Education

 News

Lebanese man sets himself on fire over daughter’s unpaid tuition fees

An investigation is underway into the death of a Lebanese man who set himself on fire after an argument over his daughter’s unpaid tuition fees, according to the state-run Lebanese National News Agency.

The man, identified by local media as George Zreik, set himself ablaze outside of a private elementary school in the village of Bkeftine in Koura. He was transported to the hospital where he died of severe burns.

Zreik reportedly visited the school to request his daughter’s school documents to transfer to a public school. The school director refused to provide the documents due to unpaid fees, the National News Agency reported.

In a statement, the private Orthodox school said Zreik had not paid tuition, transportation and registration fees since 2015. They school went on to say they attempted to express sympathy with his financial situation.

Bkeftine is a village in the Koura District of Lebanon. (Google Maps)
Bkeftine is a village in the Koura District of Lebanon. (Google Maps)

Lebanese Education Minister Akram Chehayeb has opened a state-conducted investigation into the private school and Zreik’s death.

The government has pledged to cover the cost of education for his children.

An estimated two-thirds of Lebanese students now attend costly private schools, and public schools have become the last resort for families without means, according to the U.S. Agency for International Development, which provides financial support to help improve the quality of education in Lebanon.

Comments Off on Lebanese man sets himself on fire over daughter’s unpaid tuition fees 8554
 News

AUB ranks in top 50 universities worldwide for employability

The American University of Beirut is among the top 50 universities worldwide for producing the most employable graduates, according to 2019 rankings released by education researcher Quacquarelli Symonds.

AUB was ranked 45 in the list of top 50 universities around the world for employability.

The top five universities include:

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)
  • Stanford University
  • University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
  • Harvard University
  • The University of Sydney

The new ranking marks the third year in a row AUB is listed above every accredited university in the Arab region.

READ HERE: Full analysis of AUB’s employability ranking.

“AUB’s continued dominance in the QS ranking of graduate employability is evidence of AUB’s success in achieving its mission of producing outstanding graduates,” said Lokman Meho, director of AUB University Libraries.

Fadlo Khuri is president of the American University of Beirut. He assumed office in September 2015 and was officially inaugurated on January 25, 2016. (File photo)
Fadlo Khuri is president of the American University of Beirut. He assumed office in September 2015 and was officially inaugurated on January 25, 2016. (File photo)

RELATED: AUB sets world record for Lebanese flag made of 60,000 notebooks!

AUB was ranked 41 in 2018, and 81-90 in 2017.

No other Arab university ranked in the top 50. The King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals ranked 251-300, and the American University in Dubai and American University of Sharjah ranked 301-500.

The research measures the proportion of graduates in full-time or part-time employment within 12 months of graduation.

Comments Off on AUB ranks in top 50 universities worldwide for employability 2422
 News

Lebanese teen wins Amal Clooney Scholarship to study abroad in Armenia

A Lebanese teen was awarded the Amal Clooney Scholarship, and will participate in a two-year international baccalaureate program in Armenia, Reuters reported.

Kamar Omary, 16, is the fourth Lebanese teen to receive the prestigious scholarship set up by Lebanese-British human rights attorney Amal Clooney.

The scholarship aims to promote cross-cultural education and social and philanthropic projects, according to a news release.

Omary will study at UWC Dilijan College in Armenia. (UWC Dilijan)
Omary will study at UWC Dilijan College in Armenia. (UWC Dilijan)

“This scholarship (gives) young women from Lebanon the opportunity of a lifetime,” Amal Clooney said. “Cross-cultural learning and studying abroad can be transformative.”

Omary will head to the UWC Dilijan College in Dilijan, Armenia for the two-year program. She told Reuters she wants to join in a nationwide effort to combat child marriage and marital rape in Lebanon.

“We need a minimum age for marriage and marital rape should be criminalized,” Omary told the Thomson Reuters Foundation. “Sexism and abuse of women and children is still widespread. Women are stigmatized. They are generally seen as weaker than men and we need change.”

Omary also wants to follow in Clooney’s footsteps and help people in need, she added.

“Every single person deserves education, health and security, and most refugees don’t get that here. That is very unfair,” Omary said. “I want to connect with people and listen to them – that is how you trigger change and that is what Amal does. She listens to the people and defends them.”

The scholarship winner is chosen annually based on academic performance and interest in the promotion of human rights and international issues.

Comments Off on Lebanese teen wins Amal Clooney Scholarship to study abroad in Armenia 2609
 City Beat, New York

LAU to host Model UN conference in New York

(NEW YORK, NY) — The Lebanese American University in New York will host 60 students from 11 different nationalities during a Global Outreach and Leadership Development Conference on July 21.

The nine-day conference brings together aspiring diplomats for a series of Model United Nations educational simulations, which teach students about diplomacy and international relations.

According to LAU officials, participants are high school, undergraduate, and graduate students from Asia, Europe, and the Middle East.

A group of scheduled speakers will discuss international relations and diplomacy, including presentations from the Maxwell School Of Citizenship and Public Affairs, National Council on US-Arab Relations, and Friendship Ambassadors Foundation, among others.

“Bringing in experts from reputable universities and professional centers to share their leadership experiences, methodologies and perspectives has undoubtedly enriched the GOLD experience,” said Elie Samia, assistant vice president of university outreach and civic engagement.

"LAU has offered me the best experience: to be part of a global program that introduced me into the world of diplomacy,” said Anwar Tarabay, a student who participated in last year's program. (Photo via Hariri High School II)
“LAU has offered me the best experience: to be part of a global program that introduced me into the world of diplomacy,” said Anwar Tarabay, a student who participated in last year’s program. (Photo via Hariri High School II)

Last year, LAU hosted officials from UNICEF, the World Youth Alliance, and Georgetown University. The students were also given a tour of New York City, including visits to the Financial District, UN headquarters, and Brooklyn Bridge.

70 students participated last year, according to university officials.

“It has made our future as motivated leaders more tangible and real,” said Marianne Azar, a high school student from the 2014 program. “The perspectives from all speakers have been of most prominence as an inauguration for our future.”

The university said the conference aims to “expose students to the work of the UN and to the world of advocacy, empowerment and leadership.”

LAU runs two flagship Model UN programs: the Global Classrooms International High and Middle Schools Model UN Conferences, which have been run by United Nations Association of the United States since 2005.

The university will host a closing ceremony on July 30, expected to be attended by Caroline Ziade, deputy representative of the Permanent Mission of Lebanon to the UN, Dr. Muhammed Baasiri, vice governor of the Lebanese Central Bank, and Joseph Jabbra, LAU president.

LAU runs a satellite campus in New York City and operates under a charter from the Board of Regents of the University of the State of New York. The university had more than 8,200 students enrolled in Fall 2014.

Comments Off on LAU to host Model UN conference in New York 6845
 News

U.S. university revokes job offer to anti-Israeli professor; AUB hires him

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — The American University of Beirut has hired a professor whose anti-Israel Twitter posts led the University of Illinois to revoke a job offer last year.

Steven Salaita was offered a position as professor of American Indian Studies by the University of Illinois for fall 2014, but university officials rescinded the offer after citing a series of controversial tweets about Israel.

American University of Beirut spokeswoman Maha Al-Azar said Salaita was hired on Wednesday as the Edward Said Chair in American Studies.

Al-Azar added that Salaita was given a one-year appointment and will start Sept. 2.

Salaita, who is of Palestinian and Jordanian descent, said he was “thrilled” to accept the position. He said he learned that “Zionists get violently mad if a critic of Israel can earn a living.”

Meanwhile, Salaita continues his legal battle against the University of Illinois for allegedly hiding meeting minutes and email correspondence of university staff who were involved in withdrawing his employment offer.

He is suing the university for allegedly breaching contract and intentional emotional distress. He’s also claiming they violated his constitutional rights, including freedom of speech and due process.

A Illinois judge recently ordered the university to turn over thousands of pages of emails under the Freedom of Information Act.

In response to the university’s actions last year, a group of over 40 Jewish faculty and students at the university signed a letter to the board of trustees saying, “Your decision to fire Professor Salaita is in fact what threatens us as Jews.”

The faculty said they were “in solidarity” with Salaita and added that there was a “growing number of Jewish perspectives that oppose Israeli military occupation…and the assault on Palestine.”

The university did not return our calls for comment. Media reports say the controversy allegedly escalated when university donors protested Salaita’s hiring.

Comments Off on U.S. university revokes job offer to anti-Israeli professor; AUB hires him 1573
 News

AUB gets $2M humanities grant from Mellon Foundation

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — The American University of Beirut (AUB) has received a grant of $2 million from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for the establishment of a Center for Arts and Humanities.

The grant is the largest Mellon Foundation commitment to the University to date.

Over the next five years, the grant will fund 15 faculty fellowships and 10 postdoctoral fellowships in addition to writers and artists in-residence, high-profile public arts events, regional collaboration with scholars and universities, and other program activities and exchanges.

“Given the radical transformations underway in the region, the humanistic role of AUB is more critical than ever,” said AUB Provost Ahmad Dallal, the champion of this initiative.

“This new center will provide an alternative Middle Eastern site for the production of humanistic knowledge rooted in local and regional cultures.”

Officials at the Mellon Foundation said the grant would further establish “East-West cultural dialogues” and liberal arts education programs.

“As one of the leaders of liberal education in the region, AUB is well positioned to advance creativity and to promote freedom of expression, tolerance, diversity, and dialogue,” said Eugene Tobin, a senior program officer at the Mellon Foundation.

Comments Off on AUB gets $2M humanities grant from Mellon Foundation 1739
 News

LAU awards Lebanese designer Elie Saab with honorary doctorate

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Lebanese fashion designer Elie Saab was awarded an honorary doctorate by the Lebanese American University Business School during their commencement ceremony over the weekend.

“When I started my career 33 years ago I had a burst of energy and determination to succeed,” Saab said during the ceremony, according to Beirut-based newspaper The Daily Star.

Saab, 50, was born in Beirut, where he launched his fashion label at age 18. Saab credits a “result of work and effort,” but admits that times have changed.

Saab said his interest in fashion started when he was 9-years-old, when he began making clothes for his sisters.

“Nowadays your future lies in education, which will help you fulfill your dreams,” Saab said. “Your degree is your key to the real world.”

In 2013, LAU teamed up with Saab to launch the university’s first English-language bachelor’s degree in fashion design. The program continues in collaboration with Saab’s brand and the London College of Fashion.

“This honorary degree has increased my responsibility,” Saab added, “I thank (LAU President Joseph) Jabra for the trust he put in me and I wish students all the luck and success.”

Saab is originally from Damour, a southern coastal Beirut suburb, but currently owns homes in Gemmayze, Rabieh, and Faqra. He also owns properties in France and Switzerland.

Saab has dressed over 150 international celebrities for key global events over the past year.

His creations can be found all over the world, with boutiques located in Beirut, Dubai, Doha, Paris, London, Geneva, Hong Kong, and Mexico. Saab has 100 retail outlets all over the world.

Comments Off on LAU awards Lebanese designer Elie Saab with honorary doctorate 2245
 Business, Lifestyle, News

Billionaire pays Lebanese teen $100k to skip college

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Move over, Mark Zuckerburg.

The billionaire co-founder of Paypal, Peter Thiel, has pledged $100,000 to a Lebanese teen for choosing to skip college.

18-year-old Jihad Kawas will receive the six-figure stipend and an elite group of mentors over the next two years — to participate in the Theil Foundation’s mission to inspire the next generation of social entrepreneurs.

Thiel founded the program in 2011 with the belief that college discourages students from being innovators and leaves them in piles of student debt.

Kawas applied to the program, along with 2,800 other applicants, and was accepted into the exclusive group of 20 fellows on June 5.

But it’s not all that surprising, considering Kawas started exploring the mobile app industry and launching mobile startups when he was just 13-years-old.

Then in 2013, at 16-years-old, he founded Saily, a social marketplace for people to buy and sell items on their mobile devices.

Meanwhile, in between business deals and marketing campaigns, he was a student at Houssam Eddine Hariri High School in Saida, where he recently graduated.

But Kawas felt school was obstructing — not advancing — his innovative aspirations. And that’s why he chose to skip college and focus on his growing businesses.

“We should spend less time learning about how things work, and spend more time making things work,” Kawas said during a TEDx talk in Beirut in February. “(School) does not relate to our interests and does not make us better at what we’re good at.”

Thiel, who has a net worth of $2.2 billion, agrees.

“Nothing forces us to funnel students into a tournament that bankrupts the losers and turns the winners into conformists,” Thiel wrote in The Washington Post. “But that’s what will happen until we start questioning whether college is our only option.”

Today, Thiel Fellows have raised over $142 million in venture capital and created at least $41 million in revenue.

Jihad Kawas is well on his way.

WATCH Jihad’s talk, “Why School is Not Ready for Us,” at TEDx Beirut:

Comments Off on Billionaire pays Lebanese teen $100k to skip college 7719
 Lifestyle, News

U.S. fundraiser aims to bring clean water to Lebanese schools

(DETROIT, MI) — A U.S.-based service organization is on a mission to raise $3 million to install water filtration systems in 1,200 Lebanese schools over the next three years.

A group of Rotary International leaders — in partnership with the Rotary of Lebanon and Troy Rotary Club in Troy, Mich.  — are part of an effort to bring clean water into Lebanon’s public school system.

Nearly one in three Lebanese buy alternative sources of drinking water, usually from mobile water trucks or in bottles, according to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).

Lebanese public schools are in even greater need, according to USAID, because of the influx of Syrian refugees, who have added 200,000 Syrian children into an already crowded system.

“The water reaching Lebanese private and public properties is so contaminated, it is undrinkable,” said Fadi Sankari, chairman of the Lebanon Water Project. “It is important to engage in Lebanon’s humanitarian affairs because as U.S born Americans we are fortunate enough to have clean drinking water at our disposal.”

Contaminated drinking water affects 300,000 Lebanese children and 200,000 Syrian children, according to Sankari. Rotary International has developed working committees to examine the hardest-hit schools, and allocate the resources and volunteers to launch the undertaking.

“I’m happy to report that we have roughly $1.2 million raised and nearly 400 schools complete and 50 in the works,” Sankari added.

The committee is working in cooperation with the Ministry of Education, UNICEF, and the Red Cross, among others. It costs $2,500 to install a water tank and filter in each school.

Lebanese Health Minister Wael Abu Faour announced in early April a new campaign to address water sanitation in Lebanese public schools. Abu Faour said his office identified high levels of bacteria in water samples from nearly all public school systems.

According to the Lebanese National News Agency, 49 percent of samples failed to meet the necessary health standards of the ministry.

Rotary International leaders in Lebanon have met with Abu Faour to discuss upcoming plans and timelines for project completion.

HOW YOU CAN HELP:

The Troy Rotary Club is hosting a fundraising gala on July 23 at Byblos Banquet Center in Dearborn, Mich. For more information call (248) 740-7151 — donations are tax deductible. The event flyer can be found at this link.

Comments Off on U.S. fundraiser aims to bring clean water to Lebanese schools 2459
 News

Adnan Kassar donates $10M to the Lebanese American University

(BEIRUT, LEBANON) — Businessman Adnan Kassar donated $10 million to endow the Adnan Kassar School of Business at the Lebanese American University today, in the presence of LAU President Dr. Joseph Jabbra, LAU senior management, and Lebanese members of parliament.

Kassar is a former minister of economy and trade, and the chairman of Fransabank Group. He was also the president of the Beirut Chamber of Commerce.

“Today is President Adnan Kassar’s day at LAU, and from now and on, every day will be Adnan Kassar’s day at LAU,” said Dr. Jabbra. “His name on the school of business will be soaring up into the sky in the heart of Ras Beirut.”

LAU said Kassar’s donation is one of the biggest philanthropic investments in the university’s history.

Kassar donates $60,000 annually to endow scholarships to students in the Lebanese American University School of Business. (Photo Fransabank Corporate Communications)
Kassar donates $60,000 annually to endow scholarships to students in the Lebanese American University School of Business. (Photo Fransabank Corporate Communications)

Kassar and his brother are major shareholders of Fransabank and owners of a multitude of businesses in trade, shipping, travel industries. He is also a partner with Walid Jumblatt in a cement manufacturing firm.

“I consider private initiative as the main source for growth and development,” said Kassar. “Perhaps this explains my deep involvement in chambers of commerce and industry, which I consider as organizers for private initiative and for bringing about socio-economic growth and development.”

Dr. Jabbra highlighted Kassar’s achivements in economy and business, calling him an “extraordinary human being.”

“Alongside being a great defender of the private sector, he is an active participant in the advancement of society in Lebanon and in the entire region,” Jabbra said, adding that he has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Lebanese orphanages, hospitals, and major development projects in Beirut.

Comments Off on Adnan Kassar donates $10M to the Lebanese American University 2077

Send this to friend