The Seven Schools
Adnan Kassar School of Business
Outstanding achievements by both faculty and students of the Adnan Kassar School of business (AKSOB) in AY2019-2020 have reaffirmed the school’s strength in innovative education and research.
Excellence in AKSOB’s Business and Management studies placed LAU among the top 10 universities in the Arab world in the 2020 edition of the QS World University Rankings by Subject, reflecting academic strength, reputation with employers and research impact.
Furthermore, and for the first time ever, AKSOB’s Business and Economics programs placed at No. 1 in Lebanon according to the Times Higher Education (THE) Subject Rankings 2021, reflecting the quality and impact of its research, and caliber of its academic staff.
As an example of AKSOB’s innovative approach in experiential pedagogy, in September 2019, the school embarked 15 EMBA students on a trip to Madrid, Spain, for a week-long activity on the principles of servant leadership and the best practices adopted in corporations and politics.
The solid foundation AKSOB provides is paving the way for students’ successes after graduation: three distinguished MBA graduates were offered full scholarships to pursue their PhD studies in renowned universities abroad. Christelle AlKhoury (MBA ‘18) and Cynthia Melhem (MBA ‘20), are specializing in accounting at IE University, Spain, and the consortium of Concordia — HEC Montreal, McGill and UQAM — respectively, and alumnus Edmond Kozah (MBA ‘17) is pursuing a doctorate in marketing at ESADE Business School in Spain.
The quality of research output by AKSOB faculty has also been recognized beyond borders. Maya Farah and Zahi Ramadan won best paper award 2019 AMA Summer Academic Conference in Chicago, Illinois.
An LAU study by Assistant Professor of Marketing Omar Itani published by Forbes and renowned media platforms reached the top 5 percent and 98th percentile of all research output ever tracked by Altmetric.
In its commitment to support innovative research endeavors, LAU became the only institution from Lebanon to take part in the international COVID-19 Fever Project organized by the global provider of neuroscience technology and research NEUROHM. By measuring the public’s responses and general attitude to the pandemic, the study and its findings could help define the right message that would in turn mitigate the spread of the virus and thereby ease the burden on the health system. AKSOB’s Assistant Professor of neuromarketing and business communication Dunia Harajli took part in the project.
In the annual faculty meeting during which the Office of the Provost recognizes faculty members who have distinguished themselves in teaching innovation, the Excellence in Teaching Award was granted to Assistant Professor of Marketing Zahy Ramadan (BS ‘98, MBA ‘00).
Health Sciences Schools
Alice Ramez Chagoury School of Nursing
This has been an exceptional year for students, residents and faculty of the Alice Ramez Chagoury School of Nursing (ARCSON) who valiantly stood at the frontlines in the fight against COVID-19 and tended to casualties of the August 4, 2020 explosion at the Port of Beirut.
Exemplifying the nobility of their profession, ARCSON students continued to volunteer at the LAU Medical Center-Rizk Hospital well after the explosion, and throughout the year nurses served on the LAU Mobile Clinic, administering free PCR tests in remote areas of Lebanon.
In parallel, classes were shifted online, and faculty seized the opportunity to work into their courses lessons that can be learned from the pandemic. Live case studies were used as they unfolded for a variety of course content, such as leadership in nursing, the economic impact on the profession, and the use of media and policies in emergency preparedness.
A virtual clinical nursing simulation program, complete with the noises and interruptions of hospital wards, made it possible for students to fulfill the clinical simulation requirements.
Following a brief disruption, the senior class was able to resume the clinical capstone course, on an intensive basis, at the LAU Medical Center-Rizk Hospital, and wrap up their learning and become practice-ready upon graduation.
Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chagoury School of Medicine
With much of AY2019-2020 shaped by the outbreak of COVID-19, the Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chagoury School of Medicine went above and beyond to help mitigate the spread of the virus.
In April 2020, the school under the leadership of Dr. Michel E. Mawad — then dean of the school — responded to the shortage of certified testing centers for COVID-19 in the country by launching the LAU Mobile Clinic in collaboration with LAU Medical Center-Rizk Hospital, administering free PCR tests nationwide, especially in remote regions where communities would have been unable to afford them. The clinic also served to train and build the capacity of local health providers to run the tests securely and efficiently.
The initiative was made possible through generous donations from Mersaco, the Czech Embassy, General Electric Healthcare, General Medical Equipment, and Majid Al Futtaim’s “Feel the Beat” Campaign. Lebanese businessman, philanthropist, and long-time supporter of LAU Ambassador Gilbert Chagoury also offered what he termed a “humanitarian gift,” covering 10,000 free PCR tests.
An additional donation by the President of the Association of Lebanese Business People in the World (RDCL World) Fouad Zmokhol (BS ‘96, MBA ‘99), who was then a member of the LAU Board of Trustees, helped to fund more than 800 PCR tests. Furthermore, 500 million Lebanese pounds donated by Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Société Générale de Banque au Liban (SGBL) Antoun Nabil Sehnaoui went toward purchasing PCR tests, PPEs and other necessary equipment and supplies for the hospital and the LAU Mobile Clinic.
In addition to the PCR tests, the school and the hospital sought to minimize exposure to the disease by setting up a virtual free-of-charge clinic, the LAU Coronavirus Telecare, whereby physicians provided patients with online consultancy.
To help alleviate a potential shortage in Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) in Lebanon at the onset of the pandemic, the school’s Clinical Professor and Division Head of Infectious Diseases Rola Husni-Samaha led an initiative with the School of Engineering and the LAU Medical Center-Rizk Hospital to design and 3D-print face shields to protect those working in high-risk areas. The design and production of the face shields were supervised by Associate Dean and Professor in the Department of Industrial and Mechanical Engineering Michel Khoury, while clinical professors and physicians from the school of medicine and the medical center actively engaged in providing feedback on prototypes.
In partnership with the Education Department at SoAS, the Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chagoury School of Medicine launched an innovative outreach program, the Anatomy Academy, that serves to share expert knowledge on anatomy, physiology and science education with middle- and high-school teachers across Lebanon.
Through innovation, the school also surmounted the limitations posed by COVID-19 in order to preserve its high educational standards. In June, the Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chagoury School of Medicine became the first in Lebanon to conduct the Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) — the rigorous assessment of Med IV students for clinic competency - virtually.
The team who made this possible was composed of Professor of Nephrology and Associate Dean for Medical Education Sola Aoun Bahous, Clinical Professor of Anesthesiology and Director of the Clinical Simulation Center (CSC) Vanda Abi Raad, OSCE Director and Associate Director at the CSC Nadia El Asmar, Associate Professor at SoAS Lina Abyad, the IT Department and staff and faculty at the school of medicine.
As a certified international training center of the American Heart Association, the CSC also promoted AHA guidance for CPR and emergency cardiovascular care for patients with known or suspected coronavirus (COVID-19) infection to help reduce the risk for transmission of SARS-CoV-2.
On the occasion of World Heart Day the CSC held a one-day awareness campaign in recognition, during which participants from the LAU Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chagoury School of Medicine provided the LAU Byblos community with hands-only CPR and invited participants to pledge an oath to become a Heart Hero.
Observing COVID-19 health restrictions, and in an innovative move, the school of medicine honored its eighth graduating class in its first-ever online hooding ceremony in mid-June.
Where it all happens: LAU Medical Center-Rizk Hospital
LAU Medical Center-Rizk Hospital was quick to respond to a fast-spreading pandemic, implementing stringent protocols in the admission of COVID-19 patients and in the outpatient clinic, and demarcating access points to the hospital.
Two separate isolated rooms with negative pressure outside a temporary ER unit were allocated to screening and isolating suspected COVID-19 cases. Seventeen beds were made available in the Medical Surgical Unit on floor 6 of building B where international standards were observed and all personal protective equipment (PPEs) for these critical patients and the staff met the recommendations of the Infectious Diseases team.
Throughout AY 2019-2019, physicians, healthcare workers and staff at the LAU Medical Center-Rizk Hospital have been, quite literally, at the frontlines, first through the pandemic, and later in their response to the August 4 Beirut explosion.
Starting with the very early days of the pandemic, LAU physicians served, spread valuable information, and led national efforts in the battle against the virus. In partnership with the Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chagoury School of Medicine, the medical center set up LAU Coronavirus Telecare, a virtual clinic staffed by LAU physicians, who volunteered their time and expertise, free of charge. In line with the same philosophy of keeping people safe at home, the LAU Mobile Clinic delivered free PCR tests and training as it toured Lebanese villages and cities.
On August 4, 2020, LAU Medical Center-Rizk Hospital was one of the closest, still-operational hospitals to the blast. It treated more than 350 patients within the first few hours and offered countless longer-term treatment and support to the victims of the blast in the months that followed.
School of Pharmacy
Guided by its Strategic Plan, the School of Pharmacy (SOP) persevered in its pursuit of national and regional recognition for innovation in education, practice, and scientific discovery, and in promoting the role of the pharmacist in optimizing patient outcomes as part of the interprofessional healthcare team.
In September 2019, 84 Professional Year 1 students received their prestigious white coats.
In December, the SOP and the LAU Medical Center-Rizk Hospital joined forces to develop the Postgraduate Year One (PGY1) Pharmacy Residency — a program that provides residents with advanced, hands-on experience in clinical practice, education and research.
One of the key faculty members at the School of Pharmacy, Director of Experiential Education and Acting Assistant Dean for Student Affairs Lamis Karaoui (PharmD ‘05) was elected Fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy (ACCP).
Joining a substantial number of her colleagues at the SOP, Clinical Assistant Professor Yara Mary Kuyumjian earned the Board Certification in Critical Care Pharmacy — a strong endorsement of her expertise in delivering pharmaceutical care to critically ill patients.
Clinical Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice in Infectious Diseases Hanine Mansour (PharmD ‘02), and Clinical Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice in Critical Care Yara Mary Kuyumjian (PharmD ‘14) worked with critical care and infectious diseases physicians Drs. Fayez Abillama, Khalil Diab, Jacques Mokhbat and Rola Husni-Samaha on developing a protocol for the treatment and management of COVID-19 patients.
A team at the SOP launched three research projects to investigate the sequence and evolution of the novel coronavirus circulating in Lebanon, seroprevalence of antibodies and coronavirus infections in animals. The projects were spearheaded at LAU by SOP Associate Professor Jad Abdallah along with SOP research faculty and postdoctoral fellow Walid Abi Habib, in close partnership with Human Link, a Lebanese independent research institute.
School of Architecture and Design
Years of hard work by faculty, staff and students at the School of Architecture and Design (SArD) culminated in two prestigious accreditations by the American National Architectural Accrediting Board (NAAB) and the National Association of Schools of Art and Design (NASAD).
In May of 2020, SArD became the first in Lebanon and the third internationally (outside the US) to obtain full accreditation for its Bachelor of Architecture from NAAB, the only agency recognized by registration boards in US jurisdictions to accredit professional degree programs in architecture.
Throughout AY2019-2020, accomplishments and awards garnered by faculty, students, and alumni have raised the profile of the school and the university:
In September 2019, Interior Design students from both campuses exhibited their table lamps at Beirut Design Fair with the coordination of their instructor Samer Haddad.
Alumna Nour Chamoun (BS ‘13) co-founder and chief-of-product of Scopio — an image marketplace designed to make stock photography more diverse, authentic and affordable — made the 2020 Forbes 30 Under 30 List.
Alumna Sabine Dina (BArch ‘19) received a Merit Award in the Student Graduation Project Category for her Final Year project — A Future Living Factory, Bourj Hammoud — at the American Institute of Architects (AIA) Middle East conference in Beirut.
One year after completing her final-year project, the Public Library of Aleppo: Regenerating the Memory of the City — nominated for entry into the Chadirji competition by the department of architecture — alumna Maria Tarchichy (BArch ‘19) walked off with the Lebanese Order of Engineers’ Chadirji Prize.
Architect and alumnus Naji Al Hakim (BArch ‘15), was awarded the Gold Prize at the Muse Design Awards for his project Innovation Lab, the first multipurpose digital marketing garage for Al Rajhi Bank’s headquarters in Saudi Arabia.
Graphic design students’ win at the Dubai Lynx Festival of Creativity earned LAU the University of the Year title. Chloe Maria El Khoueiri snatched first place for the MBC Youth Award and second place for the Masar Student Print Award, and her peers Jean-Pierre El Hajj and Hana Ghemrawi jointly took second place for the MBC Youth Award.
Assistant Professor of Practice at the School of Architecture and Design Marwan Zouein and his team shared the winning prize for their entry at the Beyond Cement Competition, focused on the environmental, economic and urban challenges facing Chekka, Koura and the Collar Towns.
School of Arts and Sciences
In spite of disruptions to the AY2019-2020 caused by the October 17 Uprising and COVID-19 lockdowns, the School of Arts and Sciences rose to the occasion with online learning, webinars, interdisciplinary collaboration and widely-disseminated research into the pandemic.
At the beginning of the year, alumna Dr. Cathia Jenainati assumed her position as the new dean of the school. Dr. Jenainati earned undergraduate degrees in Biology and English Literature from LAU, in addition to an MA in English Literature from the American University in Beirut (AUB) and a PhD in Comparative Literary Studies from the University of Warwick.
LAU Alumna Tamara Salloum (BS ‘13, MS ‘15) was among six Arab women scientists selected by the L’Oreal-UNESCO For Women in Science Levant Fellowship Program in recognition of their research work and role in the development of the region.
In October 2019, 28 nutrition students from The Nutrition and Dietetics Program, who had already started their dietetic internships at LAU Medical Center-Rizk Hospital and other hospitals, donned their white coats in a ceremony that ushered them into the professional world of dietetics.
Delayed by the October 17 Revolution, the fall major theater production by Dr. Lina Abyad — Don’t Be Scared My Dear, It’s Only Fireworks and retitled 1975-2019 — was reworked to incorporate the mass popular protests across the country into the adaptation of the novel by Lebanese lawyer and author Alexandre Najjar The School of War.
The BS in Nutrition and Dietetics Coordinated Program (CP) achieved candidacy for accreditation by the accrediting agency for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics in the US, in May 2020. As the first step in the four-year accrediting process, the candidacy by the Accreditation Council for Education in Nutrition and Dietetics (ACEND) grants current and future students the same rights of a fully accredited program.
SoAS collaborated with Continuing Education (LAU CE) to launch a series of free webinars in April, Knowledge Unlocked, that addressed some of the most pressing and common questions brought forth by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In January 2020, Assistant Professor of Music Seba Ali was presented with the prestigious iphiGenia Gender Design Award at the Cologne Museum of Applied Art for her outstanding gender-sensitive design work in the IMAGINE Workshop and Concert Series. Dr. Ali has established herself as one of the Communication Arts Department’s trailblazers, securing more than $100,000 in external grants for the IMAGINE series.
In partnership with the Education Department at SoAS, the Gilbert and Rose-Marie Chagoury School of Medicine launched an innovative outreach program, the Anatomy Academy, that serves to share expert knowledge on anatomy, physiology and science education with middle- and high-school teachers across Lebanon.
A study on Media Uses and Trust During Protests at SoAS’ Institute of Media Studies and Research (IMRT) led by IMRT Director Jad Melki and IMRT Research Director Claudia Kozman surveyed a nationally representative random sample of 1,000 Lebanese at the height of the protests (December 5-12). Released in March 2020, and published in Arabic in Al-Adab Journal, the research was funded by SoAS and the Office of Graduate Studies and Research.
In April 2020, a team of microbiologists at LAU, led by Chair of the Natural Sciences Department Sima Tokajian, discovered a variation in part of the genome of two recovered SARS-CoV-2 viruses, focusing on the ORF3a protein. The study that involved LAU biology alumni Tamara Salloum (BS ‘13, MS ‘15), Balig Panossian (BS ‘17, MS ‘19) and Georgi Merhi (MS ‘19), and senior undergraduate biology student Elio Issa, was published in the American Society for Microbiology Journals. In parallel, the team worked on customizing an online tool initially designed for the analysis of bacterial genomes, spearheaded by Panossian, that would serve professionals in the medical field interested in the population genomics of SARS-CoV-2.
Subsequently, in June 2020, the department partnered with the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health and Rafik Hariri University Hospital to launch a project for the whole-genome sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 recovered from Lebanon. The project, titled Genetic Code of COVID-19: Insights into the Spread, Evolution, and Control, was also led by Dr. Tokajian.
In April, Associate Professor of Bioinformatics Georges Khazen and a team of SoAS faculty and students developed an interactive dashboard for validated historical testing data about COVID-19. The testing data could be used by the Ministry of Public Health, as well as healthcare professionals, to track the pandemic, prepare for potential surges in infection rates, and plan mitigation strategies accordingly. A genomic variability section further provides insights on how the virus is changing within and between countries.
In June 2020, the Institute for Social Justice and Conflict Resolution at SoAS received a $500,000 grant from Carnegie Corporation New York for a research project on resilience and inclusive governance in the Middle East.
A team of computer scientists at SoAS, led by Associate Professor and Associate Chairperson of the Department of Computer Science and Mathematics Azzam Mourad, investigated the ways that social media platforms have reflected the public’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, giving rise to an infodemic. SoAS Associate Dean Haidar Harmanani provided the quantitative analysis of the primary data, while graduate computer science student Ali Srour contributed to the project.
In partnership with 12 researchers from four universities, IMRT at SoAS spearheaded a working paper on media and communication uses during the COVID-19 pandemic. The report, Mitigating Infodemics, aimed to help mitigate the pandemic by examining and combatting the dissemination of false and potentially life-threatening information and fake news related to the virus, evaluating Lebanese residents’ knowledge of COVID-19, as well as their perceived knowledge, belief in myths and false information, fear of the virus, and compliance with prevention measures.
Later in the year, Associate Professor of Journalism and Media Studies Jad Melki, who was a principal investigator in the study, received the prestigious Abdul Hameed Shoman Award for Arab Researchers — the second such award for LAU — for his work on the impact of social media in the Arab world.
In the annual faculty meeting during which the Office of the Provost recognizes faculty members who have distinguished themselves in teaching innovation, the Excellence in Teaching Award was granted to Associate Professor and Communication Arts Chair Jad Melki.
School of Engineering
From well-earned student and faculty distinctions to lab upgrades and partnerships, the School of Engineering cemented its links with industry and international engineering societies.
In October 2019, LAU held the Second BMW Group Beirut Hackathon 2019 focused on using Artificial Intelligence (AI), particularly machine learning, within the Logistics department at BMW Group. More than 74 engineering and computer science students were handpicked from eight universities to take part. Two LAU teams grabbed top spots: Anis Ismail, Anthony Kreimaty and Karim Abi Fadel from SOE came in second place, while Moussa Zogheib, Philippe Saade, and Jescard Tamer from LAU’s School of Arts and Sciences came in third. They all received a number of substantial rewards, such as internships at BMW and valuable monetary prizes.
In September 2019, students’ weeding hack was a winner at the Agrytech Hackathon. Mechanical Engineers Guadaluna El Chaer, Georgy Kassab and Fabio Bouhabib came up with “Agri-istic Solutions,” a robot that uses single-shot laser technology to kill weeds with high accuracy.
The completion of Phase II of the Reaction Wall and Strong Floor (RWSF) Structures Lab took LAU’s SOE to new heights. A continuation of the first phase that was completed in Fall 2018, Phase II of the project goes beyond what any lab facility in the MENA region currently offers — and LAU students and faculty are reaping the benefits.
In December 2019, an internationally competitive research grant proposal for sustainable wastewater management by Assistant Professor of Civil Engineering Moustapha Harb was selected to receive more than €400,000 in funding by the Partnership for Research and Innovation in the Mediterranean Area (PRIMA) under the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Program.
In January 2020, Dr. Lina Karam assumed her position as dean of the School of Engineering. A fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) — the highest grade in IEEE that is conferred each year to no more than one per cent of IEEE voting members — for her contributions in image and video processing, visual media compression and transmission, and digital filtering areas, Dr. Karam is a recipient of many prestigious awards. She holds seven US patents and is the author of over 220 technical publications.
Chair and Associate Professor of Civil Engineering at LAU Caesar Abi Shdid (BE ‘99), was elected fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) — an honor held by less than three percent of its members, who exceed 150,000 from 177 countries.
Assistant Professor of Practice in Industrial Engineering Nabil Nehme was elected Director of the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers (IISE), Engineering Economy Division Board, effective June 2020.
In collaboration with the school of medicine and LAU Medical Center-Rizk Hospital the SOE produced high-quality face shields to protect those working in high-risk areas. The design and production of the face shields were supervised by Associate Dean Michel Khoury, who is a professor in the Department of Industrial and Mechanical Engineering, while clinical professors and physicians from the school of medicine and the medical center provided feedback on prototypes.
In July 2020, the SOE cemented its three-years-and-counting partnership with BMW Group, one of the world’s largest automobile manufacturers, to promote research and internship opportunities that benefit the students, LAU and BMW at large.LAU alumna Gaelle Abi Younes (BE ‘19) and Associate Professor of Civil Engineering John El Khoury were featured in the fall edition of Aviation Newsletter.
LAU petroleum engineering students were recognized with various awards in 2020. Petroleum engineering students seized the fourth spot in the 2020 Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE) PetroBowl Regional Qualifier and qualified to participate in the International PetroBowl Championship. The LAU SPE Student Chapter was awarded the 2020 Student Chapter Excellence Award.
The LAU SPE Student Chapter seized first place at the Abu Dhabi International Petroleum Exhibition and Conference’s University Program Competition.