Dr. Joseph G. Jabbra
President Emeritus
Dr. Joseph G. Jabbra presided over LAU from August 1, 2004 to September 30, 2020.
Dr. Jabbra’s leadership has launched the university on the path of institutional and academic renaissance, supported by strong internal human and financial resources. Strengthened by outside gifts and support, these have enabled LAU to develop and implement a vigorous five-year strategic plan. This plan has encompassed opening new schools and developing new programs while sustaining existing ones; attracting new professors while empowering current faculty; putting in place an ambitious capital plan; implementing LAU’s comprehensive Campaign for Excellence entitled “The Legacy and the Promise.” It has also meant preparing the university to meet the highest academic standards in order to achieve accreditation from the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC).
Prior to his role at LAU, Dr. Jabbra served as Academic Vice President at Loyola Marymount University (LMU) in Los Angeles, California, from 1990 to 2004. He had earlier served as Vice President, Academic and Research, at St. Mary’s University (SMU) in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, from 1980 to 1990.
During his tenure at LMU and SMU, Dr. Jabbra gained profound experience in academic administration. He served on and chaired over 100 academic committees and boards, ranging from academic senates to boards of trustees. At both universities, Dr. Jabbra was fully engaged in strategic planning and fundraising.
In Canada, he played a major role in the Maritime Provinces Higher Education Commission (MPHEC), which accredits university and college programs in the three Canadian Maritime Provinces. In the United States, he was very active in the Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), a leading U.S. accrediting commission. He always participated vigorously in the revision of accreditation standards and served on accreditation visits for many institutions. He also was active in the accreditation of American law schools for the American Bar Association (ABA).
Dr. Jabbra earned his law degree at the Université Saint-Joseph in Beirut, and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.
He is the author, co-author, and co-editor of 12 books. The latest, Public Administration in Transition, was recently published in London, England. He has also published over 33 articles and chapters in books and scholarly journals, over 26 book reviews in both English and French, and scores of scholarly papers and keynote addresses given at learned societies’ meetings and professional gatherings.
View this website created as a tribute to Dr. Joseph Jabbra.