President
Francis J. Ricciardone
Francis J. Ricciardone was appointed the 12th President of the American University in Cairo and began his term on July 1, 2016. He had served as a Foreign Service Officer from 1978-2014, including appointments as U.S. Ambassador to Egypt, Turkey, and the Philippines, and Chargé d’Affaires and Deputy Ambassador to Afghanistan. After graduating from Dartmouth College Summa Cum Laude in 1973, he received a Fulbright Scholarship and taught in American international schools in Trieste, Italy, and Tehran, Iran. From 2014-2016 he was Vice President of the Atlantic Council and Director of the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East. He was a distinguished scholar at the US Institute of Peace in 2008-2009. He speaks Arabic, Turkish, Italian, and French. He is married to Dr. Marie Ricciardone, a molecular biologist.
University Cabinet
University Cabinet is one of AUC leadership pillars that is dedicated to creating a University environment that promotes excellence in teaching, research, creative expression and service.
Associates Program
Established in 1981 and formerly known as the Presidential Internship Program, the Presidential Associates Program (rebranded October 2018) provides recent university graduates the opportunity to work at the highest levels of an international university, experience life in Cairo, and learn Arabic.
Former Presidents
From AUC’s first president Charles Watson in 1919 to former President Christopher Thoron (1969 – 1973), who established the University as a creditable institution by securing official recognition for academic degrees, AUC looks back through its presidential history and major accomplishments that led the University to thrive as Egypt’s global university.
In our centennial year, I am exceedingly proud of the steps we have taken toward making AUC a true catalyst of collaboration between universities both inside and outside of Egypt. Our achievements reflect our mission of exposing international students to Egypt and preparing Egyptian students for the world.
Francis J. Ricciardone
President, The American University in Cairo
NEWS@AUC
Nanotechnology PhD Student Uses Silkworms to Store, Transmit Energy in Fabrics
When Basant Ali, a PhD candidate in AUC's nanotechnology program, proposed an unusual research idea, her friends and professors told her she was crazy. However, a few months after her proposition, Ali’s “crazy” idea turned into a months-long research project and was soon published in Scientific Reports, a branch of the world’s leading multidisciplinary scientific journal, Nature.
AUC Takes Initiative to Transfer Antiquities Collection to Egyptian Government
AUC has recently taken the initiative to transfer nearly 5,000 Islamic, Coptic, Pharaonic, Greek and Roman antiquities to the protection of the Egyptian government. AUC has been in legal possession of these antiquities since the 1960s, ensuring their preservation.
Opening of AUC Tahrir Cafeteria
The newly renovated Tahrir Cultural Center celebrated the opening of the new cafeteria last night with a reception and concert.
