The American University of Beirut (AUB); Arabic: الجامعة الأمريكية ÙÙŠ بيروت‎) is a private, secular and independent university in Beirut, Lebanon. Degrees awarded at the American University of Beirut (AUB) are officially registered with the New York Board of Regents.
The university is ranked number 1 in the Arab region and 235 in the world in the 2018 QS World University Rankings.
The American University of Beirut is governed by a private, autonomous Board of Trustees and offers programs leading to bachelor's, master's, MD, and PhD degrees. It collaborates with many universities around the world, notably with Columbia University, George Washington University School of Medicine & Health Sciences in Washington, DC; Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and the University of Paris. The current president is Fadlo R. Khuri, MD.
The American University of Beirut (AUB) boasts an operating budget of $380 million with an endowment of approximately $500 million. The campus is composed of 64 buildings, including the American University of Beirut Medical Center (AUBMC, formerly known as AUH â€" American University Hospital) (420 beds), four libraries, three museums and seven dormitories. Almost one-fifth of AUB's students attended secondary school or university outside Lebanon before coming to AUB. AUB graduates reside in more than 120 countries worldwide. The language of instruction is English.
History
American University of Beirut - The American University of Beirut ; Arabic: الجامعة الأميركية ÙÙŠ بيروت ) is a private, secular and independent university in Beirut, Lebanon.Degrees awarded at the...
On January 23, 1862, W.M. Thomson proposed to a meeting of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions that a college of higher learning, that would include medical training, should be established in Beirut with Daniel Bliss as its president. On April 24, 1863, while Dr. Daniel Bliss was raising money for the new college in the United States and England, the State of New York granted a charter for the Syrian Protestant College. The college, which was renamed the American University of Beirut in 1920, opened with a class of 16 students on December 3, 1866. Dr. Bliss served as its first president, from 1866 until 1902.
AUB alumni have had a broad and significant impact on the region and the world for many years. For example, 19 AUB alumni were delegates to the signing of the United Nations Charter in 1945â€"more than any other university in the world. AUB graduates continue to serve in leadership positions as presidents of their countries, prime ministers, members of parliament, ambassadors, governors of central banks, presidents and deans of colleges and universities, leading academics, businesspeople, scientists, engineers, doctors, teachers, and nurses. They work in governments, the private sector, and in nongovernmental organizations.
During the Lebanese Civil War (1975â€"1990) AUB pursued various means to preserve the continuity of studies, including enrollment agreements with universities in the United States. On January 18, 1984, AUB President Malcolm H. Kerr was murdered.
On March 21, 2008, the Board of Trustees selected Peter Dorman to be AUB's 15th president. He succeeded John Waterbury who was president of AUB from 1998 to 2008. Dorman is an international scholar in the field of Egyptology and formerly chaired the University of Chicago's Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations.
On March 19, 2015, the Board of Trustees formally approved the nomination of Fadlo R. Khuri, MD, as the next president. He was officially inaugurated as AUB's 16th president on January 25, 2016.
As of June 2011, the total number of degrees and diplomas awarded totaled 82,032.
Campus
The 61-acre (250,000 m2) American University of Beirut campus is on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean Sea on one side and bordering Bliss Street on the other. Based in one of Lebanon’s few geographic locations, AUB’s campus in Ras Beirut consists of 64 buildings, seven dormitories and several libraries. In addition, the university also houses the Charles W. Hostler Student Center, an Archaeological Museum as well as the widely renowned Natural History Museum. Students also benefit from a range of recreational and research facilities, such as the 247 acre research farm and educational complex hosted by the Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences' AREC (Agricultural Research and Education Center) in Beqaa, Lebanon.
Faculties
- FAFS, Faculty of Agricultural & Food Sciences
- FAS, Faculty of Arts & Sciences
- SFEA, Maroun Semaan Faculty of Engineering & Architecture
- FHS, Faculty of Health Sciences
- FM, Faculty of Medicine, which includes the Rafic Hariri School of Nursing (HSON)
- OSB, Suliman S. Olayan School of Business
Students
In fall 2016, there were 8,815 students enrolled at AUB: 7,063 undergraduates and 1,752 graduate students.
Research
In 2007, the American University of Beirut reintroduced PhD programs. Currently, it offers doctoral programs in the following fields:
- Arab and Middle Eastern History
- Arabic Language and Literature
- Biomedical Engineering
- Biomedical Sciences
- Cell and Molecular Biology
- Civil Engineering
- Electrical and Computer Engineering
- Environmental and Water Resources Engineering
- Mechanical Engineering
- Theoretical Physics
AUB also includes dozens of research centers and institute that sponsor and promote research in a variety of fields.
Medical Center
The AUB Medical Center (AUBMC) is the private, not-for-profit teaching center of the Faculty of Medicine. AUBMC, which is accredited by the Joint Commission International (JCIA) on hospital accreditation, includes a 420-bed hospital and offers comprehensive tertiary/quaternary medical care and referral services in a wide range of specialties and medical, nursing, and paramedical training programs at the undergraduate and post-graduate levels.
Throughout its history, the AUB Medical Center, which was formerly known as the American University Hospital (AUH), has played a critical role in caring for the victims of regional and local conflicts. It provided care for the sick and wounded during World War I and World War II, the Lebanese Civil War, the Palestinian conflict, and the invasion of Iraq. In recent years, it has provided care for a number of Syrian refugees at the Medical Center in Beirut, at partner hospitals, and at mobile clinics.
Since 1905, AUB’s medical services have included a nursing school. In 2008, the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) invited AUB’s Rafic Hariri School of Nursing to become a full member, making it the first member of the AACN outside the United States. The American Nurses Credentialing Center's (ANCC) Magnet Recognition Program awarded AUBMC its prestigious Magnet designation on June 23, 2009. AUBMC is the first healthcare institution in the Middle East and the third in the world outside the United States to receive this award.
On April 4, 2011, AUB announced the AUBMC 2020 Vision, which includes the construction of a state-of-the-art medical complex consisting of 12 buildings that would increase bed capacity to almost 600. In his inaugural address in January 2016, AUB President Fadlo R. Khuri, MD, outlined Health 2025 affirming the University’s commitment to be the regional leader and a key global partner in addressing global health challenges.
AUBMC now includes the Rafic Hariri School of Nursing Building, the Pierre Abu Khater Outpatient Building, the Wassef and Souad Sawwaf Building, the Medical Administration Building, the Halim and Aida Daniel Academic and Clinical Center, and the Inpatient and Outpatient hospital buildings.
The University is also home to several Clinical and Research Centers of Excellence such as the Mamdouha El-Sayed Bobst Breast Unit, the Naef K. Basile Cancer Institute, the Abu-Haidar Neuroscience Institute, the Children’s Cancer Center of Lebanon (affiliated with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee), the Moufid Farra Heart and Vascular Outpatient Center, the Nehme and Therese Tohme Multiple Sclerosis Center, and the Ahmad and Jamila Bizri Neuro Outpatient Center. They address health issues endemic to the Arab region such as cancer, heart and vascular diseases, diabetes, obesity, multiple sclerosis, blood disorders, and mental illness.
University Museums and Collections
There are three museums at AUB: the Archaeological Museum, the Geology Museum, and the Natural History Museum.
The Archaeological Museum is the third oldest museum in the Near East. Its collection includes more than 16,000 objects and 10,000 coins and features pottery, prehistoric flint tools, bronze figurines, Phoenician and classical sculptures and bas-reliefs, Egyptian alabaster vases from Byblos, hairpins, and musical instruments. The museum has conducted excavations in Lebanon and Syria. The Society of the Friends of the AUB Museum organizes lectures, exhibits, and activities for children. It also publishes a regular newsletter.
The Geology Museum includes rocks, minerals, and fossils from around the world. It is an important resource for AUB students and researchers and for students from other universities and schools in Lebanon.
The Natural History Museum houses a unique collection that represents the biodiversity of the area. It is especially well known for the Post Herbarium, which includes 63,000 specimens.
AUB’s Archives & Special Collections includes important documents related to the founding of the Syrian Protestant College in 1866 and also many materials (documents, maps, photographs, etc.) of interest to scholars of Lebanon and the region including the Beirut Codex, a New Testament in Syriac, dating back to the 9th or 10th century; the E.W. Blatchford Collection (photographs of the Middle East, Europe, and North Africa taken between 1880 and 1900); and political and cultural posters dating back to the 1940s.
Libraries
The American University of Beirut (AUB) library system includes two main divisions:
University libraries
The university libraries include the Nami Jafet Memorial Library, the Engineering and Architecture Library and the Science and Agriculture Library. The Agricultural Research and Education Center (AREC) in the Beqaa Valley also includes an annex to the Science and Agriculture Library.
The University Libraries are home to a rich collection that consists of:
- 587,778 volumes
- 923 periodical titles, of which 244 are in Arabic.
- 57,679 electronic journals in 206 databases.
- 1,139,340 audiovisual items of all formats, the majority of which are microforms of a substantial number of local and regional journals and newspapers going back to the early 20th century.
- 1,398 manuscripts in “Archives and Special Collectionsâ€, some of which have been appraised as museum pieces,
- 7,714 volumes of theses, projects and dissertations going back to 1907,
- 3,940 posters and 1,902 maps, as well as 46,418 photographs, of a unique and historical nature.
Saab Medical Library
The Saab Medical Library (SML) serves the AUB Faculty of Medicine and Medical Center, Faculty of Health Sciences, the Rafic Hariri School of Nursing, in addition to the entire AUB campus.
Although many library resources are accessible remotely from on and off campus, the libraries themselves are equipped with e-classrooms, computer labs, and wireless connectivity. Trained and experienced library staff conduct classes and workshops throughout the year to introduce and train users to take advantage of the libraries’ collections, information resources, and innovative technologies.
Fundraising
On January 16, 2017, AUB President Fadlo R. Khuri announced BOLDLY AUB: The Campaign to Lead, Innovate, and Serve during an event on campus in Beirut, Lebanon. The New York launch was on March 16, 2017. The goals of the five-year $650 million Campaign are to enrich the educational and research experience of students and faculty; serve the healthcare needs of the region; prioritize innovation and entrepreneurship; engage with communities in the region to achieve real impact; and secure the University's long-term sustainability.
In January 2017, AUB also announced the largest gift in its history from the Semaan Foundation to name the Maroun Semaan Faculty of Engineering and Architecture. AUB has received major gifts in support of the BOLDLY AUB Campaign as well from the Dar Group (to design a Medical Center and develop a Campus Master Plan) and from Jamal Daniel and the Levant Foundation for an expansion of the Medical Center.
Accreditation
AUB was granted institutional accreditation in June 2004 by the Commission on Higher Education of the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools. The University’s accreditation was reaffirmed in 2009 and again in 2016.
In September 2006, the Council on Education for Public Health (CEPH) accredited the Graduate Public Health Program in the Faculty of Health Sciences (FHS). The program was reaccredited in 2012 for seven years. The AUB Graduate Public Health Program is the first CEPH-accredited public health program outside the North American continent and the only CEPH-accredited public health program in the Arab world, Asia, and Africa.
The Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education (CCNE) accredited AUB’s Rafic Hariri School of Nursing's BSN and MSN programs on October 13, 2007. The accreditation was reaffirmed in 2012.
In April 2009, the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) accredited the Suliman S. Olayan School of Business (OSB). The accreditation was reaffirmed in 2014. AACSB is the leading international accrediting agency for undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral degree programs in business administration and accounting. Less than five percent of business schools worldwide have earned AACSB International accreditation. AUB's Olayan School of Business is the first business school in Lebanon and the second in the region to receive such accreditation.
The Maroun Semaan Faculty of Engineering and Architecture at the American University of Beirut received accreditation for its undergraduate BE civil engineering, BE computer and communications engineering, BE in electrical and computer engineering, and BE in mechanical engineering programs from the Accreditation Board of Engineering and Technology (ABET) in 2008. The accreditation was reaffirmed in 2016. The undergraduate program in chemical engineering was accredited in 2013.
The Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences' undergraduate Nutrition and Dietetics Coordinated Program (NDCP) was accredited by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) in 2013. It was reaccredited in 2017.
Notable Alumni
AUB has 64,417 living alumni. They reside in more than 120 countries.
AUB’s “notable alumni†include the nineteen AUB graduates or former students who were delegates to the signing of the United Nations Charter in San Francisco in 1945. They are listed below:
- Abdul Majid Abbas (former student 1934), member of the Iraq delegation
- Ahmad Abdul Jabbar (BA 1943), member of the Saudi Arabia delegation
- Mohammad Ibrahim Adham (former student 1939), member of the Iraq delegation
- Naim Al-Antaki (former student 1924), member of the Syria delegation
- Darwish Al-Haidari (former student 1927), member of the Iraq delegation
- Fares Al-Khouri (BA 1897), member of the Syria delegation
- Nazem Al-Koudsi (former student 1920), member of the Syria delegation
- Abdul Jabbar Chalabi (former student 1926), member of the Iraq delegation
- Ghassem Ghani (MD 1919), member of the Iran delegation
- Salih Mahdi Haidar (former student 1933) member of the Iraq delegation
- Raja D. Hawrani (former student 1925), member of the Syria delegation
- Toufik Huneidi (former student 1940), member of the Syria delegation
- Fadhel Jamali (BA 1927), member of the Iraq delegation
- Hashim Jawad (BA 1932), member of the Iraq delegation
- Majid Khadduri (BA 1932), member of the Iraq delegation
- Angela Jurdak Khoury (BA 1937, MA 1938), member of the Lebanon delegation
- Sobhi Mahmassani (former student 1924), member of the Lebanon delegation
- Charles Habib Malik (BA 1927), member of the Lebanon delegation
- Farid Zeineddine (BA 1925), member of the Syria delegation
During its 150th celebration in 2016, the University identified a number of “History Makers†â€" men and women who have distinguished themselves in the areas of Leading, Innovating, and Serving by their accomplishments as scholars, politicians, artists, and in many other fields as well. Excluded from consideration were current trustees, faculty, staff, and students as well as living Arab politicians. Many of these History Makers are also AUB alumni. These “notable alumni,†which included some of the people who attended the San Francisco conference in 1945, are listed below:
See also
- The American University in Cairo (AUC)
- Alumni of the American University of Beirut
- American University (disambiguation) for a list of similarly-named institutions
- American University of Sharjah (AUS)
- American University of Iraq - Sulaimani (AUI)
References
External links
- Official website
- Middle States Commission on Higher Education
- الجامعة الأمريكية ÙÙŠ بيروت AUB
- Al Jazeera English documentary on the history of Beirut's American University