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Left
to right: HRH Prince Al-Walid Bin Tala, Talal Al-Mayman, Manager
Kingdom Holdings, President John Waterbury and Vice President George
Najjar, during the signatory ceremony for the Kingdom School Project.
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For
nearly three decades the Regional External Programs Office (REP) has worked
effectively and almost silently to channel developmental expertise from
AUB to the Middle East and the Gulf.
Established in the mid-1970s, REP's job was to give added impetus
to the regional mission of the University by collaborating with governmental
agencies and NGOs on vital projects in the region.
Since its inception, AUB's Regional External Programs Office has
worked in Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE, Qatar and Kuwait.
Fields of activity range from the health sector, business and management
and engineering, to agriculture and nutrition, education and arts and
sciences.
Now headed by Vice President Dr. George Najjar, REP continues to
serve regional development with its current flagship program, the Kingdom
School Project in Riyadh.
Kingdom School Project
In cooperation with HRH Prince Al-Walid Bin Talal and his kingdom
holding groups, the Kingdom School Project will develop a modern K-12
school in Riyadh. The project, envisioned as a showcase of educational
innovation in both the kingdom and the region, will accommodate about
4,000 students. The large, fee-based school is expected to open its doors
in September 2000 .
Planned as a futuristic institution, its physical environment,
teaching methods and academic administration will be the product of innovative
planning. The project's chief mission is to attract the best and brightest
students possible. To accomplish this, an extensive scholarship program
will allow the school to "skim off the cream" of the outstanding
candidates who apply for entry.
Through Regional External Programs, AUB will channel assistance
to this project by means of five major branches, each headed by experienced
leaders in their fields.
1- The education curriculum and academic standard tract will be
handled by Dr. Munir Bashshur and Dr. Murad Jurdak, Division of Education
Programs.
2- Matters of technology will be the responsibility of Dean Khalil
Bitar.
3- Governance and institution building come under the aegis of Provost
Peter Heath and VP George Najjar.
4- Advice on the co-curriculum tract will be provided by Dean Dean
Kevlin.
It is through this project and others like it that AUB demonstrates
its teaching mission and its role as a center of excellence and a source
of expertise in the region.
REP Projects
in the Arab World
Lebanon:
REP lent a helping hand in civil service training, dairy cow herd imports,
agricultural extension, medical programs, curriculum development, teacher
training and environmental research.
Bahrain: AUB played a key role in establishing and supporting
the University of Bahrain, particularly its Colleges of Business, Public
Health Engineering and Health Sciences. It was also involved in primary
health care and the training of school principals .
Qatar: AUB advised on development of the Hamad Health Facilities
and in the country's civil service.
UAE: AUB played a major part in establishing nursing schools
in the UAE, and the American University of Sharjah under the University
of Sharjah flagship project, and the University of Sharjah.
Saudi Arabia: AUB's role here goes back to the early 1970s
when it contributed systematically to development of a science curriculum
for the Ministry of Education. The work was eventually extended to include
the Ministry of Agriculture and Water Resources, especially irrigation
projects, agriculture research and new crop development. REP involvement
in Saudi Arabia continues, especially with the Kingdom School Project
in Riyadh, in the Western Province and member companies of the Jeddah
Chamber of Commerce.
Dr.
Nadim Cortas Vice-president for Medical Affairs And Dean, Faculty of Medicine
On
December 14 Dr. Nadim Cortas was appointed Vice-President for Medical
Affairs and Dean of the Faculty of Medicine. Dr. Cortas is a well-known
figure at AUB, having served for the last five years as Associate Dean
for Research and Development in the Faculty of Medicine. His academic
appointment as Professor is in the Dept. of Pharmacology and Therapeutics,
and in Internal Medicine.
Dr. Cortas took his MD degree at AUB in 1967. From 1972-78 he was
Assistant Professor of Pharmacology and Medicine (Endocrinology) in AUB's
Faculty of Medicine and Attending Physician at AUBMC. He was promoted
to Associate Professor in 1978 and to Professor in 1985.
In 1986 -1988, Dr. Cortas was Visiting Associate Professor of Biochemistry
at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, Columbia University, and from
1990 to 1994 he served as Director of its Parental Nutrition Service.
Between 1988 and 1993 he was Assistant Professor of Medicine at P&S,
and from 1993 to 1996 Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine. Dr. Cortas
has established a distinguished research record in biochemistry and molecular
biology.
As Associate Dean of Medicine at AUB since 1994, he has been responsible
for setting up the cutting-edge Core Environmental Laboratory and has
been a key player in the Inter-Faculty Environmental Sciences program.
Vice President Cortas will be joined by his wife, Asdghik. They
have three children all currently living outside Lebanon.
In his announcement, President Waterbury also expressed sincere
thanks to Dean Samir Najjar, who during his tenure worked tirelessly to
restore academic excellence to the Faculty of Medicine. He
also worked to improve the quality of clinical care at AUBMC. Dean Najjar
will now return to his first love, Pediatrics, as a Professor in that
department.
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