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2008 Commencement Marks End of Waterbury's Presidency
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| President John Waterbury receives the Order of the Cedar of the rank of Commander. Minister Qabbani standing to the right |
Not only did the 2008 Commencement exercises wrap up the academic careers
of nearly, 1800 students, but they also marked the end of President John
Waterbury's 10-year stint as president.
The graduating students celebrated their achievement with a huge party
in Oceana Beach Resort, while Professor Waterbury crowned his successful
presidency with a national medal of honor from the Lebanese presidency.
Waterbury will be succeeded by Egyptologist Peter F. Dorman, who is also
a direct descendant of AUB founder Daniel Bliss. Dorman, who is professor
of Egyptology at the Oriental Institute and in the Department of Near
Eastern Languages and Civilizations at the University of Chicago, will
be AUB's 15th president.
In his keynote speech, Waterbury reminisced about his childhood and his
10 years as president of AUB, thanking all those who made them "wonderful."
The government of Lebanon was among those he thanked because "in
my ten years [as president, it] never interfered in the affairs of the
University." He noted that more than 16,500 students graduated from
AUB during his term.
"This is my last Commencement as President of AUB. It is an end but
like the end of your own undergraduate and graduate studies, it is also
a beginning. That is the beauty of endings. They lead necessarily to new
beginnings. They should leave you, and they certainly leave me, with a
sense of anticipation and fear. That combination of emotions makes us
alive and should leave us a little humble," he said.
He also gave students the same advice his father had given him as a child:
To try to leave a place better than you find it.
"He did not say much better; he did not even say that I must succeed.
He did say TRY," he said. "That is what I ask of myself as President
of the AUB, and that is what I ask of you."
About 1600, students and their families flooded the newly-renovated Green
Field, where the main ceremony was held, after it had taken place at BIEL
during the past two years, due to construction works on the field.
Singer Reem Deeb, accompanied by pianist May Kallab, sang Fajrouka Al-ati
Ilayk by Henry Zgheib, whose music was composed by Joseph Khalifeh. Representing
President Michel Suleiman was Minister Khaled Qabbani, who bestowed upon
Waterbury a medal of honor, the Order of the Cedar of the rank of Commander,
in recognition of "his great services rendered to Lebanon" through
his leadership of AUB over the past 10 years.
Six students were awarded the Penrose Award for excellence, which recognizes, among students, a combination of scholarship, character, leadership and contribution to the University. The winners were, Khairat al-Habbal from Arts and Sciences, Melissa Maroun from the School of Business, Claudia Matta from Agricultural and Food Sciences, Hani Tohme from Engineering and Architecture, Farah Otaki from Health Sciences, Melhim Bou Alwan from Medicine, and Dina Mahmasani from Nursing.
Graduating business student Tarek Kawas gave the valedictorian speech, in which he urged his classmates to embrace their differences yet recognize what's common among them.
"We are an amazingly diverse culture with wonderful differences and fascinating distinction. But we also share a sameness. We share a human heart and an inborn desire to make this country, and this world better for ourselves, our families and our children. We must all come to understand that this kind of sameness is wonderful," he said. "When we truly understand and appreciate our sameness, only then will we be free. We will be free to discuss any issue and any political figure without fear of repercussion."
He added, sharing his apprehension about leaving the sheltered university life behind. "As eager as we are to begin our career, we are not looking forward to leaving our friends and colleagues that have stood by us through thick and thin. We are none too hasty to admit to ourselves that this evening we leave behind a great chapter of our lives. What's more, for many of us today, to graduate is equivalent to leaving our beloved country."