Alumni & Friends

Mobilizing AUB’s worldwide community of ambassadors

By MainGate Staff

Spring/Summer 2020

“We need the help of the Advisory Board and all alumni—especially today,” President Fadlo R. Khuri remarked during the inaugural meeting of the Advisory Board of the Worldwide Alumni Association of AUB (WAAAUB) on May 27, 2020. Khuri spoke about some of the challenges that AUB is currently facing due to the deteriorating economic situation in Lebanon and the effects of COVID-19—and the important role that alumni could play. “AUB needs to be on the radar of the top academic institutions and leading philanthropists around the world. Our global alumni—many of whom are very well connected in the communities where they live and work—are an invaluable resource for AUB in helping us to make these connections and in other ways as well, assisting graduates to secure jobs, mentoring current students and other alumni, and with student recruitment,” he said.

The 18-member advisory board of elected and appointed alumni is part of the recently reorganized structure of WAAAUB, which includes a general secretary and an alumni council of alumni chapter presidents. The board’s mandate is to provide counsel and support to AUB on issues related to alumni relations.

“This is a time for all AUB alumni to ‘pay it forward’—not just financially, but in other ways as well,” says Dr. Haytham Kaafarani (BS ’99, MD ’03), who was elected president of the Advisory Board in June. “Because of the current situation, the priority at the moment is fundraising, but there are many other ways for alumni to be involved with AUB. We’re missing the boat if we think of alumni only as donors.”

As chair of the Advisory Board, Kaafarani will be working closely with VP for Advancement Imad Baalbaki; WAAAUB General Secretary and AVP for Alumni Relations–North America Lina Jazi; AVP for Development and Alumni Relations Salma Dannawi Oueida; Advisory Board Vice Chair Haya Imam (BBA ’99)—and all the members of the board.

Haytham Kaafarani, Advisory Board Chair

Kaafarani and Imam bring extensive—and very diverse—experience to the Advisory Board. “I am the third generation in my family to attend AUB,” explains Imam. “In my family, it is understood that you will of course go to AUB for your undergraduate studies.”

Kaafarani, on the other hand, is the first of his family to attend AUB. For both of them, their time at AUB was transformative. “I think many alumni had the experience we had,” says Imam. “That’s what connects us to each other and to AUB―even after many years.” Kaafarani speaks passionately about his experience at AUB. “AUB opened my mind. It made me think differently about the world. We can’t lose this at AUB. It would be a loss, not just for Lebanon, but for the world,” he says.

Imam and Kaafarani have been active members of their local alumni groups for many years. “I joined the Jordan Chapter as soon as I returned to Jordan and have been involved ever since,” says Imam, “My friends tell me that AUB is my full-time job. It has always been like that.”

A member of both the Surgical Alumni Association of North America (SAANA) and the New England Chapter, Kaafarani spoke during a recent interview about some of the initiatives that the Alumni Relations Office has launched, such as the mentoring platform and the mobile app. “The board and all alumni can help promote and build on the great work that is already being done,” said Kaafarani.

“The WAAAUB Advisory Board has an important role to play,” says Imam, “but each and every one of us is an ambassador for AUB. Our alma mater gave us a lot. We need to all give back.”