Recognizing Exceptional Work in Advancement

2024 Issue No. 2

Salma Dannawi Oueida, associate vice president for development, alumni relations, and university events at AUB, was recently selected for the prestigious 2024 CASE Asia-Pacific Distinguished Service Award in recognition of“outstanding institutional leadership and exceptional work in advancement.” An alumna (BE Electrical and Computer Engineering ’92, EMBA ’22) and the wife and mother of AUB alumni, Oueida is deeply committed to her alma mater and is a powerful champion for the advancement profession. “I am passionate about my work,” she explains. “This is rooted in my unwavering commitment to the transformative power and importance of education.” Oueida says that it is a privilege to work at AUB, an institution that “is not only known for its deep roots in the Middle East but also for its impact and its resilience.”

Oueida has played a critical role in the success of the BOLDLY AUB campaign, which concluded on June 30, 2024, and has led many initiatives at AUB in support of its priorities: working with alumni, friends, and volunteer groups to raise funds for scholarships, research, and facilities on campus, including for the medical center, and much more. She has a special place in her heart, though, for the Zaki Nassif Program for Music, which she helped establish in 2004. The program, which was launched to commemorate the memory of Zaki Nassif, organizes activities at AUB, in Lebanon, and in the region to encourage and promote an appreciation of the music of Zaki Nassif and other musical luminaries. “The goal,” Oueida remembers, “was to ensure that this music would always be a part of our lives.” It was in part because of her success at “developing an idea that was vague, initially, into a very active program” that Oueida received the President’s Service Excellence Award in 2010. Commenting on the CASE award, Senior Vice President for Advancement and Business Development Imad Baalbaki says, “AUB has overcome many challenges in recent years.

We made it because of dedicated, determined, talented people who were at the helm of this institution and who embodied the mission of AUB and its core values. Salma Dannawi Oueida is one of those few people.”