“Bein tishreen wa tishreen fi seif taani”: Beirut has indeed been enjoying a few days of Indian summer this fall, as well as weeks of calm and pleasant weather. The storms the university has had to cope with have been of another sort: primarily the uncertainties of the neighboring Syrian civil war and the uncertainties they imposed on the opening of the academic year.

The Crisis Next Door

During the last week of August, orientation week at AUB had already brought large numbers of students and faculty back to campus, when the possibility was raised of a sudden air strike against the Syrian regime in response to chemical attacks in Ghouta, an eastern suburb of Damascus. Military intervention on this scale had the potential of heightening regional tensions, and the university was faced with a host of decisions having to do with managing what might have been a major and unforeseen crisis.

AUB has handled crises before, notably in 2006 during the conflict with Israel, when international students, staff, and faculty had to be evacuated at short notice. This year, AUB's crisis response team met multiple times during the course of one week to consider different scenarios in the event that further escalation of the conflict spilled over into Beirut. We assessed the preparedness of the university to run on its own in terms of fuel, water, medical supplies, and other logistical requirements, in addition to testing our ability to communicate quickly with all our many constituents. A website was established to keep our community linked to various sources of information and to advisories issued by various embassies, and the pages were heavily visited during this period of uncertainty. I am thankful that the prospect of military retaliation was averted when negotiations were opened to inspect and destroy chemical weapons supplies in Syria. Nonetheless, the prevailing uncertainty gave us a chance to practice our emergency response, and I believe we are better prepared to deal with similar crises if they arise.

Despite the passing of this particular crisis, our thoughts and deep concerns remain focused on our Syrian students and their families, who still face ongoing conflict disruption in their homeland, and we express the hope that negotiations will bring a resolution to the tragic Syrian civil war sooner rather than later.

The Academic Year Opens: What 2013-2014 Looks Like

In spite of the uncertain political situation, this year AUB is welcoming a total student body of close to 8,400, a slight increase over last year. While our international representation is very slightly lower, this group remains impressive at 1,995 strong, representing a proportion of 24% of the student body overall.

Since our freshman class comes largely from overseas schools, it was this cohort that encountered lower enrollment, doubtless due to current events in the region; but the numbers were made up through sophomore enrollment, which remained robust.

The incoming class also closely matches previous classes in terms of achievement on the SAT test scores, with the average at 1131 out of 1600.

Again, due to the crisis next door, our inbound study abroad students are fewer, only 44 in number thus far, but we may see an increase for the spring semester if the regional situation does not deteriorate further.

The university welcomed 23 new faculty members this fall, less than previous years, but 2011-12 and 2012-13 set records for heavy faculty recruitment. I also congratulate and celebrate the 7 new full professors promoted this past year, in addition to 24 new associate professors throughout our faculties.

The opening of the academic year is also a time when the QS World Rankings  are announced, and AUB retains its position this year at #250, while almost every other university in the Arab world dropped in standing. Only one other university, King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals, is ranked ahead of AUB, at #216, an institution with a different mission, focused on science and technology rather than a broad liberal arts education. The student-to-faculty ratio stands at 11.5 to 1, an excellent datum by any standard, and no other university in the region matches the number of faculty citations.

2013-14 inaugurates a new academic calendar as well; classes were begun a full month earlier than in 2010-11. In addition to an earlier start, the primary new feature is a 5-week break between the fall and spring semesters, which will allow for a range of activities available to students and faculty: travel overseas for research or recreation, study abroad options, internships, intensive classes, the scheduling of conferences or workshops, or focused time for polishing masters’ theses or manuscripts. The flexibility of such options should add to the richness of activities at AUB midway during the year, and provide a welcome mental break as well from the regular routine of scheduled classes and exam.

Campus Services

Responding to requests by the AUB community for healthy, flavorful, and affordable food on campus, this fall saw the launch of a revitalized cafeteria managed by the very successful food services division of our own AUBMC. The reviews have been very encouraging and the throngs of students, staff, and faculty coming for breakfast, snacks, and lunch are a testament to how this change has been welcomed.  The newly remodeled Faculty Lounge is scheduled to be reopened for food services in the near future.

Reliable internet service is a major concern of our students, faculty, and staff. The proliferation of smartphones, laptops, and tablets means many of us plug into the network daily from multiple devices, sometimes simultaneously. The increased demand has put a significant strain on our aging network infrastructure, resulting in slow and erratic connectivity. Fortunately, we are seeing light at the end of this tunnel thanks to a few interim fixes that will remain in place until we begin work in 2014 on a project to replace our network in its entirety. We are assessing a partnership with Cisco to ensure dependable network support for a campus community that is heavily reliant on technologies to increase productivity and improve communications.

We are also reacting to appeals from patrons of the Charles Hostler Student Center for increased capacity in the exercise rooms. We have begun an expansion of the workout facilities and floor padding is already in place where satellite cafeteria services used to be located. Aerobics classes are now being held in this space, awaiting the arrival and placement of new machinery. This new room is being designed to be more amenable to the exercise needs of our female students and staff and should lighten the load on the rest of the fitness rooms.

Phoenician temple

These days, I rarely have the chance to comment on things ancient, so I’m delighted to note that a Phoenician temple—the first complete one in Lebanon—has been identified in the southern city of Tyre by Dr. Leila Badre, director of the Archaeological Museum, and her team of professional archaeologists and students. The team has now spent two seasons uncovering the ruins and have determined that the temple dates back to the 7th-6th century B.C. This latest discovery is just one in a long line of outstanding excavations by the museum team over the years and is yet another demonstration of this university’s commitment to preserving Lebanon’s rich cultural and archaeological heritage. You can read more about the find in this story in Nature Middle East.