, fully supported education to the best of our abilities.”

I could not have known that 45 days later, a period of instability would test every one of those words. As of this writing, Lebanon is almost three months into a protest that has galvanized our students, faculty, and staff, caused the closing and reopening of the university, inspired new ways (and venues) of teaching, and affected the finances of every citizen in the country. Being committed to helping all our students complete their education suddenly looks infinitely more complicated than when the school year started.

I have been clear throughout the past couple months that AUB cannot play a political role in this uprising but needs to continue to do what it has done over a century and a half: act as a beacon of hope and a bastion of liberal values. AUB’s role as a university is to be an essential incubator for a better kind of leader in the Arab world, and we need to do that without fear or favor. But practically, how does an institution fulfill its role when students are in danger of not being able to complete the semester?

Believing that charity begins at home, in November we took steps to protect and secure our community from the impact of further deterioration of the economy. With the support of our Board of Trustees, we created emergency funds to help alleviate the impact of the crisis on both students and patients at the medical center having trouble paying their fees. We have been committed to doing everything in our power to ensure that our enrolled students are able to complete their education without dropping out for financial, psychological, or other reasons related to the current situation.

We are also committed to refraining from using capital raised for building AUB’s future to cope with today’s crisis, as far as this is possible. Instead, we are looking at opening new revenue streams and cutting costs wherever we can, with temporary curbs on hiring, travel, and capital expenditure. Finally, we are taking care of our most vulnerable employees, while other members of our faculty and staff have committed to donating part of their salaries to the emergency funds.

I am proud that as of this writing, we have brought the first semester of the school year to a successful close, with great thanks to the leadership team that has met consistently throughout and charted new territory in terms of scheduling, teaching, counseling, and financing at this great university. And because we are AUB, I can say that also as of this writing, a student-led initiative is taking place outside my door to gather and distribute food boxes to the most needy in our surrounding areas.

I am aware that AUB will be judged by the world on how we weather this Lebanese crisis, and whether we emerge as a stronger, better institution, or as a battered and bruised one. If past experience is anything to go by, we could end up bruised, but stronger; battered, but better. I trust we will look back on the October 17 revolt as a time when AUB repositioned itself as a more nimble, impactful, and sustainable institution that provides even more opportunities to the best and brightest learners.

Fadlo R. Khuri