Can hens dream? And if they can, what do they dream of? In her major spring theater production The Hen Who Dreamed, Associate Professor of Theater Lina Abyad takes us on a courageous quest for freedom and individuality with the journey of an unlikely hero: a hen.

The play was adapted from the novel The Hen Who Dreamed She Could Fly, by South Korean author Sun-Mi Hwang. It is set on a farm, where the hen, Waraku, is no longer content to lay eggs on command only to have them carted off to the market. She dreams of being liberated. Then one day by mistake – or is it by chance? – the farmer releases her into the wild, where she finds an egg, which turns out to be that of a wild duck. 

Asked about why she chose Hwang’s story as the basis of her play, Abyad said, “I asked a friend of mine what she was reading, and she said, ‘I am reading this book. It’s about a hen and it is extremely moving, and very philosophical.’” 

Abyad said what moved her the most about the story was that Waraku wanted to be part of  something bigger. “Waraku did not simply want to nurture the egg,” she noted, “but aspired to be like the hardy leaves of the Acacia tree that flourish and endure and then fall in autumn so they could nourish the soil again. So, although, the text is about self-actualization, it is also about recognizing one’s place in the cycle of life.”

The story is reminiscent of the fables of Aesop, La Fontaine and Kalila Wa Dimna, in which animal characters are allegories for people. Such a structure creates a surreal feeling throughout, noted Television and Film major Rachid Hneineh, who is the puppeteer in the production. 

Though Hneineh was skeptical when he first read the script and discovered that the play was about a hen, he soon realized that it was essentially a philosophical and political representation of our society. 

“What is nice about this kind of work is that we always start from scratch. Lina always tells us at the beginning that there is something very difficult we have to do, but we will do it,” he said.

For senior high-school student Karim Makkouk, who plays the rooster, taking part in a play with Abyad was like a dream come true. “I didn’t expect her to cast me. There were so many others at the tryouts. I was so surprised,” he said. 

The play, he noted, has many positive themes, “Although it is a sad story, you cannot watch it and feel that you did not learn something. It contains a lot of wisdom.”

In the end, a hen is an unlikely hero. “We usually hate to be compared to a hen because it is seen as a weak animal,” Hneineh said. “But like the hen, each one of us, at every stage in life, has a dream – it doesn’t end. Once we achieve one dream, we will have another.”

The Hen Who Dreamed will premiere on March 20 at the Gulbenkian Theater, LAU Beirut campus, at 8:30 p.m.

Gretta Jreij (right) as the haughty hen, in confrontation with Dima Tannir as Waraku.

LAU’s Clinical Simulation Center hosted a two-day practical training course specifically targeting the management of neonatal and pediatric emergencies. The course is the first of its kind in Lebanon, and it aims to teach health professionals technical and non-technical skills through repetitive practice to mastery learning.

Clinical Simulation Center Director Dr. Vanda Abi Raad believes in the value of simulations. “The goal for healthcare professionals is to achieve mastery learning, which can only be accomplished through practice and scenarios that increase in difficulty.”

The benefits of simulations go beyond technical training. Dr. Ninette Hawat, clinical instructor of pediatrics at the Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chagoury School of Medicine and the course’s facilitator, highlighted areas where healthcare professionals can hone their soft-skills set: “Simulations are designed to build participants’ confidence; doctors and nurses must manage the psychological component of their work, and practical simulations address that.”

Dr. Maroun Matar, assistant professor and head of the Neonatology Division at the School of Medicine, agreed that simulation is a key component in medical training. “Through simulations, healthcare professionals gain experience in team management to provide standardized care, which ultimately leads to better patient outcomes.”

Other LAU instructors present were Dr. Abeer Hani, a pediatric neurologist, and Dr. Krystel Malek, a pediatric anesthesiologist.

The course was attended by neonatologists, pediatricians, nurses and medical residents from across Lebanon. Sally Azwat, a practicing nurse, was a first-time participant at the Clinical Simulation Center. “I didn’t expect it to be so real, but I know the stress I felt [during the simulation] has a positive result.” Pediatrician Dr. George Zemter said, “This course gives [healthcare professionals] a unified approach to managing critical neonatal situations.”

The Clinical Simulation Center, housed in the Chagoury Health Sciences Center on LAU’s Byblos campus, features highly advanced replications of hospital environments. The center is outfitted with state-of-the-art neonatal and pediatric equipment provided by a grant from the American Schools and Hospitals Abroad program to provide the highest quality simulation experience. “High-fidelity models” are programmed to perform and respond as humans would in the center’s unique training scenarios, giving trainees a life-like experience and invaluable preparation.

Author, activist and LAU alumna Emily Nasrallah passed away on March 13. She was 86.

Nasrallah first became famous for her 1962 novel Birds of September, though she had been writing since college, mostly as a journalist, to support herself while at Beirut College for Women (BCW). She graduated with an associate’s degree in 1956 from the school, which would become LAU 40 years later. She became a prolific writer, publishing novels, children’s books, poetry and short story collections, most of which touched on her bucolic yet poor upbringing in the village of el-Kfeir in Mount Hermon.

During college she married a chemist named Philip Nasrallah and started a family, never moving far from Beirut, even during the worst years of the Lebanese civil war. Indeed, the war was a theme in much of her writing from that period. Her award-winning book, A Cat's Diary depicts the horrors of that conflict from the eyes of a cat.

Aside from her writing, she was known as a major activist for women’s rights, a cause she championed tirelessly.

“Emily Nasrallah was one of Lebanon’s great gifts to the world,” said LAU President Joseph G. Jabbra. “She used her talent to paint a picture of the energy, complexity and spirit of Lebanon.”

Throughout her life, she was widely recognized for her work, including making the International Board on Books for Young People’s Honor List for A Cat's Diary; winning the Goethe Medal, which honors non-Germans for contributions in the spirit of the Goethe Institute; and receiving the Lebanese Cedar Medal of Honor, which was presented to her on what she said was one of the happiest days of her life.

Nasrallah made regular contributions to LAU, making anonymous donations for decades so that disadvantaged and deserving students could attend the university.

Assistant Vice President for Alumni Relations Abdallah Al Khal, who helped present Nasrallah with the Alumni Recognition Award in 2010, said of her passing, “The alumni of LAU lost one of their major pillars, but her legacy will live on and will inspire generations to come.”

Her life and work spoke to generations of women in Lebanon and abroad. For Lina Abirafeh, director of the Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World, Nasrallah was an inspiration. “Emily Nasrallah was a renowned writer who strove to document the history of pioneering women in Lebanon,” she said. “In her writings, she highlighted issues related to education, gender rights, the war, the feminist movement, and more. She was an asset, and we are all indebted to her.”

“We are proud to call her one of our community,” said Jabbra, “and will always honor her writing, her activism and her strength of spirit.”

Emily Nasrallah (2nd from left), receives the Alumni Recognition Award in 2010, with Abdallah Al Khal (L), Joseph Jabbra (2nd R) and Leila Al Saleeby Dagher, former president of the Alumni Association (R).

Nicolas Zaatar (BE ’15), co-founder and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) of NAR – a Lebanese innovative startup specialized in drone-based solutions – is now one of the 2018 young and brilliant minds to feature on the exclusive Forbes Middle East’s Arab 30 Under 30 list. Here he speaks about the genesis of Quadrofighter at LAU, as a capstone project with classmate and co-founder of NAR Charlie el-Khoury,  and Lebanon’s potential to become the hub of AI in the region.

What inspired you and Charlie el-Khoury to build the Quadrofighter?

Back in 2014, a huge fire broke out in the forest next to our homes, and we rushed to assist the firefighters battling the blaze. While in the field, heavy smoke made it hard for us to locate the fire, and helicopters were not available to guide us. Several hours later, everyone left, the fire was extinguished, and 80 percent of the forest got destroyed. After this catastrophe, Charlie and I thought of how we could have made the operation more efficient. That’s when we came up with the idea of Quadrofighter: a drone that could be instantly deployed to locate potential hotspots and assist firefighters. We worked on Quadrofighter as part of our LAU Capstone Project, and as soon as we graduated, we launched NAR with the fire-detection drone as the startup’s first product.

Tell us about the work of your company NAR.

At NAR, we’re developing Raven AI, which is software for aircraft to automate the inspection of infrastructure. Usually, inspections are conducted manually, leading to human error and safety problems. Every day, we work passionately to perfect this technology, which has so far been used to inspect more than 50,000 kilometers of pipeline in both the US and Canada.

Do you have plans to expand into other products or other markets?

We’re pursuing different applications, since our technology is adaptable to any infrastructure, not just pipelines.

What do you look for in employees and interns at NAR?

There are two traits we look for in anyone joining NAR. The first one is critical thinking. Engineers need to ask themselves tough questions, consider and reconsider their own views in light of evidence presented, and connect what they know to what they’re learning along the way. The second trait is fitting into the culture of the organization. Every member of our team should be humble, honest and – most importantly – passionate about the technology NAR is building. With such a workplace culture, we’re aiming to create a positive environment for our team to ensure they stay focused on what they love most: innovating.

Why did you decide to build your company here in Lebanon?

We believe that Lebanon could become a leading AI hub in the region. Lebanese emigrants shine everywhere around the world. We want to provide an opportunity for young talents here so that they can work on cutting-edge technology with an international reach while staying close to their families.

What do you think Lebanon can do to retain more young talent like yourself?

Support the creation of startups. With the startups, more interesting opportunities can be created, the country’s economy can improve, and young talents can be encouraged to start their own businesses. In addition, startups are born to solve the types of problems we are struggling with in Lebanon, such as pollution and electricity shortages. So far, NAR has been able to recruit several Lebanese living abroad to come back to the country and further the vision of turning Lebanon into an AI hub.

Was there somebody at LAU who inspired you to take the path you’ve taken?

My programming instructor believed in my ability to become a good software engineer, coached me to find my inner passion and is still supporting me to this day. Our oral communication instructor always encouraged us to open our own startups and work on something we love rather than landing a mainstream job. We believe each instructor at LAU taught us valuable lessons beyond the course’s scope, which helped us throughout our journey.

What advice can you give to LAU students interested in engineering and similar fields to reach the level of success you have achieved?

Follow your passion. When you combine passion with your work, you are setting yourself up to achieve success. It is the fuel you need to reach your goals, overcome any obstacles along the way and keep moving forward despite failures. Success is never about being rich, famous or having social status. It’s about doing something you love.

Nicolas Zaatar (R) with LAU classmate, friend, and co-founder of NAR Charlie el-Khoury (L).

LAU continues its quest to host forums that bring together educators from across Lebanon to exchange knowledge and expertise in long-established partnerships with private institutions.

In two such partnerships, the Education Department hosted the Continuing Professional Development (CPD) conference sponsored by Levant Distributors on March 2 and 3, and held a workshop on early childhood education sponsored by Macmillan Education and Griffin Publishers on March 7.

The events, both held in Irwin Auditorium on LAU’s Beirut campus, gathered hundreds of schoolteachers, curriculum designers, administrators and coordinators from across Lebanon.

The two-day CPD conference, entitled Schools of the Future, focused on how to adapt teaching methods to changing times.

“This CPD conference gave a chance to service current education students, as well as in-service teachers who have years of experience from private and public schools, to help them work together and present their own views about the schools of the future,” said Associate Professor of Education Rima Bahous.

Bahous opened the conference with a number of questions, launching a debate among the participants about what shape schools will take in the future.

“We do know that things are going to be different. Children and learners will have different demands, different interests, different hobbies, and their view of the future is different from ours,” she said.

Some questions raised in the debate were whether there will still be national exams in the future, whether memorization will be a major component of lessons, whether parents will be involved in the learning process, and whether science and math will take precedence in the classroom above languages, social studies and the performing arts.

Bahous stressed that no matter what shape schools might take, it is imperative for teachers to “rethink the way we teach.”

“Teaching is a profession,” she noted. “And like all professionals, we must stay up to date with research, new methods of teaching and new approaches.”

Wadad al-Sherif, a supervisor at Rafic Hariri High School in Sidon, who attended the conference agreed. “The students at school are of the technology generation, and if we do not update ourselves and meet their expectations, they lose focus, and they won’t learn,” she said.

Tasnim Manssi, an English teacher at the Maqassid Doha School-Sidon, said the conference was engaging. “It offered techniques we can apply in school. My colleagues and I are discussing how to integrate them in class.”

Also presenting at the conference were Eftychis Kantarakis of National Geographic Learning, Heather French of Scholastic Publishers, and Assistant Provost for Academic Affairs Mona Majdalani who is also a professor of Education, among others.

The development of young learners was a major topic during the March 7 workshop, called Shaping the Development of Preschoolers, which was led by teacher and educational trainer Nick Michelioudakis.

Michelioudakis stressed the importance of games and storytelling in children’s development. “If you look at developmental psychology, all educators and all psychologists agree that children grow through playing. This is their default mode, which is why this should have a central place in the classroom.”

The workshop was interspersed with interactive games and tips on how to improve communication between teachers and students.

These two events were only part of a series that LAU’s Department of Education is conducting in cooperation with different partners from the community.

Iman Osta, assistant dean and acting chairperson of the department, said that these partnerships are an important and necessary extension of the department’s programs.

“They allow our students to expand their professional connections and to get a grasp of many international educational perspectives. They also put LAU and our department at the forefront for the educational community,” she said.

Associate Professor of Education Rima Bahous stressed that no matter what shape schools might take, it is imperative that educators rethink their teaching methods.

Construction is often referred to as “bricks and sticks,” and a group of LAU civil engineering students are taking the “sticks” part literally – popsicle sticks, that is.

On March 10, students from the Department of Civil Engineering participated in the American Society of Civil Engineers’ (ASCE) Inter-Universities Popsicle Stick Bridge Competition, held annually and hosted this year by Notre Dame University. LAU’s three student teams proudly represented their department, with Team Virtuoso taking home second place out of 32 teams from 11 participating universities.

The event was sponsored by top engineering and construction firms in Lebanon, major Lebanese banks, and the Order of Engineers and Architects, who acted as advisors, sponsors, jury members and organizers.

The thirty-two student teams were commissioned to design and construct a bridge made entirely out of popsicle sticks, while adhering to strict competition criteria. The bridges were then load-tested to failure at the event to measure the strongest structure.

LAU’s winning team, supervised by Assistant Professor Gabriel Bazi, saw the theory they studied in their courses brought to life. Their near-perfect bridge that weighed less than 450 grams was able to carry a maximum load of 300 kg at mid-span. Team members Vanessa Khoury, Christelle Moussaed, Nour Al Nahas, Maria El Mendelek and Faysal Al Ladan expressed how the event enriched their understanding of civil engineering principles.

“Through this experience, we were able to project all the information and knowledge we acquired so far from our civil engineering courses, and this helped us understand more what the field is about,” said Khoury.

“Technically, [the competition] combined what we learned and let us practice it alone; mentally, it enhanced our innovative thinking,” said Al Ladan. “We learned software last semester, which helped us analyze our design and optimize it.”

The annual competition aims at developing participants’ engineering and team-working skills, and compelling them to find creative solutions to problems – critical abilities required in the engineering and construction fields. “This experience taught me how to work in a group and how to manage time,” said Moussaed.

John El-Khoury, associate professor of civil engineering, vice president of the ASCE Lebanon Section, and advisor of LAU’s ASCE Student Chapter, echoed the importance of “bridging the gap” between students’ theoretical coursework and practical application. “These events are critical to building upon the theoretical knowledge our students gain in the classroom. The real value is realized when they are asked to apply that knowledge.”

Vanessa Khoury – no relation to Professor Khoury – said it was “mainly the structural analysis and mechanics courses that helped our team succeed.”

“It was nice to see how the building components really function and how the important information and formulas acquired in these courses are reflected in real-life situations,” she added.

“Competitions [like this] are the best way to know if you understood what you have learned,” concluded Moussaed. “This is when you feel that you are a real engineer.”

The bridges were load-tested to failure to measure the strongest structure.

The LAU winning team with Assistant Professor Gabriel Bazi.

With the evolution of DNA studies, collecting the biological data our genetic material contains and analyzing it in a short period of time has become a science of its own. Bioinformatics, an interdisciplinary field that combines biology with statistics and information technology, does just that, and LAU prides itself on offering the first and only BS in Bioinformatics program in Lebanon.     

Recognizing the critical importance of this science and its impact on the healthcare industry – from designing new drugs to detecting predisposition to diseases – the Department of Computer Science and Mathematics launched the program in 2014. Within a year, 30 students had enrolled, drawn by the specificity and value of the discipline.

The importance of DNA analysis, says Assistant Professor of Bioinformatics Georges Khazen, is that it allows scientists to discover “genetic mutations and check whether we are predisposed to a certain disease or not, and thus take any necessary precautions or lifestyle changes to prevent, delay or treat the disease.”

Taking it one step further, it has now become possible to “personalize treatment” depending on a person’s DNA. “Doctors can customize the treatment of a patient depending on specific markers they have, thus improving and speeding up the healing process,” Khazen added. 

The three-year program is multidisciplinary and versatile, with unique features that allow students to go into genomics, proteomics, computation, molecular biology and even the medical field. Students can minor in chemistry, biology, computer science, mathematics or even business. 

Graduates of the program are already reaping benefits. Joseph Saad – who was among its first cohort – went on to complete an MSc in Bioinformatics at Turku University in Finland and was subsequently hired by a bioinformatics company there. He is now working on personalized medicine research and is pursuing his PhD at Turku University. Another graduate, Christian Atallah, who completed an MSc in the discipline at Newcastle University, will be staying on there for his PhD.

“The major is capable of sending you in any direction you want because of its diversity, and students can take courses depending on what they want to specialize in,” said current student Maria Nakhoul, who will be starting her master’s in biomedical informatics at Harvard University following her graduation from LAU this spring.

“When I was applying to Harvard and saw that I had actually fulfilled their prerequisites with my BS at LAU, I became more confident about applying because I felt I could actually make it,” she said, praising the program’s wealth of courses that are required for a master’s abroad. 

For Nakhoul, it all started with her interest in genetics. “I was at a university fair, and I had already decided that I wanted to go to LAU. I went to ask about a major that would help me continue in genetics later on, and I learned about bioinformatics and that it had opened newly at the university,” she said.

Because many students join the university without having a clear mindset of what they want to do, said Khazen, a program like bioinformatics “provides them with enough exposure to different disciplines, while preparing them for one of the most currently demanded career fields.”  

And as it is also a pre-med program, students have the opportunity to sit for the MCAT during the summer of their second year.

Employment opportunities are ample. Fresh graduates can find jobs in “pharmaceutical companies, research institutions, major hospitals with sequencing departments, consulting companies, development companies with application to healthcare,” Khazen said.

Nevertheless, he advises students to pursue “a specialized graduate degree before joining the market” due to the diversity of the bioinformatics field.

Khazen is also keen to encourage students to apply for internships during the course of the program. He is able to secure two to three internships each summer with École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Switzerland, and Paris-Saclay in France.

Emotional IQ is far more important than traditional IQ, said Corporate Advisor and Certified Leadership Coach Ihab Badawi. He was speaking to a large crowd gathered at the Adnan Kassar School of Business on Beirut campus as part of the Keep Learning lecture series organized and hosted by the Alumni Relations Office.

“High social intelligence has a big impact on our lives, and we’re not talking about extroverts and introverts,” said Badawi, who graduated from LAU with a BS in Business Administration in 2000. It’s about understanding and empathizing with others in order to communicate effectively.

“When you change the language to fit the person you’re talking to, it’s adaptation,” he told the crowd, mostly made up of other LAU alumni and young professionals. “The minute you make a decision to adapt to another person’s style, you are starting to respect that person.”

That’s how Badawi’s “platinum rule” came about. The rule, a spin on the golden rule, requires that we treat others the way they want to be treated. This means taking the time to understand what other people want.

One of the ways that help us adapt our behavior is understanding the four different types of personalities that Badawi has identified. Dominant people usually lean more toward forcing their decisions on others. Influencers are usually direct and fast, but open. Confirmers are followers; they listen but might change their minds. And the conscientious take the time to assess risks and base all decisions on facts and principles. Badawi said that no one personality is better than the other, but it is important to understand these profiles to improve communication and develop trust with others. 

How can people adapt to each other and gain trust? Badawi said the secret ingredient is conversational intelligence, or C-IQ. He recommended becoming familiar with conversational styles and avoiding pushing one’s point of view on others, ignoring other perspectives, being a disengaged listener and insisting on being right.

All audience members were given an emotional IQ test, which they were instructed to fill out and then evaluate their results.

The presentation was followed by a lively Q&A session, with several attendees staying on with Badawi to continue the discussion in the reception area.

Audience member Sarah Khaled, who works as a teacher, said, “You have to know about yourself to deal with other people. If you don’t know about yourself, how can you know about others?”

“In Lebanon, the education system concentrates mostly on IQ and not on the emotional intelligence component,” said attendee Bassima Ghaddar, who works as a project mediator. She said she is glad she learned another perspective at the talk.

Other attendees said they were interested in learning more about what they considered useful concepts for their business and personal lives.

“Many people know emotional intelligence on the surface. But they need to take it further,” said Badawi at the end of the talk. 

All audience members were given an emotional IQ test, which they were instructed to fill out and then evaluate their results.

The secret to adapting to each other and gaining trust, Badawi said, was conversational intelligence, or C-IQ.

The Gilbert & Rose-Marie School of Medicine and LAU Medical Center-Rizk Hospital are proud to announce the latest addition to their roster of leading centers: the Comprehensive Stroke Center, located at the hospital’s campus in the heart of Beirut.

The center opened March 17 under the auspices of Dr. Michel Mawad, dean of the School of Medicine and himself a world-renowned specialist in neurology and cerebrovascular disease. It is the only comprehensive stroke center in Lebanon.

Stroke is one of the leading causes of preventable death in Lebanon and the leading cause of disability. According to Dean Mawad’s estimates, within the next decade about 6,000 people per year are projected to suffer a stroke in Lebanon.

A stroke occurs when blood supply to the brain is interrupted, either because of a blocked artery or a ruptured blood vessel, depriving the organ of oxygen and nutrients. If blood flow is cut off for more than a few seconds, brain cells begin to die. The longer a stroke goes untreated, the more likely it will lead to permanent disability or death.

The risk of stroke increases with age, poor diet and lifestyle, or the presence of certain congenital diseases. While strokes are more common in men, they tend to be more fatal in women.

“Time is of the essence when treating a stroke,” Mawad told the crowd gathered at the center. “And the best way to treat patients is within stroke centers, with stroke teams. And that is what we have here.”

Indeed, the center is staffed by a comprehensive, integrated team of neurologists, interventional surgeons, critical care specialists, anesthesiologists, neurosurgeons and physiotherapists, available to ensure that stroke patients receive the best possible multidisciplinary care 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It also boasts specialized medical equipment unavailable elsewhere in the region, including a state-of-the-art Biplane Interventional & Angiography suite manufactured by Siemens Healthineers and designed specifically for the prompt diagnosis and treatment of acute stroke.

“Innovation drives everything we do – it is immersed in our DNA,” said LAU President Joseph G. Jabbra. “Everything we do revolves around the long path of ongoing innovation. This is absolutely crucial for the education and training of our medical students.” It was the duty of the university and LAU Medical Center-Rizk Hospital to use innovation to give back, Jabbra added. “Saving lives is at the top of the scale when it comes to serving our community.”

In attendance was a large group that included Lebanese Armed Forces Commander General Joseph Aoun, President of the Lebanese Order of Physicians Dr. Raymond Sayegh, President of the Lebanese Red Cross Dr. Antoine Zoghbi, CEO of LAU Medical Center-Rizk Hospital Sami Rizk, a representative of the minister of health, and members of the LAU Board of Trustees.

Rizk took the podium to speak about how the Comprehensive Stroke Center is the latest in a long line of firsts from the medical center over the decades, including the first blood transfusion and kidney transplant in Lebanon. “This stroke center is part of a master plan toward innovation and treatment with passion and care,” he said.  

Mawad thanked the Lebanese Armed Forces for its collaboration in helping stroke victims from across Lebanon reach the center with army helicopters, and the Ministry of Health for ensuring victims have access to treatment. “We are able to guarantee the highest quality and most efficient care to ensure successful treatment and recovery, for people of all backgrounds.”

In conclusion, Mawad said, “The brain is the most precious organ God has given us. It is the organ that makes us think, that makes us love, that makes us compassionate, that makes us intelligent, that makes us productive. So do everything you can to protect your brain. The best stroke you can have is the stroke you have never had.”

The Comprehensive Stroke Center’s multidisciplinary team with Dr. Mawad.

Dr. Mawad demonstrates the Biplane Interventional & Angiography suite which was designed specifically for the prompt diagnosis and treatment of acute stroke.

Dr. Michel Mawad gives the audience background on the prevalence of stroke in the Middle East.

LAU President Jabbra addresses the crowd at the Comprehensive Stroke Center opening.

From left, Assistant to the President for Special Projects Saad El Zein, Dr. Michel Mawad, President Jabbra, Dr. Antoine Zoghbi, and General Joseph Aoun.

Every year since 1998, the Indiana University School of Education for Postsecondary Research has administered the National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) to first-year and senior students at universities in the United States and Canada. LAU, as an American institution, has for a number of years participated in the survey, with the goal of measuring the characteristics and quality of their undergraduate experience.

“In the past, the survey administrators chose the Canadian universities as our peer group, because Canadians start university at the sophomore level, similar to LAU,” says Diane Nauffal, assistant to the LAU president for Institutional Research and Assessment. “But this year we asked that they compare LAU’s results to American institutions, specifically those in the New England region, and our Carnegie counterparts.”

For LAU, participation in the NSSE is part and parcel of the university’s commitment to the highest academic standards. “We are keen on gearing the academic process in ways conducive to student engagement,” says LAU Provost George K. Najjar, “particularly by way of innovative pedagogy, proactive learning and productive interaction with various communities of practice beyond the gates.”

In 2017, the survey was administered to 517,850 students from 725 institutions of higher learning, of which 650 in the United States and 72 in Canada. A total of 1,352 LAU students participated, roughly divided equally between first-year students and seniors.

The wide-ranging questions included ten so-called Engagement Indicators, which were themselves divided into four themes: academic challenge, learning with peers, experience with faculty, and campus environment. “We compare very positively with all of our peer groups on learning with peers,” enthuses Nauffal. For example, “our senior students report that they are engaged in more collaborative learning, and both first years and seniors say they have extensive discussions with diverse others, which is not the case among their American peers.”

More than that, the LAU respondents tended to report that they had encountered effective teaching practices more often than the benchmark US institutions, as well as a very supportive campus environment. “In terms of effective teaching practices, our students mentioned clearly-explained course goals and requirements, classes taught in an organized way, and feedback on work in progress,” among others.

In addition to the Engagement Indicators, the NSSE probed the extent to which participating students were involved in “high-impact practices,” specifically engagement in learning communities, service learning, research with faculty, internships, study abroad, and a culminating senior course. First-year students were asked about the first three, while seniors answered questions about all six categories.

According to the survey results, “on all of these questions, our students do very well compared to US institutions,” says Nauffal proudly.

LAU respondents tended to report that they had encountered effective teaching practices more often than the benchmark US institutions, as well as a supportive campus environment.

Between 8:30 and 9:30 on the night of March 24, LAU’s Beirut and Byblos campuses turned off their lights and closed down non-essential equipment. The university was observing Earth Hour, when people across the globe shut down all electric devices for one hour to mark their commitment to protecting the environment.

Earth Hour is organized by one of the largest grassroots environmental movements in the world, the Worldwide Fund for Nature. The annual event started in Sydney in 2007 and quickly spread across the globe, with more than 7,000 cities and towns participating in recent years.

LAU has been taking part in Earth Hour since 2015. And while this is an international movement, the university has been pursuing sustainability on its own.

“The Facilities Management department has been acting to inspire and encourage environmental sustainability at all levels across both campuses,” said Georges Hamouche, assistant vice president for facilities management. “Accordingly, a plan aiming at setting aspirational goals to advance the university’s sustainable strategies was developed.” He noted the “six green pillars” his department is focusing on in its environmental efforts: energy saving and water conservation, sustainable living, sustainable design and construction, environmental protection, recycling and waste management, and sustainable purchasing.

“Earth Hour is one of the numerous green initiatives that we are undertaking as part of our strategic sustainability plan to initiate the community around us and to help lead our country toward a greener future,” said Ziad Haddad, director of the Byblos physical plant.

Among the work they have done is to ensure all new and renovated properties on LAU’s campuses are constructed and operated with sustainability in mind. That means using efficient construction techniques to reduce building waste, insulation to reduce the loss of heated or cooled air, high-efficiency equipment and lighting, energy-saving controls, water-saving fixtures and non-toxic material.

Byblos campus, where most of the new construction takes place, has one building being constructed in line with the US Green Building Council’s LEED Gold Certification standards, and another certified according to the International Finance Corporation’s EDGE rating system.

The university also encourages recycling, with several initiatives across LAU, including the Facilities Management Recycling Committee’s work to partner with organizations to reduce waste and institutionalize the practice. 

“Earth Hour is just a moment, but this is meant to influence human lives and act responsibly toward Mother Nature, the source of life,” said Roger Haddad, director of the physical plant in Beirut. “In this sense, LAU’s participation in Earth Hour reflects LAU’s values, contribution and commitment to educate the whole person and assure a better tomorrow.”

Earth Hour at LAU.

Lights going out …

For the members of LAU’s 43 alumni chapters, connection with their alma mater does not end with graduation.

The role of the alumni chapters – which are in place from Houston to Jeddah, Bahrain to Nigeria, and many places in between – is to help organize events, raise donations for scholarships, and keep fellow graduates in touch with each other and the university.

One of the ways they do this is with annual events such as gala dinners, two of which took place recently in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, where around 1,500 LAU graduates live and work.

The Abu Dhabi Chapter celebrated its 25th anniversary at its annual gala this year. Longtime resident of Abu Dhabi Fouad Issam Boulos (BS ’83) is an active member of his local alumni chapter, and said the gala is one of the most prestigious happenings of the year in the emirate. “It is a great opportunity to meet classmates and important people in the community. The galas give new graduates a chance to meet alumni with experience in different fields and to better understand what to expect in the future.”

The ceremony attracted around 500 people, including Lebanese Ambassador to the UAE Fouad Dandan and President of Lebanese Business Council in Abu Dhabi Sufyan Al Saleh. Representing LAU were President Joseph G. Jabbra, Assistant Vice President for Alumni Relations Abdallah Al Khal, Assistant Vice President for Development Nassib Nasr, Senior Advisor to the President Christian Oussi, Chairperson of the Department of Communication Arts Jad Melki, Executive Director of Student Recruitment Michel Najjar, and Director of Admissions Nada Hajj Hatoum.

In his address, Jabbra thanked the alumni and guests for their continuous support and affirmed that LAU is advancing in parallel with the world’s economy. The university is working to “attract the best professors, provide students with opportunities for creativity and innovation, make classrooms interactive learning spaces, and establish the institution’s financial sustainability.”

The Dubai Chapter gala, which took place a day later, marked its 40th anniversary. Present were LAU’s delegation, Ambassador Dandan, Lebanon’s Ambassador to Mexico Sami al-Nmeir, and other Lebanese businesspeople and prominent figures.

Saad El Zein (BS ’89), assistant to the president for special projects and president of the Dubai Chapter, opened the ceremony by thanking the audience and stressing that the chapter’s goal is “the noble cause of education.”

“By providing support to students, we are fulfilling their dreams and paving the way for their citizenship,” he told the crowd. Both galas held a raffle and auction to support scholarships. So far this year, various LAU bodies have raised $30 million for deserving students.

“Alumni gala dinners are important because they are not only fundraisers but also friendraisers,” said Al Khal after the events wrapped up. “They keep the university in touch with the alumni and their communities on annual basis.”

Mary Abboud Chahine (BA ’96), a committee member on the Abu Dhabi Chapter, seconded that. “Our annual galas strengthen our connection with our beloved university. We get a chance to update guests and loyal sponsors about LAU’s vision, mission and values, and we are always happy to spread it to the world.”

The Dubai Chapter gala marked its 40th anniversary in the presence of LAU’s delegation, Lebanese businesspeople and prominent figures.

LAU’s Abu Dhabi chapter celebrated its 25th anniversary at its annual gala this year.

On March 22, cinemagoers were treated to the first historical movie set in Lebanon. Morine, directed by the Department of Communication Arts’ Senior Television and Film Instructor Tony Farjallah, features a cast of renowned Syrian and Lebanese actors, with LAU alumna Carmen Bsaibes (BA ’11) in the lead role.

Set in the year 620 AD, the film is based on the real-life story of a young woman originally from Qalamoun, near Tripoli, who disguised herself as a man in order to live in a monastery.

Farjallah came upon the idea for the movie while reading about the young woman, whom he named Morine for the film, and learning of her Lebanese origins. Intrigued, he delved further into her history.

After a long stint researching, Farjallah began writing and producing the movie. It was a project fueled by passion. “The film was co-sponsored by the Communication Arts Department,” Farjallah said. “I got funding from everyone and mortgaged everything I owned to make this happen.”

In addition to Bsaibes, the cast includes Syrian actor Ghassan Massoud, known for his role as Salahuddin in Kingdom of Heaven; Ouweiss Mkhalalati, known for playing Sakher in the TV mini-series Al Hayba; Mounir Maasri, who had a leading role as Jaafar in The Message alongside the late Anthony Quinn; renowned Lebanese actor Mounir Keserwani; Lebanese actress Takla Chamoun Farjallah; and LAU alumna and Television and Film Instructor Wafaa Halawi (BA ’04).

Farjallah also brought on LAU alumni for behind-the-camera jobs, and involved 30 students in the movie’s pre-production, production and post-production. The production team had to build a whole mock village and monastery, bringing in some 50 experts from Belgium, Iran, Tunisia and Italy. The movie took a year and a half to complete and was filmed in South Lebanon and in Anfeh, near Qalamoun.

The finished project is as much a historical journey as it is a testament to the resilience of a woman who defied the norms of a patriarchal society to live the life she wanted.

Bsaibes said Morine’s strength as a female was the first thing that attracted her to the role. She saw in Morine the story of a determined girl who endured discrimination and persecution to “fulfill what she wanted, whatever that was. She lived this adventure till the very end.”

But Morine was also a very difficult role, both physically and mentally. “I wanted to understand what it meant for a woman to live with God all the time, and for this to be her ultimate dream and goal.”

Bsaibes highlighted the harsh conditions under which the movie was filmed. “We filmed during storms, snow and rain,” she said. “Sometimes, at 5 a.m. we’d start filming before it stopped snowing.” Bsaibes even walked barefoot in the snow in order to experience the conditions Morine lived through.

“I immersed myself in this role and tried to live it to the extreme,” she said. “And without knowing it, I overcame [those difficulties]. I challenged myself.”

Halawi, who plays Asteer – the story’s villain – said that her challenge was to “actually understand and love this character in order to play her. I ended up seeing her in a very humane way despite her actions and the harm she causes.”

After attending the avant-premiere on March 20, Assistant Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences Samer Habre said the movie was “very well done artistically, and the soundtrack was wonderful. It is certainly unique to the Lebanese film industry.”

For the viewers who want to know more about the actual historical character the film is based on, her remains are in a tomb in the Church of Santa Maria Formosa in Venice, where she was laid to rest around the year 1200.

After extensive communication – initiated by Farjallah – between the Lebanese Catholic Church and the Church of Santa Maria Formosa, Morine’s body will be brought to Lebanon for a visit on July 17, 2018.

Home at last after 800 years!

LAU President Joseph G. Jabbra with lead actress and LAU alumna Carmen Bsaibes.

Tony Farjallah presents the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences Nashat Mansour with a trophy commemorating LAU’s support for the film, in the presence of Minister of Information Melhem Riachi.

The School of Pharmacy (SOP) hosted its third-annual Pharmacy Day on LAU’s Byblos campus on March 24. The event catered to prospective high school students, parents and guidance counselors interested in learning about the many opportunities that a degree from the School of Pharmacy offers its students.

SOP Dean Imad Btaiche introduced prospective students to the degree programs offered at the school – the Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy, Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD), and Master in Pharmaceutical Development and Management – noting that one of the biggest advantages for graduates is compatibility with US pharmacy programs. “LAU’s PharmD program is the only one accredited outside of the United States, and the SOP operates following US best standards of education,” Btaiche said. 

Another highlight is the SOP’s partnership with LAU Medical Center-Rizk Hospital, he noted. Students benefit from hands-on clinical experience in which they are given responsibility and are held accountable for their own growth. Clinical Associate Professor Wissam Kabbara spoke about how critical it is for students to understand the opportunities that open up with a degree from SOP. “The role of the pharmacist has expanded from primarily working as a community pharmacist,” said Kabbara, who has been organizing Pharmacy Day for the past two years. “LAU’s program is tailored to meet every pharmacy student’s needs, whether it is through traditional learning methods or experiential education.”

Btaiche pointed out that a degree from the program involves more than just honing technical skills. “The role of the pharmacist as a healthcare professional is to improve patient care, so we strive for our students to develop an inquisitive mind and also learn how to be investigators.”

To that end, SOP students participate in co-curricular activities, geared at developing the soft skills that are paramount for pharmacists. “Patients will value how much you care,” said Btaiche. Soft skills like communication, teamwork, leadership, problem-solving and self-awareness are honed within the degree programs alongside technical coursework, producing well-rounded graduates who are equipped for success in the field.

In her address to attendees, Vice President of Student Development and Enrollment Management Elise Salem assured students that a degree from the SOP carries weight. “All of our students with a degree in pharmacy from LAU are ensured a complete student life experience on campus, and future job security and job satisfaction,” she said, adding that their university experience would be unique. “LAU is a student-centered institution – students here are a name, not a number.”

Prospective undergraduates had the opportunity to hear from current SOP students. Yasmine Hamwi, a third-year pharmacy student noted that “[Pharmacy] is one of the toughest majors, but with good time management, you can be successful.” Another third-year student, Diana Franjieh, echoed the dean’s message on the school’s uniqueness: “The LAU program strengthens you before you hit the field; you will be proud of what you know.”

And the audience, consisting of mostly senior-year high school students, was listening. Tia Doumit felt that Pharmacy Day answered many of her questions: “[The event] shed light on the numerous aspects of pharmacy that I never knew were part of the field.”

Mia Chelala, another high school student, agreed: “Pharmacy Day helped me gain a better understanding of what a degree in pharmacy entails.”

After the dean’s message and overview of the programs, students were invited to visit the booth area, where current students were available to answer questions and provide specifics on the program. Guided tours of the Clinical Simulation Center and SOP laboratories were also offered, followed by a networking reception in the courtyard.

High schoolers interested in pharmacy speak with current SOP students and faculty.

Women and fashion: The topic is rich and complex, though often left unstudied. That is why the School of Architecture and Design (SArD) and the Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World (IWSAW) at LAU held two exciting events highlighting the topic on March 14 and 15. Both events were organized in collaboration with London College of Fashion at the University of the Arts London, and were part of IWSAW’s month-long commemoration of International Women’s Day.

The lecture on March 14, entitled The Politics of Fashion: Why Fashion Matters, featured Frances Corner, head of London College of Fashion and pro vice-chancellor of the University of the Arts London, who discussed the impact of the fashion industry on individuals and societies.

“Clothes give us a voice. Clothes give women a safe platform for expression, and have done so for thousands of years,” Corner told the audience. “Clothing is fundamental to how we present ourselves to the world, and fashion reflects our very human need to both stand out and fit in.”

But the impact of fashion goes beyond the wearer. It’s a major world industry that employs millions and generates trillions in profit. In 2017, the fashion industry was estimated to be worth 2.4 trillion US dollars, which, if it were a country’s GDP, would represent the world’s seventh-largest economy. In addition, “it is the second-biggest worldwide economic activity for intensity of trade,” Corner said, “and it employs over 57 million workers in developing countries, 80 percent of whom are women.”

That is why, she concluded, “fashion really does matter.”

IWSAW Director Lina Abirafeh agrees. “I think the marriage of gender and fashion for this event is such an important one because there is a strong link between how we present ourselves and our social consciousness, choice, agency and empowerment. Looking at what we do, what we wear, and how we carry ourselves is part of a conscious choice we make,” she said. “And it presents an opportunity to choose wisely and have a significant social impact.”

Deliberating on the impact that fashion can have on Lebanon, Corner said, “You’re at the forefront of lots of issues around refugees, so the sorts of designs and the sort of industry that you can create here in Lebanon could actually make a difference.”

She added, “We know that, obviously, a lot of women and girls in the refugee camps are very vulnerable, so giving them the opportunity for employment or being part of an industry which is not abusing or exploiting them is rare and worth it.”

The March 15 conference continued the previous day’s conversation. Modern Bodies: Dress, Nation, Empire and Gender in the Modern Middle East was organized by Reina Lewis, professor of cultural studies at London College of Fashion, and Yasmine Taan, associate professor of art and design at LAU.

Speakers at the one-day conference – including Frances Corner, as well as lecturers from Concordia University, Macalester and Williams colleges, and the Smithsonian Institute – spoke about their research on the role of the gendered body in contemporary struggles over nation, modernity and postmodernity in the Middle East. Topics included taste, gender, body politic, nudism and power, reaching back to the Ottoman Empire.

Location is greatly significant in this context, Corner stated at the opening of the conference, for “Beirut’s rich history as a regional and international center for the staging and transmission of style provides an inspiring context for the students; so, too, in the present day does the intellectual and political openness of Lebanese society and its academy provide the essential freedom of thought for a truly creative teaching and learning environment.”

“The depth, history and richness of the conversations and questions were just so enjoyable as well as informative, and I think it’s rare to find that kind of overlap in discussion topics,” said Abirafeh of the session.

“This very rich collaboration between IWSAW, SArD, and London College of Fashion at the University of the Arts London proved to be thoroughly productive,” said Taan of the two events. “I hope that we can hold similar events in the future.”

Frances Corner, head of London College of Fashion, discussed the impact of the fashion industry on individuals and societies.

The politics of Palestinian embroidery featured during the conference on Modern Bodies.

From March 22 to 24, 1,600 students from 85 middle schools from all around the world convened in New York City for the 2018 Global Classrooms International (GCI) Model UN Middle School conference. Model UN is an educational simulation in which students learn about diplomacy, international relations, and the role and history of the United Nations. Participants in Model UN conferences, known as delegates, are placed on committees and assigned countries to represent at the gatherings.

The United Nations Association of the United States of America has been running the GCI Model UN since 1999. In 2016, LAU joined the program and has been hosting the event and sending students to New York for its conferences.

The experience enhances students’ knowledge of international diplomacy, improves their public speaking and debate skills, helps them navigate the UN’s rules and procedures, and, ultimately, puts them on the path to global citizenship.

“Bringing young students from all over the world to simulate the United Nations committees and discuss world affairs is a hands-on training in diplomacy, diversity and democracy,” said Elie Samia, assistant vice president for outreach and civic engagement for LAU’s Department of Student Development and Enrollment Management. “LAU is indeed a champion of the power of argument instead of the argument of power.” 

Student leaders and first-time delegates alike noted the transformative power of being part of the program.

Student leader Ameer Alsamman, 22, has taken part in various MUN simulation programs with LAU for the last four years. The final-year international affairs major described how the program transformed him. “These programs have allowed me to ascend to a greater level of leadership. Taking part in MUN helps us with diplomacy, dignity, rule of law and what it means to be a human being,” he said.

Rubetta Jumpah, 12, of SOS Hermann Gmeiner School in Ghana, represented South Korea. It was her first time participating in the GCI MUN conference. Rubetta and Jasmine Anane, 10, from Rosharon Montessori School, also in Ghana, were both excited to be at the conference in New York, witnessing so many cultures interacting. What they said they loved most of all was hearing different languages and making new friends. “My experience at the conference is giving me confidence,” said Jasmine. “I feel that I know what I am doing.” She hopes to one day become a president. Rubetta, not to be outshone, wants to be an ambassador.  

Another first-time delegate, Zohayb Sherwan, 11, of Al-Ghazaly High School in New Jersey, was representing the Kingdom of Morocco. Zohayb joined the Model UN program to carry on the family tradition and because, he said, he really enjoys debating. He said the simulation program “helps people speak in public and be able to express their ideas to anyone.” He suggested that even if a fellow middle schooler does not want to pursue a career in diplomacy, everyone should join the program, because “They learn a lot about different countries and if they ever want to travel to those countries, then they’ll know what to look for.”

The future global leaders also had the opportunity to meet with key figures representing international governments and non-government actors in the fields of diplomacy and international relations, including Senior Economic Affairs Officer at the UN Economic and Social Council Eric Olson, Director and Deputy to the Assistant Secretary General for Human Rights Craig Mokhiber, and Senior Public Information Officer to the High Commissioner for Refugees Dana Sleiman.

As LAU student leader Ameer Alsamman concluded, “We become the leaders that we want, we can then implement the change in the world that we want.”

Assistant Secretary General for Human Rights Craig Mokhiber.

Senior Public Information Officer to the High Commissioner for Refugees Dana Sleiman.

Senior Economic Affairs Officer at the UN Economic and Social Council Eric Olson.

Six of LAU’s international affairs graduate students will travel to Germany in mid-June 2018 as part of an exchange program between LAU and the Freie University of Berlin (FUB). The trip, designed for students to acquire insights into the politics of refugee governance in host countries, is fully funded by a German Ministry of Education grant to LAU’s Social Sciences Department and FUB.

While in Germany, the LAU students will visit civil society and international organizations and attend university seminars to learn about refugee politics there. 

Associate Professor of Political Science and International Affairs Tamirace Fakhoury and Junior Professor of International Communication at FUB Carola Richter applied for the project grant in their capacity as members of the Arab-German Young Academy for Humanities and Sciences.

Through the exchange, the students are producing common projects centered on three main themes: refugee representation in the German and Lebanese media, political parties’ stances toward asylum seekers in the two countries, and the grassroots initiatives that German and Lebanese communities have devised to integrate refugees, said Fakhoury. “The aim is to encourage cross-disciplinary and collaborative research initiatives between LAU graduate students and other student communities,” she added.

Students from FUB have already visited LAU for a week earlier in March. While here, they attended a workshop on Byblos campus with their LAU counterparts organized by the Social Sciences Department and LAU’s Institute for Social Justice and Conflict Resolution.

With Fakhoury and Richter acting as moderators at the workshop, the students were divided into clusters and asked to produce posters focusing on the program’s three themes.

While this is the first student exchange project between the universities, for the past two years FUB has worked with the Communication Arts Department on the Media and Digital Literacy Academy in Beirut in addition to several research projects with Fakhoury.

“All of the students were here for the very first time. Most of them had not been to the Middle East before,” said Richter at the end of the trip. “It is a new experience for them, and it went very well. We talked to so many people.” 

As the graduates are all majoring in media, it was important for Richter that her students have the opportunity to compare such representation between Germany and Lebanon, which has the highest ratio of refugees to citizens in the world.

The students visited a number of informal refugee settlements, in addition to civil society organizations and the UNHCR. The visit allowed for a fresh view of the refugee crisis.

“It has absolutely been a positive experience,” Richter said. “This is something one has to see by him or herself, and then with the kind of academic background you can really disseminate these kinds of ideas into society.”

For FUB student Jutta Brennauer, the trip gave her a better impression of the needs and goals of refugees. “I understand why refugees choose Germany or Europe, but I also understand why they choose Lebanon. Lebanon is closer, similar culturally, and there are many families who already live or work here, so it is possible to integrate.”

She would like to return to Lebanon because it “has been very enriching, and we have met so many people who have the will to really try and change the perception of society. And I always admired this, especially under these circumstances, which are more challenging than they are in Germany.”

The students worked in groups to produce posters for the program’s themes on the refugee crisis.

New Cairo. El-Haram Street. A bar. A poker table. A band. A belly dancer. And two news anchors. Welcome to Casino el-Ons, LAU’s major spring music-theater production, directed by Assistant Professor of Music Amr Selim and LAU alumnus Awad Awad.

The satirical play – which employs 39 cast members, including musicians, actors, singers and dancers – is a collaborative work tackling a number of themes relevant to today’s times, such as corruption, the dissemination of information and the influence of social media.

“If I were to summarize the whole story, it is about the information itself,” Selim said. “It is about how we convey information, how it is discussed between friends, how it is conveyed in talk shows and over social media.”

 Information sharing and collaboration are not the only themes of the play, but the foundation upon which it was produced, stressed both Selim and Awad, who worked closely together and with others on the script, choreography and music composition.

“Amr and I wanted there to be a contribution from everybody, in their own way,” said Awad, who graduated from the Department of Communication Arts in 2016 with a BA in television and film. “We did not want to suppress anyone’s ambition in a specific talent,” he added.

They did quite the opposite, in fact. The two directors encouraged the cast to “go crazy and push what you think are your limits.” Selim said they wanted cast members to “feel ownership, to feel they are not being told what to do but rather contributing to the whole process.”

This led to the general eccentricity of the play, in which lines are spoken mainly in the Egyptian dialect and where the audience can expect to receive some kind of cryptic message on their mobiles before show time. The directors – both big fans of Egyptian pop culture – also included little messages in very short scenes that they hope the audience can relate to or learn something from.

Preparation for the play took around 10 weeks. It proved a challenging time for the directors, who had to manage a cast so large on a cross-campus production.

Another part of the production was the musical score, in which Selim and his team rearranged and wrote new lyrics for widely known songs, and produced original songs as well.

“Musically speaking, the production is very diverse,” said pre-med student George Chedid, who plays the casino’s accordionist. “We’ve got Umm Kulthoum, we’ve got rap and stuff that we composed,” he said.

But for the classically trained pianist and his fellow musicians, there was one thing they did not expect to hear from Selim: “You have to make this sound cheap – the quality of the music needs to be as high as ever, but the language used is cheap.”

“We usually go on stage and try to give our best performance,” Chedid said. “But the setting of the play being a cabaret, it was supposed to sound noisy and unorganized. It was a challenge to achieve that.”

Aside from the unexpected, there is one thing the audience can count on: lots of fun.

“We want to encourage the audience to do whatever they feel like doing – dance, laugh out loud…” said Awad. “Do whatever you feel. All we want you to do is feel.”

Casino el-Ons begins its run on April 10 at the Gulbenkian Theater on Beirut campus.

Members of the cast pictured with directors Amr Selim and Awad Awad.

The cast was encouraged to act over the top and “go crazy,” reflecting the atmosphere of a cabaret.

A scene from the satirical play: a poker table, a band and a rapper.

Organ donation may be one of the easiest ways to save a life. Yet in Lebanon, many do not readily register as organ or tissue donors for cultural and religious reasons.

That is why the President’s Circle at LAU recently held a conference in collaboration with the National Organization for Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation (NOD) highlighting  the humanitarian side of the issue and the dire need for more donors.

Introduced by LAU alumna and former Director General at the Ministry of Social Affairs Nimat Kanaan (BA ’58), LAU President Joseph G. Jabbra went on to thank the President’s Circle for convening on a topic that holds “profound humanitarian significance.”

A panel discussion moderated by NOD Coordinator Farida Younan followed with a testimony by a donor family, and an explanation of the clinical aspects of donation by neurologist Dr. Kamal Kallab.  

Because there is no universal family law in Lebanon, matters having to do with topics like organ donation are settled by the country’s religious institutions. Presenting the Christian view on the subject, Father Louis Khawand stressed that the Church endorses organ and tissue transplants from live donors provided they do not lead to death or disability for the donor. The Church also supports organ transplants from animals, he said, as long as they do not in any way “alter the human identity.” 

Khawand expressed regret that “so many organs are consigned to the earth” when they could benefit someone in need. “Our bodies are not our possession, but God’s gift,” he added, a view shared by Sheikh Bilal Muhammad al-Malla of Dar al-Fatwa. 

For his part, al-Malla pointed out that the “jurisprudential fatwa councils in the Arab and Islamic world, and contemporary scholars, agree on the permissibility of organ and tissue transplants and donations, within the legal, professional and religious perimeters that protect the living or deceased person’s sanctity and dignity, and preserve the genealogy that entails rights, duties, obligations and inheritance.” Both religious figures, however, insisted that deceased donors have to be certified “clinically dead” before any organs are removed. They also warned against the exploitation of organ donation for commercial purposes. Al-Malla stressed that the sale of organs and organ trafficking are forbidden in Islam and are considered “a crime against a person’s dignity and sanctity.” 

On that score, nephrologist Dr. Antoine Stephan, and co-founder of Lebanon’s National Organization for Organ and Tissue Donation and Transplantation (NOOTDT), pointed out that organ trafficking was no longer a problem in Lebanon thanks to the vigilance of the Ministry of Health. 

In his talk, Stephan emphasized the importance of donation in saving or improving the quality of a person’s life. Everyone, at one point or another, he noted, might need an organ, of which there is a great worldwide shortage that could be reduced by more people registering as donors.  

With a mere 19,000 donors on Lebanon’s official list, Stephan called for amending the 1983 Lebanese law sanctioning organ donation for scientific purposes. NOOTDT, he pointed out, covers all expenses incurred by organ and tissue donations, and only requires the donor family’s consent. Donations, he said, are subject to medical laws of confidentiality, and organ removal in no way causes disfigurement or scarring of deceased donors.

Speaking of his experience as a liver recipient at the end of the session, AUB student  Ahmad Anouti said that the whole process was not without complications; but it did, ultimately, give him his life back.

From left: Nimat Kanaan, Farida Younan, Dr. Kamal Kallab, Sheikh Bilal Muhammad al-Malla, Dr. Antoine Stephan, and Father Louis Khawand.

Pamphlets on donor donation were made available at the end of the conference.

Dr. Antoine Stephan emphasized the importance of donation in saving or improving the quality of a person’s life.

LAU President Joseph G. Jabbra thanked the committee of the President’s Circle for convening on a topic that holds “profound humanitarian significance.”

Lebanese President General Michel Aoun inducted Riyad Nassar into the National Order of the Cedar on March 28. It is the highest military and civilian honor in Lebanon, given for dedication to the country, acts of courage, and years of public service. Among his many accomplishments, Nassar was president of the Lebanese American University for 22 years. The award is a testament to his achievements and the lives he touched. 

Nassar was born in the village of Monsef in 1934 to parents who valued education but did not have the opportunity to get much schooling themselves. He excelled in school and received a BS and MS from the American University of Beirut in chemistry before moving to America to complete his PhD at Georgia Tech University in Atlanta.

Nassar spent his entire career at LAU, beginning when it was the Beirut College for Women (BCW) in 1965. He started as an assistant professor of chemistry before working his way up to become dean of the college in 1971. He was extremely active during his tenure as dean, expanding courses, infusing the college with grant money, bringing in top faculty, launching institutes, and starting the financial aid program, among many other accomplishments.

Throughout his time at the college, his open mind and willingness to cooperate in getting things done helped him advance the institution’s goals and his own career. He cites the tumultuous years between the beginning of his tenure and the outbreak of the Lebanese civil war in 1975 as an important time for women in the region, during which they were a major part of the social and political movements that changed the Middle East and the world.

Nassar became president of BUC in 1982 and navigated not only the academic, administrative and student-related aspects of the job, but also the deteriorating security situation outside the gates, which sometimes seeped onto campus.

After the war ended, Nassar oversaw BUC’s expansion into Byblos with a large, new campus, and the inauguration of LAU as a university in 1994.

Part of his legacy can be appreciated daily at LAU, in the Riyad Nassar Library on Beirut campus, inaugurated a year after his retirement in 2004.

“Dr. Nassar’s leadership helped lay the groundwork for the amazing success of LAU, and BCW and BUC before it,” said LAU President Joseph G. Jabbra. “Thanks to his dedication and vision, we can proudly call ourselves a leading university that embraces progress, hard work and diversity for the good of our students, our community and our country.”

At the Order of the Cedar ceremony, Nassar thanked President Aoun and the government for their support. “I am honored for the opportunity to contribute to the continuing efforts to build up this country, because culture and higher education in Lebanon are extremely important,” he said.