President Waterbury Meets with New Officers of Alumni Association

Left to right: Doumit, Makkawi, Waterbury, and Doughan

President John Waterbury recently met with the newly-elected members of the executive committee of the Worldwide Alumni Association of the American University of Beirut (WAAAUB) to talk with them about their new responsibilities. The new members were elected by the 15-member WAAAUB Board of Directors in August.

The committee officers elected included Khalil Makkawi (Lebanon), who was unanimously chosen as president. Makkawi is a former ambassador of Lebanon to the United Nations and is presently the president of the Lebanese Palestinian Dialogue Committee. The three other officers elected were Muhieddine Doughan (Lebanon) as secretary, Karam Doumit (Ecuador) as treasurer, and Genane Maalouf (North America) as vice president.

The Beirut-based WAAAUB, which was established by AUB's Board of Trustees in 2006, is the only international alumni association acknowledged by AUB and includes all alumni chapters in Lebanon, North America, and the rest of the world. In addition to its Board of Directors, the association includes an international alumni council of more than 130 members, who represent the entire AUB alumni network all over the world.

The WAAAUB Executive Committee's mandate will be to ensure implementation of the goals of strengthening the ties between the American University of Beirut and its alumni all over the world and to engage them in advancing the educational, research, and service mission of the University. Those goals include fostering the educational, career, and social interests of the University's alumni and working to preserve and promote the rich heritage and values of the University.