Dr. Chaouki T. Abdallah

Chaouki T. Abdallah became the tenth president of LAU on October 1, 2024. Most recently, he served as Executive Vice President for Research at The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech), from September 2018 until September 2024.

Under Dr. Abdallah’s leadership, research expenditures at Georgia Tech increased significantly from approximately $850 million at the start of his term in 2018 to $1.45 billion as of December 2023. Dr. Abdallah previously served as the 22nd president of the University of New Mexico. His efforts there contributed to an 8% increase in first-year student retention and a 125% increase in four-year graduation rates. A prominent expert in control theory and systems engineering, he has authored eight books, serving as co-editor for three of them and co-author for five. Additionally, he has contributed to more than 400 peer-reviewed articles. Dr. Abdallah is deeply committed to guiding students and has personally mentored 36 Master’s degree and 16 Ph.D. candidates.

Dr. Abdallah studied at the Faculté d’ingénierie of the Université Saint-Joseph in Lebanon before continuing his studies in the United States at Youngstown State University in Ohio, where he obtained a Bachelor of Engineering (B.E.) degree in 1981. He earned M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical engineering from Georgia Tech in 1982 and 1988, respectively.

Dr. Abdallah is a native of Rachana, a village in northern Lebanon known for its beautiful sculptures, where some of his family still live. He and his seven siblings are all first-generation college graduates, thanks in part to the hard work of their parents. Dr. Abdallah met his wife, Catherine, also an engineering graduate, at Georgia Tech. She is the president of a global supply chain company. They have two engineering graduate sons.

Contact:

Dr. Chaouki T. Abdallah
President
Lebanese American University
Beirut Tel: +961-1-786456 ext. 2190
Byblos Tel: +961-9-547262, ext. 2190
New York Tel: +1 (212) 203-4333
Email: president@lau.edu.lb