Professor Samir Makdisi

Trustee Emeritus PM Salim Hoss (right) greeting Professor Samir Makdisi after Founders Day ceremony

Excerpt from President John Waterbury's speech at the Founders Day Ceremony on December 3, 2007.

"Samir Makdisi was Deputy President of AUB from 1993 to 1998 and welcomed me to campus in January 1998 when I became president. During his tenure as deputy president he oversaw the first major steps toward renewal and revival of AUB after the long years of the civil war. He guided me during my initial weeks and then graciously stepped aside to return to his real love, the Institute of Money and Banking, which he founded, and which is today the Institute of Financial Economics. Like many great AUBites, he has played a role as a public official in the service of Lebanon. He was Minister of National Economy in 1992. He has been active in his profession of economics, serving as chair of the Department of Economics here and director of the Institute of Financial Economics, and as chair of the board of the Economic Research Forum for the Arab countries, Turkey, and Iran. He is a member of the Governing Board of the Global Development Network. Most impressive for me - younger faculty please take note - Samir Makdisi has continued to be an active and productive research scholar. In 2004, he published the important book, The Lessons of Lebanon: the Economics of War and Development. He is currently involved in large comparative studies on failed states and states emerging from civil strife, as well as in a comparative study of the correlates of democratic performance. Samir Makdisi is a monument to life long learning and teaching, and I am proud to introduce him as our speaker at today's Founders Day celebration."