From the President – Fall 2022

Dear AUB community,

As I cross paths with many of you in my travels, I am asked repeatedly about Lebanon and its impact on the health of our university. In light of the crippling devastations of the last few years, how can the American University of Beirut continue to operate, much less thrive? And yet, thrive it has. I have come to see our current state of being as one of both change and endurance. In the face of extreme stressors, AUB has not shrunk or become stationary, but rather progressed and even transformed, its role magnified during this sustained crisis, as it so often has been during other major crises Lebanon and the region have experienced over the last century and a half.

You will see in the pages of this issue of the MainGate magazine evidence of innovative faculty research, medical breakthroughs, and student achievement. You will see that AUB is expanding physically to a new twin campus in the city of Pafos and reaching out digitally through online programs. You will meet people who work behind the scenes on campus and those who work with global partners such as the British Museum to tell AUB’s story to the broader world.

I could not be prouder of our stellar faculty, students, alumni, and staff who continue
to educate, to learn, to give, and to engage in order to discharge their duties in times of uncertainty. With over 150 years of perseverance and academic excellence, AUB is better equipped than most institutions to face times of uncertainty and continue to thrive. We do so to give hope to future generations, but also to build a better, more humane present.

With all best wishes to you from the heart of Beirut,

Fadlo R. Khuri