AUB Press

This unique photographic compilation, taken from long-forgotten glass plates, was published in commemoration of AUB's 140th anniversary, and depicts scenes from Lebanon, Syria, and AUB in the late nineteenth and very early twentieth centuries, when Dr. Franklin T. Moore taught at the Syrian Protestant College (now the American University of Beirut). Moore's camera captured the seemingly vast size of the new campus, the undeveloped northeastern mountains, and an unpaved Bliss Street, in sharp contrast to the growth and changes that have taken place since then. The volume includes an introduction by former AUB president John Waterbury, a socio-historical account of Ras Beirut and AUB by Professor Samir Khalaf, a history of the Moore Collection by the artist Helen Khal, a description of the restoration process along with comments on Moore's photographic techniques by Professor Marwan El-Sabban, and a brief history of the AUB Medical Photography Department by Professor Emeritus Raif Nassif.

​Founded in 1866, the American University of Beirut (AUB) has had a positive and transformative impact on Lebanon, the Middle East, and the world. Published on the occasion of AUB's 150th anniversary, this commemorative volume serves as a lasting testimony to the extraordinary influence of AUB in its first 150 years and sets the stage for its future. This volume examines AUB's history from diverse perspectives and points of view. It deals with key moments in the early history of the University, and with its current position as a local agent with global concerns, also focusing on its complex relations with the USA and the rest of the world. Some of the chapters highlight salient personalities and important constituencies who have contributed to the legacy of AUB. Parts of the book also focus on the campus and its location within Ras Beirut, as well as their resulting interaction and mutual impact over years of growth and transformation. The book is organized according to five themes: Early History, AUB, the USA, and the World, Space, Academic/Scientific Contributions, and Salient Personalities​

Lead, Innovate, Serve: A Visual History of the American University of Beirut’s First One Hundred and Fifty Years represents a collaborative expression of love for AUB in celebration of its 150th anniversary. This elegant collection of images effectively walks the reader, year by year, through a selection of key elements and moments in the University’s history. The photographs are organized chronologically into five sections entitled “Founding 1862–1901,” “Taking Root 1902–1948,” “Academic Renaissance 1949–1970,” “Turmoil and Resilience 1971–1996,” and “A New Millennium 1997–2016.” The sections are accompanied by short essays relating to each period of the University’s history and by profiles of AUB’s presidents and numerous history makers who have contributed to the impact that the American University of Beirut has had both in Lebanon and beyond. We believe that Lead, Innovate, Serve will be treasured by all who have entered the gates of the University. ​ Proceeds from sales of the book go to the 150 for 150 Scholarship Fund​.

​Speeches made at the commencement exercises of the Syrian Protestant College are collected in this volume, from the first in 1870 (five graduates) to the fifty-first in 1920, when the SPC became the AUB. Also included are commentaries on the commencement exercises, as they appeared in prominent contemporary newspapers, and a copy of the first diploma granted by the SPC. This is a valuable resource for all those interested in the history of education in the Middle East and particularly in the history of AUB, the institution that sought to become a link between the society and heritage of the Arabs, and those of the western world.

​AUB's 125th anniversary celebrations in 1992 coincided with the beginnings of Lebanon's return to peace after sixteen years of civil war, throughout which AUB continued to function. This book is a special anniversary tribute to the founders of the university, originally the Syrian Protestant College, who laid the foundations on which the college could grow and develop into one of the leading institutions of higher education in the Middle East. The book documents seven of the original faculty: Daniel Bliss, the first president; David Stuart Dodge; Edwin R. Lewis; Harvey Porter; George E. Post; Cornelius Van Dyck; and John Wortabet. Sections in English and Arabic include speeches, official papers, letters, and articles – some contemporary, others more recent – that demonstrate the values and principles these founding fathers sought to put into practice.

​In May 1873, Mrs. Abby Bliss and her four children left Beirut and returned to Amherst, Massachusetts for reasons of health and the children's education. This book contains letters written to them between 1873 and 1874 by Abby's husband, Daniel Bliss, the first president of the Syrian Protestant College, later the American University of Beirut. Written in diary form just seven years after the founding of the College, the letters reveal the excitement of the almost completed construction of College Hall, the frustrations and achievements of their fourteen months of separation, and fascinating information about daily life and the politics of the time. They show Daniel Bliss as a loving family man missing his wife and children while enthusiastically dedicated to the task of building the College.