President
Francis J. Ricciardone
A former career diplomat, Francis J. Ricciardone most recently served as Vice President of the independent U.S.-based Atlantic Council and Director of its Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East.
President Ricciardone had previously served as U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, Chargé d’Affaires and Deputy Ambassador to Afghanistan, U.S. Ambassador to Egypt, and U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines and Palau.
Born in Boston, Ricciardone graduated from Malden Catholic High School and summa cum laude from Dartmouth College. He was a Fulbright Scholar in Italy and a guest scholar at the United States Institute of Peace. Ricciardone taught at international schools in Italy and Iran, and speaks and reads Arabic, Italian, Turkish and French, as well as elementary Farsi.
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.
NEWS@AUC
Keep up-to-date with all the latest AUC news
Summer@AUC: Islamic Studies in the Heart of Cairo
This summer, 15 students from prominent U.S. universities — including Columbia, Princeton and Emory — stepped onto AUC Tahrir Square as the first cohort of the newly launched Summer@AUC Islamic Studies Institute, a four-week program taught by world-class faculty in the heart of Cairo.
O'Kane Authors The 100 Most Iconic Islamic Houses of Worship
Bernard O'Kane, professor in the Department of Arab and Islamic Civilizations, has released his latest book Mosques: The 100 Most Iconic Islamic Houses of Worship, where he went on a journey through different centuries and continents to explore 100 of the most iconic and beautifully made architectural designs that are also meant to be home to worshippers in Islam.
AUC Students Reflect on 1919 Revolution Through Music
“I've always loved the projects that bring a fresh look at history,” said Nagla Samir, associate professor of practice, Department of the Arts.
Building a Planet on Earth
For Mohamed Zaghoo ‘08, his first introduction to science as a child was when he got his hands on an Arabic copy of the magazine, Scientific American. It was a special edition about the famed Cassini–Huygens space mission, an international collaboration to send a probe to study the planet Saturn.