The Council for Advancement and Support of Education Recognizes VP Imad Baalbaki for Distinguished Service

Fall 2021

AUB’s vice president for advancement and business development, Dr. Imad B. Baalbaki, was selected to receive the prestigious 2020 CASE Asia- Pacific Distinguished Service Award, which is given annually and “honors individuals whose professional accomplishments have made a significant and lasting impact on institutional advancement, and whose life and character have earned the respect and admiration of fellow colleagues.”

Baalbaki is no stranger to our worldwide community of alumni and friends. A proud AUB alumnus (BBA ’85, MBA ’87), he has worked at his alma mater since he returned to Lebanon after earning a PhD in marketing at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He has been a member of the faculty at AUB’s Suliman S. Olayan School of Business since 1993 and was director of the business school from 1997 to 2000. Baalbaki joined AUB’s Office of Advancement in 2001 and has led the Offices of Advancement in Beirut and North America since July 2016. “This is not a job for me,” Baalbaki explains, “but an integral part of who I am.”

In a letter he wrote supporting Baalbaki’s nomination for the CASE award, President Fadlo Khuri commented, “Since Imad’s appointment as vice president, our advancement team has achieved enormous success – record-breaking fundraising years, building alumni engagement, pioneering new initiatives, and expanding the prospect pool . . . The fundraising successes of the advancement team in recent years have been extraordinary.”

The fundraising successes that Khuri is referring to have been part of BOLDLY AUB: The Campaign to Lead, Innovate, and Serve–the $650 million fundraising campaign that the university will successfully conclude in January 2022. The impact of the campaign can be seen in the record number of AUB students who are receiving financial support, in the growth of AUB’s endowment, in renovated classrooms and laboratories, in expanded research funds, at the medical center, and in numerous outreach initiatives that are improving the lives of the people of Lebanon and the region.

AUB trustee emeritus Alexander T. Ercklentz, who also supported Baalbaki’s nomination, noted that AUB is respected in Lebanon and the region “not just because it stands for freedom of thought and expression, tolerance, and respect for diversity and dialogue but also because of its professionalism. This is especially true when it comes to advancement. People throughout the region look to AUB for guidance on ‘best practices.’”

“Our university, which I am so proud to serve, attracts extraordinary support from its worldwide community of alumni, from friends who appreciate the singular role that AUB plays as an American institution in the Arab world, and—most importantly—from a truly remarkable group of trustees,” said Baalbaki. He credits President Khuri in particular for his inspiring leadership and tireless dedication. “I cannot imagine anyone better to steer the university through these most challenging of times. It is a privilege to work with him and with so many dedicated colleagues on behalf of our AUB.”