PrESIDENT’S REPorT 2008 09 TABLE OF 8 26 34 CONTENTS 36 4 30 28 2 Letters AUC New Cairo Inauguration Ambition and Impact: The Future of AUC Sponsored Programs Financials Club President’s Board of Trustees Facts and Figures PRESIDENT’S LETTER This has been a transformational year for the American University in Cairo. As we celebrated the university’s illustrious 90-year history, we also completed the long-awaited move to our new campus. In February, Egypt’s First Lady Suzanne Mubarak joined us to mark these historic events, which also symbolized the close of one chapter in AUC’s history, as we embark on a new chapter, prepared to fully capitalize on the multitude of opportunities our history and amazing facilities present. Over the past year, we have expanded our academic offerings, increased our institutional partnerships and attracted unprecedented numbers of students of the highest caliber. We have restructured our schools to establish a School of Business, a School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, and a Graduate School of Education, giving each school the specialization it needs to focus and excel in its respective area. We have achieved the most stringent levels of academic accreditation and recruited top-tier faculty members at the forefront of their fields. And this is only the tip of the iceberg. Under the leadership of Provost DAVID D. ARNOLD Lisa Anderson, AUC is embarking on a bold dream of becoming a global center of academic excellence, rivaling the best institutions around the world. As the university settles into the campus and while plans are underway for the future, it is imperative that I take this chance to thank you — our friends and supporters. Your generosity and determination have made the dreams of the founders of this university a reality, and it is your continued support that will ensure that AUC realizes its aspirations for the future. 2 CHAIRMAN’S LETTER Since its founding 90 years ago, the American University in Cairo has benefited from a deeply committed and actively engaged Board of Trustees, as well as a group of loyal supporters who have seen it through decades of turbulence and triumphs to where it stands today. In fact, many members of our board have family ties that date back to the founding of AUC, when its sole aspiration was to provide an English-language education in a few disciplines to Egyptian youth. What is taking place on campus today — from exciting new research in biotechnology to world-renowned Arabic study programs and innovative partnerships with international institutions — is the tangible result of this commitment to AUC’s mission by so many individuals for many decades. Well beyond the dream of becoming a recognized university and building a campus, AUC has risen to prominence as a well-respected center for scholars and students from around the world. Equally impressive is the university’s singular ability to link and embody the best of American liberal-arts education with the rich cultural heritage of Egypt and the region. AUC occupies a unique space from which it can educate the leaders of Egypt and the region, serve as a portal for the exploration and understanding of both American and Arab culture, and give the Middle East a teaching and research institution at par with the best in the world. Your support, along with generations of supporters over the past 90 years, has positioned AUC as the leader in higher education it is today and created a B. BOYD HIGHT promise of a future that exceeds all expectations. 3 The Hatem and Janet Mostafa Core Academic Center and the AUC Library overlooking Bartlett Plaza Americana Food Court U.S. Ambassador to Egypt Margaret Scobey delivering U.S. AUC President David D. Arnold presenting Egypt’s First Lady Suzanne Mubarak ’77, ’82 Dr. and Mrs. Elias Hebeka Bookstore President Barack Obama’s message of congratulations to AUC with the key to the university INAUGURATIon 4 Inauguration of the Malak Gabr Arts Theater Egypt’s First Lady Suzanne Mubarak ’77, ’82 presided over the official inauguration of AUC New Cairo last February, in a ceremony that drew prominent leaders from around the world. Margaret Scobey, U.S. ambassador to Egypt, also delivered a message of congratulations to AUC from U.S. President Barack Obama. Dr. and Mrs. Elias Hebeka Bookstore Faculty showcase concert Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud Hall INAUGURATIon FEBRUARY 2009 5 AUC Trustee Mohamed ElBaradei, Nobel Prize winner and director general emeritus of the International Youssef Boutros Ghali, Egypt’s His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qassimi, ruler of Sharjah, Atomic Energy Agency minister of finance inaugurates the Sharjah Art Gallery at AUC’s Center for the Arts Inauguration week also marked the celebration of AUC’s 90th anniversary with a week-long program of events, including cultural performances, academic panels and lectures that featured distinguished speakers from around world. School of Sciences and Engineering Abdul Latif Jameel Hall 6 GUESTS INAUGURATION Fayza Aboulnaga Egypt’s Minister of International Cooperation Jazz performance by the Charlie Young Quartet Jazz performancebytheCharlieYoung Alaa Al Aswany Author of Yacoubian Building and directorofthe managementandsustainabledevelopment Jeffrey Sachs,professorofhealthpolicy, and Chicago Youssef Boutros Ghali Egypt’s Minister of Finance E arth InstituteatColumbiaUniversity Allan Goodman President and Chief Executive Officer of the International Institute of Education Hany Helal Egypt’s Minister of Higher Education and includingMoatazAlAlfiHallandBassilyAuditorium Center, Conference andVisitor Minister of State for Scientific Research Mohamed ElBaradei Director General Emeritus of the International Atomic Energy Agency and AUC Trustee Kishore Mahbubani Dean of the Lee Kuan School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qassimi Ruler of Sharjah Jeffrey Sachs Professor of Health Policy, Management and Sustainable Development, and Director of the Earth Institute at Columbia University 7 Provost Lisa Anderson 8 AMBITION AND Impact. This is what will define the next era in AUC history according to Provost Lisa Anderson. With the relocation to the New Cairo campus this year, AUC is now poised to become one of the world’s leading universities — fully capitalizing on the depth of Cairo to make an impact in the community and the world. “We must not be afraid of being ambitious,” said Anderson. “We have to set our goals high. In almost anything we pursue, we ought to be able to say clearly and proudly: This is what we do, and this is the impact we are having.” 9 PluggED IN. AUC is now positioned to pursue an ambitious goal of joining what Anderson predicts will be an elite group of universities that are truly global. “The world of higher education will become tightly networked in the next 10 or 20 years, and there will be around 100 really well-known universities around the world. I believe AUC can be one of those,” said Anderson. Until the end of the 20th century, older universities with large libraries and research collections had a distinct advantage, explained Anderson. As a result, smaller and newer universities were always trying to catch up with resource-rich institutions. “What was rewarding about our project is that it is human centered so it is not just about computers and machines. People can actually benefit from it,” saidY oussef Kashef, AUC senior who co-authored an award-winning project with fellow engineering student Abdelrahman Mahmoud. The engineering students, who are already seeing the impact of their work before they graduate, developed a wearable emotion-recognition system that promises to help autistic children connect with others. The project, which received first prize at the internationalA ssociation for Computing Machinery conference, was a collaboration between the two seniors and a graduate student at MIT’s Media Laboratory. 10 12 “With half of the region’s population below 25 years of age, academic institutions have a singular contribution to make in shaping the direction of the Middle East,” said Ambassador Nabil Fahmy, founding dean of AUC’s new School of Global Affairs and Public Policy. The school develops future policy makers and leaders who can converse with the international community, while having a keen knowledge of Egypt and the region. Today, the new information technologies that have created virtual research networks and learning communities, digitized libraries and set up global classrooms are giving greater access to information worldwide and diminishing many of the advantages of larger, older schools. As Anderson predicts, the landscape of higher education in the 21st century will no longer be dominated by the traditional model of Europe and North America serving as the hub for research and graduate work for students from around the world. Instead, a networked world of research will form with nodes represented by top universities around the world. “We are beginning to see this picture come into focus, as some of the best universities in the world will become nodes in a global network,” said Anderson. 13 “AUC has all the requisites to become part of this network of top universities. We operate in English; we have spectacular facilities that offer opportunities in ways even the people who designed them could not have foreseen; and a fortunate set of circumstances — Egypt’s depth, a wide pool of talent and the appeal of Cairo,” said Anderson. AUC is already becoming further integrated into this elite academic network, as faculty members and students collaborate with top universities and international research centers on everything from nanoscience and the genomics of the Red Sea to economic history, management education and the promotion of philanthropy. “Partnering with leading institutions gives the School of Business the edge to collaborate and share intellectual and human capital that enables it to avail global experiences related to the school’s primary focal points of entrepreneurship, innovation and leadership,” said Sherif Kamel, dean of AUC’s new School of Business, which has partnerships with dozens of top business schools from around the world.