Title: From My University in Lebanon, I See a Society Under Fire That Refuses to Quit
Author: Fadlo R. Khuri
Publication: The National
Date: 17 April 2026
UNICEF/UNI356240/Baz/AFP
Summary: Fadlo Khuri, President of the American University of Beirut, describes the impact of the widening regional war on Lebanon, where over one million people — including 300,000 children — have been displaced, and more than 2,100 killed. On 8 April, Israeli forces fired over 100 missiles across Lebanon within ten minutes; the AUB Medical Centre received 68 casualties within the hour, many of them children. Despite the devastation, AUB is mobilising volunteers to support displaced families, maintaining academic programmes, and pressing towards a June graduation.
Author: Fadlo R. Khuri
Publication: The National
Date: 17 April 2026
UNICEF/UNI356240/Baz/AFP
Summary: Fadlo Khuri, President of the American University of Beirut, describes the impact of the widening regional war on Lebanon, where over one million people — including 300,000 children — have been displaced, and more than 2,100 killed. On 8 April, Israeli forces fired over 100 missiles across Lebanon within ten minutes; the AUB Medical Centre received 68 casualties within the hour, many of them children. Despite the devastation, AUB is mobilising volunteers to support displaced families, maintaining academic programmes, and pressing towards a June graduation.
Quote: "Yet again, a people who have learnt to live with disaster and uncertainty look to the American University of Beirut for hope, for excellence and for certainty amid the uncertain. No matter the challenges, the limited resources and dangers, we will never let them down."
Thanks Carole for sharing this uplifting piece by Fadlo. He is a very good writer and combines academic and managerial competence with a deep knowledge of contemporary jazz and pop music. His tenure at AUB has been subjected to many serious events but it has continued to uphold its reputation as a well grounded centre of education with major support to the country's health services thru the Medical Centre. Fadlo is one of the few AUB presidents of Arab origins (Costi Zurayk being another) and he is as "home grown" as can be; his father was among my cohorts.
ReplyDeleteBTW when I was in personnel I did a small survey and found that UNICEF had more staff from AUB than any other university in the world !
That AUB was so overrepresented is interesting. I wonder if the fact that UNICEF had a country office, an area office and a regional office in Beirut may have had anything to do with it.
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