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By Ioanna Moriatis, photos by Ahmad El-Nemr | This story appeared in the Spring 2018 edition of AUCToday.

As Mahatma Gandhi once said, "We but mirror the world. ... If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. ...We need not wait to see what others do."

AUCians definitely don't wait. They initiate and take the lead. You find them everywhere -- from business and education to technology and policymaking -- making a difference and leaving an impact, particularly when it comes to community building.

Education for the New Generation
 

Seif Abou Zaid '08, '17, CEO of Mavericks school. Photo by Ahmad El-Nemr.

"I was always interested in education as a vehicle for liberation and empowerment," said Seif Abou Zaid '08, '17, CEO of Mavericks school. It's this understanding of education that led him to seek a new approach to schooling in Egypt.

Mavericks, Egypt's first blended learning school, was founded with an approach to education that focuses on personalized learning that fits the individual needs of students; an emphasis on hands-on activities that make the learning experience fun and engaging; character building; and open-house education, where students are not confined to the traditional classroom and all parts of the school are learning spaces. Students are empowered to make decisions starting in Pre-K and KG1, choosing where to learn and which activities to do during the day.

"We're not interested in comparing students to each other," Abou Zaid highlighted. "We want kids who accept themselves, have self-awareness, and challenge themselves and each other."

Though many praise the school for its blended learning techniques, this is just a tool, as Abou Zaid pointed out. "Actually, for us, blended learning is not the end game," he explained. "What's beyond blended learning is this idea of being child-centered, of following the child's interest and challenging students to be the best versions of themselves. If technology is a tool that can empower this, then so be it."

Having majored in political science, minored in history and earned a master's in public policy from AUC, Abou Zaid always focused on how he could make an impact on the community. "I was interested in the sweet spot or common ground between education as an empowering tool and public space," he said. "This is where I saw myself, hopefully, doing meaningful things."

Abou Zaid started out working on two startups before founding Mavericks, both targeting middle and high school students as well as middle managers. He quickly found that the impact at this stage wasn't what he wanted. "We wanted to build a different generation, empowering people to be mavericks -- or think outside the box -- and influencing the present and the future. This is what a student-centered learning experience is all about."

Hoping to expand the Mavericks model across Egypt's governorates, Abou Zaid established two campuses in Cairo and one in Damietta. The aim is to spread this new learning philosophy to the many students who still don't have access to quality education inside and outside of Cairo. "The impact we can have now is to set an example," he affirmed. "Later on, we're really interested in scale. We want to provide high-quality education, but at a scale that actually has the right impact for the millions or billions out there who deserve access."

Job Matching

Omar Khalifa '08 in front of the office for his online recruitment platform Shaghalni. Photo by Ahmad El-Nemr.

Education is one space in which impact can be made. But what happens after schooling ends? A major challenge in the Egyptian economy now is the large population of unemployed youth.

Omar Khalifa '08, CEO and founder of Shaghalni.com, saw a chance to expand opportunities for Egyptians by making the recruitment process and job market more transparent.

Through Shaghalni online platform, blue and grey-collar job seekers share their skills and experiences by posting their profiles and promoting their skills -- giving the chance for employers to hire them directly.

Khalifa's idea for the platform was sparked after observing AUC's successful employment fairs each year. "We have the best companies coming to campus," he said. "I never had a real issue finding a job. However, I always wondered, 'That's great, but the majority of working-class Egyptians don't all enjoy the same employment opportunities.'"

Shaghalni started out as a printed journal promoting middle-skilled jobs. Then, Khalifa switched things around, publishing individual profiles of job seekers for employers to browse. To have a real impact, though, Khalifa decided he was going to have to go online.
Although he faced difficulties raising funds at first, he eventually put his own money into creating a beta version to test out. Today, two years later, there are 90,000 users and 8,000 companies posting on Shaghalni's website, and a mobile app is in the making. "It proves that if you believe in something and you're passionate about it, things will actually work," Khalifa commented on his investment in the project. "If you don't put your money into it, no one will."

Khalifa's website now has more than 90,000 users and 8,000 companies -- connecting people with jobs across the country. Photo by Ahmad El-Nemr.

Now, Khalifa's passion is drawing him outside of Egypt, pushing him to continue growing and making changes in the job market.

"My passion is helping people," Khalifa asserted. "When you receive feedback and see people getting jobs -- these people have families; they aren't just individuals -- it's worth so much more than money. Shaghalni is successful in Egypt, but we want something that can go regional. We're nowhere near where we want to be, but I think we're making a difference. That's my passion."

 

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By Aliah Salih | This story appeared in the Spring 2018 edition of AUCToday.

With AUC's centennial on the horizon, one question is top of mind: How should AUC celebrate its 100th birthday?

The University shared the task with the public through the Got an Idea? competition to find 100 ways to celebrate AUC's centennial. Then all the creative energy started to flow in.

Approximately 180 ideas have been submitted, ranging from the creative and innovative to the heartwarming and strange -- and it's becoming hard to choose. Though the committee is still in the process of selection and weighing out the potential of each idea, it doesn't mind sharing a few -- among many -- that stood out.

Most of the contributors are keen on having music and art as an inevitable part of the festivities -- because what is a celebration without some music? Some of the suggestions are having musicians from AUC perform their groundbreaking work, as well as bringing in alums who went on to become famous singers. This will definitely guarantee a centennial with a unique soundtrack of different voices, genres and energies. Other ideas assert the presence of the arts through AUCian contributions, which include visual arts and theatre. As for those who are not artists per se, one idea is to dig into your old photo boxes and find shots from your glory days at AUC to display in an art exhibition. Others suggest bringing together select community members and having them compose and write a custom AUC song.

Some of the most interesting ideas are telling the story of AUC through fashion, which is possibly one of the most entertaining ways of reflecting on the decades of fashion do's and don'ts. The suggestions are playing dress-up and snapping photos, or putting together an entire fashion show that showcases the different sartorial creations that AUC witnessed through its students, faculty and staff in the past 100 years. One even recommended having a 1919-themed party, and another went for a le Great Gatsby extravaganza. Overall, we suspect some outfits will be a hit and make a vintage-retro comeback.

Many of the ideas revolve around selecting 100 achievements made by AUC through social media channels, books documenting civic engagement and journals of AUC reflections. Other ideas focus on inviting international and Egyptian influential faculty and prominent alumni and having them speak about their intellectual research and success stories.

"Inviting 100 alumni influencers highlights what AUC is all about -- how it contributed to shaping the future of many prominent figures in society," explained Dina El Turky '05, '13. "These figures will show, mentor and assist students on how to give back to the University and society, which is another value we acquired at AUC -- to always give back to the community."

Nominate someone for Alumni of the Century here!

 

Keeping in line with AUC's achievements, one of the most intriguing suggestions is finding 100 people whose lives have been changed through AUC. This transformation could have been through academia, social awareness, financial aid, employment or something that hasn't even crossed anyone's mind. Through a hashtag like #BecauseOfAUC or #100GratefulAUCians, people can tell stories of how the University helped change their lives.

"It's my second semester at AUC, and I can sense the impact AUC has had on me. It's relatable, and I think it's a great way of thanking our University for 100 years of changing lives," said student Maisson Hatem Hussein, explaining her hashtag idea. "It would be a memorable hashtag. It would grab the eye, and have people share and read meaningful phrases. Our University will become more associated with positively changing people's lives."

Giving back, a distinct trait that makes AUC what it is today, seems to resonate with many. Countless people propose giving away 100 scholarships to prospective students, raising funds for 100 students and granting scholarships to distinct students from across Egypt. One of the most heartwarming ideas is 100 acts of charity, which calls for giving back to the AUC community and beyond through donating money, giveaways, supporting more entrepreneurs and offering training opportunities.

Some ideas look into the future and call for expansion, such as establishing new departments in the next 100 years and building another campus in 6th of October City. Other ideas are guaranteed to warm everyone's hearts, like finding and honoring the oldest AUCian alive, or highlighting 100 college sweethearts who found love at AUC.

"AUC is not only a place for education. It is also a place were families actually started, and many of them have lasted until today," said Engi Radwan '02, who met her husband back in the Tahrir Square campus. "Couples like my husband and I first met at AUC, and love stories were written over the years because of this place. We can show off to our kids and tell them how we started off as friends and how this University brought us closer through education, social networking, events and extracurricular activities -- and it all ended up in starting families. AUC will always have a special place in our hearts, and many families like mine will be forever grateful for it."

Some thought of leveraging the opportunity by planting 100 trees and spreading the word about sustainability. Other ideas are full of wishful thinking, like giving A's to all students, 100 free days of parking and a tuition discount of EGP 100,000. Still others aim to symbolize AUC's old school side and its modernity, like designing custom AUC postage stamps and creating virtual reality experiences through both campuses. "AUC's legacy is primarily all the AUCians who graduated since its founding and their contributions to Egypt and the world across all aspects of life," said Maged Farrag '93, parent of a current AUC student.

Farrag proposed creating a 360 video that would be shared on social media platforms as well as played on virtual reality headsets on campus and during centennial events. "We would make a 360 video shooting of the old and new campuses and blend it with archival photos and videos to bring it to life," he explained. "It would be like a time machine -- taking a journey into the campus memories across the years, bringing the old campus to life through an immersive experience. As AUCians, we cherish the moments we spent on campus, and the photos that we keep are part of our legacy."

In the end, AUC is brimming with all the ingenuity, which we know will generate a series of celebrations that reflect the University's artistic and intellectual outlook.

By the way, to AUC's rugby team: We got your 12 ideas about being included. We won't forget you.

Find out more about the centennial here.

 

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By Ioanna Moriatis, feature photo by Ahmad El-Nemr | This is the cover story of the Spring 2018 edition of AUCToday.

Mostafa Kandil '15 is just 25, and yet is already at the core of a revolutionary trend in Egypt with his new company Swvl, a mobile app that organizes convenient and customized transportation routes around Egypt at reasonable prices. In fact, Swvl -- which was accelerated at the AUC Venture Lab -- recently raised $8 million in its first round of venture capital financing. This is the largest round of funding for a tech startup in Egypt and one of the largest in the Middle East.

"What we're doing is building public transportation for emerging markets," said Kandil, who was named -- along with co-founders Mahmoud Nouh and Ahmed Sabbah -- among Forbes Middle East's Class of 2018 Arab 30 under 30. "Often, people outside of emerging markets don't understand the magnitude of this global issue. In these markets, the middle class doesn't have affordable ways to commute. We're going to these markets and building the infrastructure for them."

At just 25 years old, Kandil is already changing the rideshare industry in Egypt. Photo by Ahmad El-Nemr.

In the short amount of time since its founding in 2017, the young startup has seen impressive growth, crossing Egypt's borders as it begins to establish roots abroad. After just six months, the transportation company was moving thousands of people a day. "Swvl is on its way to becoming a household name in Egypt and one of the biggest job providers in the country," said Kandil. "We are very excited about what the future holds for us as we build Egypt's first tech unicorn -- a company that investors value at more than $1 billion."

Companies around the world have tried to tap into this market with little success beyond a limited region. Kandil and his partners have impressed international investors with the rapid and widespread development of Swvl and the start of its expansion outside of Egypt to other emerging markets across the Middle East, Southeast Asia and Africa.

"The impact we've seen is incredible," said Kandil. "Nobody has been able to crack this issue before, and we're growing out of Egypt very quickly."

How It All Began

With an innovative mind already cultivated at the age of 16, Kandil started his AUC studies as a petroleum engineering student.

After gaining experience in the field through an internship, he began to think of going down a different path. "Petroleum engineering is a very specialized field," he explained. "You focus on one tool for years. I get bored easily and need change. I wouldn't be able to work on only one thing and not feel like I'm creating something new."

And so, he shifted focus and began to create.

At 19, Kandil was selected as one of 30 participants in a program hosted by Google and was invited to its headquarters in Dublin to network and learn about entrepreneurship. "It was a life-changing experience," he reflected. "We were 30 people from 25 different countries. Everyone came from a different background and field."

Equipped with a curious, entrepreneurial mind, Kandil returned to Egypt only to pack his bags and fly out once more -- this time to the Philippines. Recruited by the trending company Rocket Internet, Kandil was given the opportunity to build and grow a business based on an already successful business model. "They cherry-pick entrepreneurs, give them budgets and send them to a country to start a business," he said. "We were supposed to grow the business, scale it and hire replacements after six months to continue sustaining the company's progress when we leave. It was an amazing experience."

After six months, Kandil had already grown his online vehicle marketplace, Carmudi, to 40 people and scaled it to three cities. Carmudi was soon the second largest company in the Philippines, coming out on top of three major competitors.

Transforming Transportation

Swvl comes as a cost-friendly and useful alternative for commuters, given the challenges associated with public transportation in Egypt -- whether in terms of the reach of the bus and metro network or the lack of a clear system. Through this application, Kandil and his partners have been able to build an entire transportation infrastructure in Egypt, offering a reliable and accessible service that spans across Cairo and even extends outside of the capital.

Users of Swvl input their desired pick-up location and destination, and the application offers a set of routes and times from which to choose. It gives all the essential information: how long the ride will take and the distance needed to walk based on the route. Users are able to pay online so that riding just becomes a matter of pick-up and drop-off.

Swvl's system of buses sets up routes based on the pick-up and drop-off locations typically requested, offering shared fixed flat rates with no surge pricing. When the application was first introduced in Cairo, the first few routes departed from AUC so that the team could monitor the market and gather data to multiply routes based on consumers' needs.

Kandil also noted that this application offers an effective relief to the government, privatizing a system of public transportation while maintaining affordable prices and creating opportunities for employment. Since the introduction of the app, Swvl's fleet has increased to hundreds of buses. Swvl intends to invest $16.9 million, or EGP 300 million, in the Egyptian market in the next three years to employ micro-entrepreneurs. "We want to become one of the biggest job creators in the country," said Kandil.

AUC: The Springboard

While at AUC, Kandil was a member of the Cairo International Model United Nations, an organization that pushed him to grow as a leader and businessman. "We had to lobby at conferences and get everyone around us to believe in what we were saying," said Kandil.

"I think this is a unique skill that AUC students, in particular, have. When I graduated, I started doing this. My job is basically selling what we do."

After graduation, Kandil dabbled in venture capital for some time as an intern, before joining Otlob as its head of operations. Already managing five teams as a fresh graduate, he was able to increase the company's efficiency by approximately 400 percent.

Continuing down the path of company growth, Kandil then joined Careem as a market launcher, debuting cities in Turkey, Pakistan and Egypt for the transportation service in only six months. His talent was recognized with the CEO's High Achiever Award.

Having worked in an on-demand transportation company for some time, Kandil began to observe trends in the market, noticing that the average trip fare totaled three or four dollars, which can be a toll for the average Egyptian commuter. "I had a hypothesis that the problem was with the tourism companies," Kandil said. "I knew that these companies have huge fleets of buses that are high quality, but completely underutilized."

With his eye on an opening in the market and partners interested in collaborating, Kandil felt ready to leave Careem and begin work on a new project. He and his fellow co-founders Nouh and Sabbah left their job positions, and the next month, were working on Swvl.

Kandil and his team are alumni of the AUC Venture Lab, Egypt's first University-based incubator, where they participated in cycle eight. AUC Venture Lab offers acceleration programs to high-growth and innovation-driven startups. With the AUC Venture Lab's entrepreneurial support as well as the knowledge and guidance of mentors, the team was able to launch the application before graduating from the cycle.

"It's important for entrepreneurs to create new innovation-led startups that act as platforms for increasing competitiveness," said Ayman Ismail '95, '97, the Abdul Latif Jameel Endowed Chair in Entrepreneurship and director of the AUC Venture Lab. "Almost 50 percent of AUC Venture Lab startups receive investments, with the total now exceeding EGP 220 million. We are proud of the Swvl founders, who are definitely changing and revolutionizing the Egyptian transportation sector."

Venturing into the Unknown
 

Traffic in Cairo can make owning a car of your own an annoyance. Photo via IaSousa on Flickr.

Kandil's academic background and experience traveling as a student have given him an edge as he looks to continue developing his startup. "It's been very challenging," he noted. "We want to keep growing quickly. I was lucky that I got to work with different cultures in various geographic locations when I was younger. It makes it much less scary when we say, 'OK, let's go to this country and launch a business there.'"

After overcoming many challenges along the way and creating success out of limited initial resources, Kandil feels confident in his decision to divert from his original career path. He encourages AUC students and graduates to take risks such as this one and innovate.

"As AUC graduates, we have the opportunity to take risks," said Kandil. "My single advice is: Build something; take a risk. This is what will differentiate you. It's been very hard taking this leap, but we now dream of seeing Swvl as the first Egyptian tech unicorn. We're laser-focused on this vision right now."

 

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Click here for a history of Ewart Memorial Hall.

Ewart Home

By Nagla Rizk '83, '87

Nagla Rizk '83, '87 (right) with her late mother Madiha El Safty '72, '76.

I cannot exactly remember the first time I set foot in Ewart Hall. Unlike new students who walk in for their English exam or orientation sessions, I walked into Ewart Hall as a small child in 1968 or 1969. Ten years after marrying at a very young age, my mother decided to go to school and get her degree. I remember being overwhelmed by Ewart Hall ... the high ceiling, the curtains, the stage and the smell. I was at Ewart Hall when my mother's name was called at the Honors Assembly. I was at Ewart Hall when my mother received her BA. I clapped hard when they called her up to receive the AUC President's Cup. I was there when she received her MA. All those caps and gowns, the music, the clapping and the standing ovations. I was there, wide-eyed and in awe. Several years later, I walked into Ewart Hall as one of the youngest AUC applicants to take my English (then called Michigan) exam. That date I remember. It was early September of 1979. I sat there, a big girl now, in one of those seats that took me in as a child. And I still looked at the high ceiling. Next to me was a young man who I got to know as Ibrahim Hegazy. I took a deep breath, held my pencil and wrote the exam. Two weeks later, I got into AUC. Over the course of the four years of my undergraduate years, I frequented Ewart Hall constantly. There were no auditoriums then. There was Oriental Hall, of course, but Ewart was where it all happened. All those lectures, debates, concerts, talent shows, the Thursday night movies, and yes, the Honors Assembly -- me this time. In June 1983, I walked down the BA graduation procession in Ewart Hall. My mother, now teaching at AUC, was in the procession. My professors walked by, and I remember Dr. Galal Amin shaking my hand as he walked down the aisle. I was one of those capped and gowned people I gaped at in my childhood. As my name was called, I walked up the stage to receive my degree, then down again, thinking that would be my last experience with Ewart Hall. Little did I know. Four years later, in June 1987, I was up there receiving my MA. Ten years later, I was up there, again in cap and gown, sitting among AUC faculty at the graduate commencement. I have continued to do that until this very day. In 2005 and 2006, four commencements, I hooded our graduates. I was chair of my department then, and sitting next to me was none other than Ibrahim Hegazy, my Michigan exam friend, now chair of the management department. Ibrahim and I were up there in 2005 and 2006 at the Honors Assembly, honoring our top students. I lectured at Ewart Hall. In 2000, I sat up there and talked to freshman students about the digital economy, the internet and all that. As I spoke, I could not help drifting to the time I sat on those very chairs and listened. I kept wondering how many students had been held by those seats, how many faces had been greeted by those lights and how many lives had been embraced by those walls. Mine is but one. I drift back and remember my first dance class as an undergraduate student on the stage of Ewart Hall, with Indji El Solh as my instructor.

Photo by Ahmad El-Nemr
 

At that time, it was an extracurricular activity; I heard it became a credit course years later. For a whole year, every Monday afternoon, I would head to Ewart's backstage dressing rooms, and I would stay late practicing on Ewart stage under the watchful eye of Ewart's high ceiling. In the spring of 1994, the curtains of Ewart Hall gently opened up to reveal Indji El Solh's four-year-old ballet dancers. When the performance began, the stage must have recognized a familiar footstep as my daughter gently danced on that same stage that felt her mother's steps several years ago. Later in 1999, when my daughter did a solo dance, again within Indji's program, Ewart stage recognized her immediately. As a birthday present to my mother, I put her name on a plaque on an Ewart Hall seat. I chose a seat close to where I had sat at my graduation ceremonies. It was the perfect spot: one that I could see from where I had been sitting there in my cap and gown in both ceremonies. I was fulfilled. I think of Ewart Hall and wonder. How many years have passed, when did it all happen and where did the years go? How many people have I met in this very place, how many activities have I experienced and how many lives have been touched? I have lived a journey at Ewart Hall, from a child fascinated by grown-ups in caps and gowns to a department chair hooding master's students. I have lived several experiences and several roles, indeed several lives, at Ewart Hall. I am the small child, the student, the amateur dancer, the faculty member, the speaker on stage, the department chair and the proud mother in the audience. Ewart Hall has witnessed all this, embraced all this and understood. I leave Ewart Hall with a lump in my throat. It has been home to many meaningful moments in my life and the lives of loved ones around me. My mother's name is still there, and so are my cherished memories.

• Nagla Rizk '83, '87 is professor of economics and founding director of AUC's Access to Knowledge for Development Center. 
   

This article was first published as part of AUC Memories (www1.aucegypt.edu/aucmemories) before the University's move to New Cairo in 2008.

Ewart Hall: From Folklore to Live Lectures

By Sophie Farag '90, '93

Sophie Farag '90, '93 (left) performs in Ewart Memorial Hall as part of the AUC Folklore Group in 1988.

I joined AUC as a student in Spring 1986 and have been there ever since, first as a student doing my BA and MA, then as an English instructor in the Intensive English Program (IEP). As a student, I was a member of the AUC Folklore dancing group from 1986 to 1991, and I enjoyed this activity very much. I made many good friends and have a lot of very special memories. Most of these memories are of practice sessions we had after our classes and at weekends, and they usually were several hours long. We would take our books and try to fit in some studying during the breaks in training, but we mainly enjoyed ourselves and had a good time. These rehearsals took place anywhere that we could reserve (it was difficult to find reservations even in those days!), including the sixth-floor Hill House Lounge, Howard Theater and classrooms, but we usually had our practice on Ewart Hall stage. Our trainer would sing us the songs while we learned the steps, then we would repeat the steps endlessly to the song played on a tape recorder. When we were not needed on stage, we would practice our moves in the aisles or watch our colleagues from the seats in the hall. We had two formal performances every year in Ewart Hall, and on these occasions, we wore beautiful costumes. During the previous weeks, we would spend hours sitting on the stage sewing sequins on these costumes. On the big day, we would be frantically putting on our costumes, helping each other with our headscarves and practicing our steps. We'd peep out excitedly from behind the curtain to see if our families and friends had arrived in the audience yet, with our trainer constantly telling us not to let anyone see our costumes so as not to ruin the surprise. I even first met my husband at one of these performances! These are fond memories I have of wonderful times spent in Ewart Hall.

My connection to Ewart Hall is still strong even as a teacher. I am always delighted to hear that any of my students have joined the folklore group, and it's been fun to attend their performances as a spectator. I have assigned my students the task of reading the inscription above the stage, which I puzzled over as an undergraduate. I have attended public lectures, conference keynote speeches and special events in this hall. The IEP assessments take place in Ewart Hall, and I am often required to proctor. The IEP live lecture series takes place in this hall, and since I am currently responsible for organizing these lectures, I check the set-up on stage, try out the microphones and ensure the speakers are working. Ewart is a beautiful hall that carries many memories for all AUCians, especially for those, like me, who were lucky enough to have such varied experiences in it, and it will surely be missed. I hope the coming generations of AUCians enjoy their memories of the new campus as I have enjoyed mine of Ewart Hall.

• Sophie Farag '90, '93 is senior instructor II in AUC's Department of English Language Instruction.

This article was first published as part of AUC Memories (www1.aucegypt.edu/aucmemories) before the University's move to New Cairo in 2008.
 

 

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Here's a look through the major milestones in AUC's 100-year legacy in Cairo.

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Early 1900s

• Charles Watson studies educational system in Egypt

1912

• Charles Watson completes report outlining vision for AUC

1919

• AUC officially incorporated in Washington, D.C.

1920

• Student Union formed
• First 142 students begin classes equivalent to the final two years of high school

1921

• School of Oriental Studies opens

1923

• First commencement

1924

• Division of Extension (forerunner to the School of Continuing Education) established
• New York State Board of Regents recognizes AUC degrees as equivalent to junior college degrees

1925

• First campus newspaper, The AUC Review, issued

1926

• Old Boys Club created for alumni

1927

• AUC offers four years of secondary school and four years of college

1928

• First University-level bachelor's degrees awarded to three students
• Ewart Memorial Hall opens
• AUC welcomes first female student, Eva Habib el-Masri '31

 

1929

• Hill family starts AUC's first endowment fund with $450,000

1931

• Old Boys Club develops into Alumni Association
• Gillespie family donates $65,000 to build Oriental Hall

 

1937

• Om Kolthoum starts performing in Ewart Hall

Om Kolthoum

1938

• Campus Caravan replaces The AUC Review

1940

• King Abdullah of Jordan visits AUC

1941

• AUC hosts concerts in Ewart Hall for allied soldiers in Egypt and classes for U.S. soldiers

1942

• AUC students petition Ministry of War to allow an instructor to teach them military formations, which soon replaced acrobatics and team sports

1944

• Watson decorated by King Farouk: High Decoration of the Order of Ismail -- one of the highest honors conferred by the Egyptian government at the time

1950

• First graduate degree awarded in Arabic language and literature

1951

• Last preparatory class graduates, making AUC strictly a University-level institution

Helen Keller speaking at AUC, 1952
 

1952

• Helen Keller visits AUC

1953

• Hill House formally dedicated as the first student dormitory on campus
• Social Research Center founded

1954

• Egyptian Presidents Gamal Abdul Nasser and Mohammed Naguib attend AUC's Arabic Language Day Convocation

1956

• English Language Institute opens
• AUC engages in relief efforts for Egyptians affected by Suez Crisis
• AUC Archives acquires Creswell Collection

1959

• Hill House rededicated as a library

1960

• AUC Press established

 

1961

• AUC's name changes from "at Cairo" to "in Cairo"

 

• Social Research Center's Ethnographic Survey of Egyptian Nubia, supported by the Ford Foundation, launched

1964

• Buildings purchased from the Greek community (Greek Campus)
• AUC purchases Falaki land to build a student dormitory

The Falaki Building

1966

• Science Building completed

1967

• Center for Arabic Study Abroad established and based at AUC
• Egyptian government sequestrator assigned to AUC until 1975, when replaced by the counselor position

1960s - 1970s

• Distinguished Visiting Professor program launched at AUC

1972

• AUC Press obtains exclusive English-language rights to the works of Naguib Mahfouz

1974

• Ministry of Higher Education recognizes all but three AUC degrees as equivalent to those offered by Egyptian universities
• Sports programs win representation in National Universities Sports Union

1975

• Egyptian government relinquishes control of AUC
• Protocol established between Board of Trustees and the Egyptian government

1978

• AUC Press publishes first Naguib Mahfouz novel in English

1979

• Desert Development Center approved

1982

• New Greek Campus library completed
• AUC receives largest single donation at the time ($5 million) from Abdul Latif Jameel
• Middle States Commission on Higher Education grants AUC full accreditation

 

1985

• Egypt's first University bookstore opens
• AIESEC AUC founded. AIESEC is the world's largest youth-driven organization

1987

• First documentation of AUC history in The American University in Cairo, 1919 -1987, written by Lawrence R. Murphy, former AUC faculty member

1988

• Naguib Mahfouz wins Nobel Prize. AUC Press was his English-language publisher and worldwide agent
• Last undergraduate commencement in Ewart Hall (February 1988)

1989

• Abdul Latif Jameel Building for Middle East Management Studies inaugurated
• Core Curriculum introduced
• Model United Nations starts -- first in the Middle East
• AUC simulates Earth Day and Environmental Action

1990

• Model Arab League starts
• AUC launches Gulf War Scholarship to assist students affected by Iraq War

1991

• AUC opens Zamalek hostel and classroom building

1992

• Rare Books and Special Collections Library inaugurated

 

 

1993

• Noam Chomsky speaks at AUC
• University Senate established
• AUC one of only three universities in the region to receive a Sasakawa Peace Foundation grant
• Academic programs organized into three schools: Humanities and Social Sciences; Business, Economics and Communications; Sciences and Engineering
• First AUC Research Conference

1994

• AUC Archives acquires Hassan Fathy collection
• AUC's 75th anniversary
• New mission statement

1995

• Grand Mufti Sheikh Muhammad Tantawi and Pope Shenouda III speak at AUC
• AUC Professor Kent Weeks rediscovers Tomb KV5 in Valley of the Kings

1996

• AUC Press establishes Naguib Mahfouz Medal for Literature

1997

• AUC purchases land in New Cairo

1999

• U.S. First Lady Hillary Clinton speaks in Ewart Hall
• AUC becomes first University outside the U.S. to receive accreditation from the Computer Science Accreditation Board (now ABET)

2000

• Her Majesty Queen of Jordan Rania Al Abdullah '91 visits AUC. Distinguished guests in the first years of the century included Jimmy Carter, Mary Robinson, Kofi Annan, Condoleezza Rice and Ahmed Zewail
• AUC Archives acquires Van Leo collection

2003

• New Cairo Campus design completed and cornerstone laid by Egypt's First Lady Suzanne Mubarak '77, '82
• Egyptian Chair in Coptic Heritage established -- the only such program in Egypt
• Social Research Center's 50th anniversary

2004

• AUC signs New Cairo campus construction contract
• AUC establishes Leadership for Education and Development program

2005

• Department of Law established
• Volunteers in Action student club holds first campus wedding for orphan brides

2006

• John D. Gerhart Center for Philanthropy and Civic Engagement founded

2007

• AUC Press publishes 1,000th book

2008

• First day of class on the New Cairo campus

 

 

2009

• New Cairo campus inauguration
• AUC's 90th anniversary

2010

• PhD program begins in applied sciences and engineering
• AUC launches three schools: School of Business, School of Global Affairs and Public Policy, and Graduate School of Education
• 50th anniversary of AUC Press
• Principals' Academy first in the region
• First visually impaired student graduates from AUC
• AUC first and only University in Egypt to be accredited by the National Authority for Quality Assurance and Accreditation of Education

2011

• AUC launches The Cairo Review of Global Affairs
• New freedom of expression policy
• Center for Translation Studies launched
• Management Center accredited by Accrediting Council for Continuing Education and Training

Cancer Marathon, November, 2012
 

2012

• First cohort of Yousef Jameel GAPP Public Leadership fellows enter AUC
• Undergraduate chemistry program first in Egypt to be internationally accredited
• Special Olympics Day held on campus for the first time
• First TEDxAUC
• AUC hosts Terry Fox Run for the first time to raise funds for cancer hospital
• AUC releases region's first Carbon Footprint Report
• Graduation of first undergraduate class to study entirely on the New Cairo campus

Commencement, February 2012

2013

• Academy of Liberal Arts and Academic Advising Center launched; freshman program revamped
• Cairo International Model United Nations celebrates 25th anniversary

MUN 25th Anniversary Model United Nations Celebration

• Eduniversal ranks seven master's programs top in Africa
• AUC establishes career centers in national universities
• Greek Campus leased to become Egypt's first downtown technology park
• Partnership between AUC and MIT Enterprise Forum
• D-Kimia, Egypt's first University spinoff, markets affordable hepatitis C tests

• Research Institute for a Sustainable Environment successor to Desert Development Center
• First nanotechnology master's students graduate
• Faculty housing first in Egypt to embed green design, green roof

2014

Yosra El Maghraby ('04, '08, '14), a construction engineer and AUC's first-ever PhD

• First PhD student graduates
• Triple-crown accreditation for School of Business
• AUC pioneers free online courses in Arabic (MOOCs) with Edraak
• AUC ranked top green campus in Africa, top third worldwide in GreenMetric Ranking

The Venture Lab startup space

• AUC Venture Lab launched as the first University incubator in Egypt, ranked by UBI Global among top in region
• AUC's strategic plan completed

AUC New Cairo campus grounds, October 2012

• Architecture program first in region to receive international validation
• AUC faculty join Egypt's Presidential Specialized Council for Education and Scientific Research
• AUC tops QS World University Rankings in Egypt
• School of Continuing Education celebrates 90 years
• First AUC Community Day celebrates campus unity, unveils eagle mascot

 

The Eagle mascot at AUC Community Day

• AUC portal lights up in blue for World Autism Day

Autism Awareness Day at AUC

2015

• AUC only college outside North America in Princeton Review's Green Colleges Guide
• AUC partners with Magdi Yacoub Heart Foundation on cardiac research
• AUC partners with Ministry of Justice to train judges, enhance legal education
• AUC launches region's first cocurricular transcript

• Highest number of applicants in AUC's history; selectivity rate for incoming students among top 100 universities in the United States
• QS Rankings place AUC among world's top universities
• AUC third outside the United States to receive NASPAA accreditation for public policy, public administration master's programs
• AUC featured in UN's Greening Universities Toolkit as a global exemplar of sustainability

• Neighborhood Initiative launched

2016

• First graphic design students graduate
• AUC first University outside the U.S. to host Digital Pedagogy Lab Institute Cairo
• AUC hosts first community psychology conference in Africa and the MENA region
• First AUC Research Day
• First cohort of Al Ghurair STEM Scholars join AUC
• Students and alumni compete in Rio 2016 Olympics
• AUC receives donation of more than 5,000 books from the private library of the late Egyptian journalist Mustafa Amin

2017

• AUC first University in the region to offer a blended degree, pairing with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation for Education
• Udacity partnership on blended learning
• AUC first in the region to host LafargeHolcim Sustainable Architecture Competition
• Middle East Strategy Task Force names AUC as one of few American universities in the region that are potential "hubs of excellence"
• AUC takes initiative to transfer nearly 5,000 Islamic, Coptic, Pharaonic, Greek and Roman antiquities to the protection of the Egyptian government. AUC had been in legal possession of these antiquities since the 1960s, ensuring their preservation

• Eduniversal ranks 10 AUC graduate programs among top in Africa
• HUSSLab launched, with a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation
• First AUC Research Week
• First University FabLab in the region, launched by AUC students
• Master of Public Administration and Master of Public Policy first worldwide to receive triple crown accreditation in the field of public affairs education
• AUC hosts NASPAA-Batten Student Simulation Competition -- held for the first time in the MENA region
• AUC delegation takes home six of seven awards at Egypt's first World Youth Forum
• AUC's Career Center launches USAID-funded program to establish 20 University Centers for Career Development in 12 public Egyptian universities

2018

• Middle States Commission on Higher Education reaffirms its accreditation of AUC through the 2026- 2027 academic year
• Tobacco-Free Community initiative launched
• Center for Arabic Study Abroad celebrates 50th anniversary
• First University cashless program in the region, AUC Coin
• Department of Accounting accredited by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants in the United Kingdom
• For ninth consecutive year, Cairo International Model United Nations receives Outstanding Delegation awards at National Model United Nations conference in New York
• Master of Arts in television and digital journalism fully accredited by Egypt's Supreme Council of Universities
• AUC hosts International Branch Campuses model forum
• AUC named on the Forbes list of top U.S. colleges overseas
• Actuarial science and biology programs accredited by ABET
• King's College London and Harvard University partnerships established. AUC now has more than 170 international partnerships

• New Cairo campus celebrates 10th anniversary
• Institute of Global Health and Human Ecology launched
• Centennial coin designed by students, minted by the Egyptian government

• AUC signs agreement with Naguib Sawiris to establish and renovate the Tahrir Cultural Center on the Tahrir Square campus
• Alumni Council established

2019: AUC celebrates 100th anniversary

 

 

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• C. David Welch, former U.S. Ambassador to Egypt
• Black and white old archival photos, scans, Visit Religious Leaders Pope Shenouda
• Sir Magdi Yacoub, cardiothoracic surgeon, Imperial College London, Heart of the Magdi Yacoub Heart Foundation
• John Casson, former UK UK Ambassador to Egypt
• Ahmed Okasha, Psychiatrist, Professor of Psychiatry, Ain Shams University
• Muhammad Tantawi, former Grand Sheikh of Al Azhar
• Mohamed Farid, Executive Chairman, The Egyptian Exchange
• Yoon Soon-Gu, former South Korean Ambassador to Egypt
• Helen Keller, American author, political activist and lecturer
• Helmy Fauzy, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia
• Sanjay Bhattacharyya, former Indian Ambassador to Egypt
• Louis Greiss '55, Egyptian journalist and writer
• Edith Piaf, French singer and actress
• Thomas Friedman (ALU '74), Pulitzer Prize-winning author
• Fadwa El Guindi '60, award-winning international anthropologist
• Omar Sherif, iconic Egyptian actor
• Former Egyptian President Mohammed Naguib
• Charles Elachi, professor emeritus of electrical engineering and planetary science, California Institute of Technology
• Taha Hussein, literary scholar and former Minister of Education
• Edward Said, professor of English and comparative literature, Columbia University
• Noam Chomsky, professor Emeritus of linguistics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
• Gro Harlem Brundtland, sustainability movement founder
• David Lipton, First Deputy Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
• Youssef Chahine, award-winning film director
• Amre Moussa, former Secretary-General of the Arab League; Egypt's former Foreign Minister
• Al Gore, 45th Vice President of the United States
• Ahmed Kamal Aboul Magd, law professor, Cairo University
• Fekry Abaza, Egyptian journalist and political activist
• Egypt's Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry
• Om Kolthoum, legendary Egyptian singer
• Frank G. Wisner, former U.S. Ambassador to Egypt
• Yahya Haqqi, Egyptian writer and novelist
• Nobel Laureate Naguib Mahfouz
• Richard W. Murphy, former U.S. Ambassador
• Yusuf Idris, Egyptian playwright and novelist
• Youssef El-Sebai, Egyptian novelist and former Minister of Culture
• Hillary Clinton, former Secretary of State of the United States
• Muhammed El-Sa'di, former President of Al Azhar University
• Boutros Ghall, sixth Secretary-General of the United Nations
• Abbas Ammar, Egypt's Former Minister of Education
• Ahmed Zewail, Nobel Laureate and AUC Trustee
• Don Cheadle, American actor
• Michael Dukakis, former U.S. presidential candidate and former Massachusetts governor
• Stephen Walt, professor of International Affairs, Harvard University
• Kofi Annan, Nobel Laureate and seventh Secretary General of the United Nations
• Condoleeza Rice, former U.S. Secretary of State
• Ahdaf Soueif (MA '73), Egyptian novelist
• John Prendergast, New York Times bestselling author, former Director of African Affairs, U.S. National Security Council
• Jimmy Carter, 39th President of the United States
• Hans Kung, Swiss theolgian
• Shibley Telhami Anwar Sadat Professor for Peace and Development, University of Maryland
• James Zogby, founder and President of the Arab American Institute
• Mary Robinson, first female president of Ireland
• Timothy Garton Ash, professor of European Studies, University of Oxford
•  

About AUC New Cairo

• 115,000 square meters of stone, marble and granite were used in the campus construction -- the most stone used in a single project since the Pyramids of Giza. 
   

• 80% of the external walls are made of sandstone, mostly sourced from Upper Egypt, keeping rooms cool during the day and warm at night.
   

• An international team of architects, seven firms from three countries, designed AUC New Cairo, ranked as the top green campus in Africa.
   

• In 2009, AUC received a special award from the Urban Land Institute for the design and construction of its New Cairo campus.
   

Thanks to the generosity of our New Cairo campus supporters, whose names can be found all around campus.

$1M+

Mr. J. Dinsmore Adams, Jr.

Mr. and Mrs. Moataz Al Alfi

Dr. Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor Hon LHD

Dr. Hamza Bahey El Din Alkholi

H.H. Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammed Al-Qasimi Hon LHD

Mr. Theodore S. Bacon, Jr.*

Mr. and Mrs. Paul H. Bartlett

Dr. Sarwat Sabet Bassily*

H.R.H. Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Bin Abdulaziz Alsaud Hon LHD

Mr. and Mrs. Richard M. Cashin

Paul I. and Charlotte P. Corddry

Mr. Miner D. Crary, Jr. and Mrs. Mary Crary*

Mrs. Elizabeth S. Driscoll

Mr. Mohamed Shafik Gabr '73

Mr. Paul B. Hannon Hon LHD

Dr. and Mrs. Elias K. Hebeka

Dr. and Mrs. Ahmed M. Hassanein Heikal

Mr. Yousef Abdul Latif Jameel '68, Hon LHD

Mrs. Suad Al-Husseini Juffali Hon LHD

Mr. and Mrs. Bruce L. Ludwig

H.E. Mohamed Loutfy Mansour

Mr. Hatem Niazi Mostafa* and Mrs. Janet Mostafa

Mr. Youssef Ayyad Nabih*

Sheikh Mohammed Wajih Hassan Sharbatly '89

$500K+

Sheikh Faisal Kamal Adham

Mrs. Mary Cross*

Mr. Hassan '73 and Mrs. Jill Dana
 

$250K+

Mr. Ala M. Al Khawaja

Dr. Barbara Brown and Dr. Steven C. Ward

Professor Gail M. Gerhart

Mr. Abdallah S. Jum'ah '65

Mr. David Rockefeller Hon LHD*

Mr. Khaled Shaheen

Mrs. Linda Joan Vester Greenberg '89
 

$100K+

Arab African International Bank

Mrs. Sarah Bacon*

Commercial International Bank (Egypt)

Mr. and Mrs. Elias Henry Debbas '68

Mr. William L. Driscoll and Dr. Lisa M. Hoffman

Abla Leheta and Souhail El-Taji El-Farouki '68

Dr. and Mrs. Adel El-Labban '77 '80

Mr. Hesham Helal El Sewedy '88

Sted and Robin Garber

Dr. John D. Gerhart Hon LHD*

Dr. Eng. Mamdouh Mostafa Hamza

Mr. Charles J. Hedlund Hon LHD*

Henkel-Egypt

Mr. B. Boyd and Mrs. Mary Kay Hight

Mr. Lawrence H. Hyde*

Fritz and Lee Link

Mrs. Marion M. Lloyd*

PepsiCo International - Egypt

Dr. Mohamed Eloui Taymour*

The Starr Foundation

Dr. Sadek '87 and Mrs. Suzy Wahba

Anonymous
 

$50K+

Alcatel - Lucent Egypt

Sheikh Abdulaziz AlSulaiman

Mr. David D. Arnold and Mrs. Sherry Lee Arnold

AUC Parents Association

Mr. Kenneth H. Bacon* and Mrs. Dorothy Bacon*

Mrs. Molly and Dr. Thomas Bartlett Hon LHD

Mr. Hussein Choucri

Peggy Driscoll and Rob Keeley

Egyptian Gulf Bank (EGBANK)

Eng. Emad Zaki El Sewedy '88

Mrs. Miriam Thorne Gilpatric*

Mrs. Inaam Bahgat Hassanein '84, '91

Dr. Ibrahim Abdel Aziz Hegazy '84, '87

Ms. Elizabeth D. Hlavka and Mr. Edwin J. Hlavka

Ms. Edith Crary Howe*

Mr. Tarek Mohamed Ismail

ITWorx

Arthur and Susan Lindenauer

Link Development

Luz and William MacArthur

Mr. Seif Allah Hamdy Mostafa '94

Mrs. Louise W. Moore Pine*

Red Bull Egypt for Import & Export

Dr. Ahmed Hassan Said '85

Mr. Mahmoud Abdel Wahab Saleh*

Mr. Ahmed Mamdouh Sharafeldin '91

Mr. and Mrs. Thomas E. Thomason

Mr. and Mrs. John Elting Treat*

Mr. and Mrs. John A. Urquhart, Sr.*

Visa International (Egypt)

The Honorable Frank G. Wisner

Anonymous
 

$25K+

Sheikh Ahmed Abdullatif '57

James D. and Mary Claire Bond

Mrs. Rania Ismail '95 and Mr. Ahmed Ismail '97

Mrs. Margaret R. King*

Reverend Richard A. Lundy SP

Mrs. Nadia Niazi Mostafa

Rob and Teresa Oden
 

$10K+

Mr. and Mrs. Anis Aclimandos

Mrs. Elisabeth Barahim

Kate, Victor and Jack Boyd

Mr. Alexander L. Darling

Mr. Mohamed A. Fattah El Masry

Dr. Hussein and Mrs. Kim El-Sharkawy

Mr. and Mrs. Peter Gajewski

Mr. and Mrs. Mounir Ghabbour

Mrs. Hoda Mohamed Hamed '66, '73

Ms. Deming P. Holleran

Mrs. Mona Ismail Mostafa Ismail '68, '79

Mr. Mohamed Saddik Leheta*

William Quandt

Mr. and Mrs. Fathi Qasem Samarah

Mr. Christopher T. Seaver '80

H.E. Ambassador Samir S. Shihabi '47, Hon LHD*

Mrs. Benjamin W. Thoron*

*Deceased

Hon LHD Honorary Degree

SP Special Program Alumni

 

 

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The first building secured for AUC was Khairy Pasha's Old Palace Residence. The same building at one time housed the Egyptian University, now Cairo University.
 

---

• 

AUC owned land near the Giza Pyramids until 1959 and originally had planned to have the campus be by the pyramids.

---

AUC used to host a traditional tug of war contest between sophomores and freshmen. As reported by the Caravan on November 2, 1951, "The traditional tug of war between sophomores and freshmen will take place on Saturday, January 6 during Assembly time. There will be a ditch filled with mud between the two teams, and the winning team will be the one who can tug the other team into the mud."

---

In its early days, AUC's Arabic classes assigned students both a "sheikh" and an "effendi." The sheikh was someone who did not speak English, and the effendi was someone who did.

-- Alan Horton, student, written in 1947

---

Through the years, AUC students have hosted a range of informal contests, notably including a yelling contest in 1945 and a beard-growing contest in 1956. Below is an excerpt about the yelling contest in the January 5, 1945 Caravan edition:

"Leila Shukri beat all other co-eds who took part in a yelling contest last week in the girls' room. The aim of the contest was to see who could reach the highest pitch. Leila Shukri reached the highest Mi note on tiptoes and so scored the highest. Ida Chalvarjian could not yell at all. Every time she tried yelling, she produced a discordant sound."
 

 

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AUC Professor Blase Donadio decided on the spur of the moment to buy a car during his three-day stopover in Rome, managing to bring it back to AUC with him. When he arrived, he described the students' excitement: "The students were all agog to see the miracle car that was brought from Rome in six days. They immediately baptized her Zarifa, an all-inclusive name meaning anything from hellish to angelic. Decals were made by an art student to adorn the window and a woven red Zarifa doll to sit primly on the instrument panel."
 

Chonchette Youssef Rizkalla '63

"I remember a very funny [and] mischievous incident which took place during my sophomore year. It was a history class, and the teacher had some prejudice. She liked some students more than others, and I was among the unlucky ones. It was during winter, and it was a dreary afternoon and most of the students as well as the teacher were half drowsy. We had a report to prepare from some outside readings, which was to be read in the class. I was the first to be summoned to deliver my report. I spoke for 10 minutes. I was told that my report was not full and does not deserve more than a C. I sat with a scowl on my face, dissatisfied with the grade.

After two more reports, a friend of mine was called to deliver her report, which she did not prepare. She snatched my report, and audaciously, she began reading it. A few of the students who saw her take my report began smiling peevishly. Everyone was in suspense, wondering whether the teacher would discover the trick. Amidst the suspense, we fretfully giggled. We were scolded for our misbehavior. I was reprimanded for being so irresponsible as to laugh when my grade was C, instead of listening attentively to the report, which was graded A. Such is luck, fellow students. My report, the one I wrote, was twice-graded: once C for Miss 'Unlucky' and once A for Miss 'Lucky.'"
 

The 1987 Caravan posted a piece titled "Cats! Cats! Cats!" about how the sixth-floor lounge of the Falaki girls' hostel had been filled with cats, who "seem to have mistaken the place for a shelter."

 

Pierre Cachia '42

"Dr. Howard taught me English. I can still remember his particular technique. Whenever I submitted a paper, if there was one word that wasn't quite right, he would just put a tiny little tick with his pencil underneath it. There was no indication of what the right word ought to be, just a little tick. And I would go home, puzzle over it and spend a couple of hours searching through the dictionaries until I found the right word to replace it by. Well, I think I still do this when I'm working on an article or book. If I put down a word that isn't quite right, I almost see Dr. Howard's little tick underneath it, and I still spend a couple hours searching through the dictionaries until I find the right one."
 

James Quay, worked at AUC, report from the 1920s:

"Dr. Watson loved to entertain, and at his house, they would set a table and everything would be arranged. During dinner, Dr. Watson would break in with a new subject all set in his mind that would make a good conversation piece. In fact, I believe he had a whole string of topics for conversation scribbled on the inside of his cuff to assure that the table conversation would be kept on the rails and not run off into small matters that weren't pertinent."

James Quay, worked at AUC, report from the 1920s:

"Dr. Robert S. McClenahan was the Dean of the American University in Cairo. He was quite an able man, of big stature and fine presence. He was nearly blind by the time he died. The last time I saw him, he told me about standing on the street, on the corner of 5th Avenue, New York, alone waiting for the traffic to stop so that he could get across with safety. As he stood there waiting, a friendly hand took him by the arm and gave him a little push, and the two of them went across the street in perfect safety to the other side. This stranger turned to McClenahan and thanked him very much. And McClenahan said, 'What are you thanking me for?' 'Why, for getting me across the street,' the stranger responded. 'You see, I'm blind.'" 
 

P.J Vatikiotis, 1944-1948

"General AUC characters in those days were the Zabit, a sort of discipline officer, who, when he was not prowling about, sat at a desk on the right-hand side beneath the central stairway of the main building. He made certain people went to class, did not lie about smoking on campus or cavorting with the odd female, and wrote the list of the day's post on a blackboard precariously hung against the iron railing fence on the main gate."
 

John Badeau, AUC president (1945-1953)

"Naguib Rihany, the great popular playwright of social significance, died suddenly in Egypt. That year, one of our girls had made Naguib Rihany and the social objectives of his plays the subject of her senior thesis, and she spent a year on this. She talked to Rihany and she read all his plays, and when he died, this really was the only account available about his philosophy of acting, a list of his works and how he went about it. It became very valuable. We sent one copy to the Library of Congress. The Egyptian government had a copy. And the girl who did it had a type of education that she just wouldn't get out of a book."

Naguib RihanyOn March 13, 1953, President Gamal Abdel Nasser visited AUC as the guest of honor for the Fourth Annual Arabic Language Day

According to the 1953 Caravan, during President Nasser's visit to campus, "he was surrounded during this time by students and visitors anxious to greet him or get his autograph. When he entered the library office, many of the spectators attempted to enter also. When their knocks on the door went unanswered, some jumped in through the window."

It also reports, "When he was given a copy of the Campus Caravan, he was astonished to find the complete story and pictures of Arabic Day already included in the paper. As he looked at his sketch on the front page, he was asked if he was the person show there. He replied that he was and added that the Campus Caravan was a good looking paper."

 

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Charles Watson led a life dedicated to the expansion of education and the promotion of Christian values abroad and specifically in Egypt. Born in Egypt on July 17, 1873, Watson received his early education in the country and his PhD from Princeton University's Theological Seminary in 1899. He began his career by taking charge of a mission church in Pittsburgh. Later, he worked as a teacher and pastor, promoting the works of his church at home and abroad. He was an active member of the Near East Christian Council, a special representative for the Foreign Ministry Board of North America at the Paris Peace Conference of 1919, and was part of an Egyptian commission to study a program of national education for the country in the early 1930s. He studied the educational system in Egypt in the early 1900s, and in 1915, organized the Board of Trustees of The American University at Cairo. The legacy of his life and values are still felt through the University today.
 

Liberal Arts

"We must have original and creative minds. To develop such minds is to render a supreme service to the country. Yet, this is no easy task. It calls for constant encouragement of the student to think for himself. It calls for the abandonment of the memorizing system of education. It calls for examinations and research work that will encourage independent thinking. It calls for discussions in classrooms and not mere recitations."

-- "The Place and Program of The American University at Cairo," Commencement Address May 26, 1933
 

"Our institution is here to serve Egypt and the population of Egypt. ... The full recognition of this point is fundamental to any consideration of our program and plans. ... The American University at Cairo has from the beginning laid a unique emphasis on character training in education. ... Our education is directed not merely to the student's head and intellect, but also to his heart and moral character."

-- The Graduation Exercises, The College of Arts and Sciences June 5, 1925
 

Cocurriculars

"No one may secure the diploma of this University without doing more than merely pass examinations on a subject matter. He must give evidence of a total development of life and character that makes him worthy of being called a college graduate. This general development we endeavor to secure by what we call our extracurricular activities."

-- "The Place and Program of The American University at Cairo," Commencement Address May 26, 1933

"In our education here, we strive to maintain and even deepen sympathy with the outside world. Not only are our social studies organized for an examination into the problems of Egypt, but the students are taken out to visit hospitals and orphanages, villages and the poorer sections of the city, prisons and factories, so that they may possess this quality so important for every leader, namely, sympathy with the people. ... Sometimes we are criticized for the large place we give in our curriculum to character training, to studies in ethics and to extracurricular activities, but we are persuaded that no part of our training is more important or will contribute more richly to the abiding goal of an independent Egypt."

-- "The Student, The School, and the Nation," Commencement Address May 28, 1937

"No one may secure the diploma of this University without doing more than merely pass examinations on a subject matter. He must give evidence of a total development of life and character that makes him worthy of being called a college graduate. This general development we endeavor to secure by what we call our extracurricular activities."

-- "The Place and Program of The American University at Cairo," Commencement Address May 26, 1933 
 

Public Access to Education

"Our Division of Extension has been developed in recognition of Mr. Public and of his opinion. It not only recognizes his importance, but it also believes that he can be educated and that, if educated, he can become the greatest force [in] the improvement of a country. That is why this University, through its Division of Extension, has sought to affect public opinion by lectures, by the printed page, by the cinema, by radio, by general gatherings and, again, by smaller forums."

-- "The Place and Program of The American University at Cairo," Commencement Address May 26, 1933
 

"The Department of University Extension ... has for its motto, 'Educate all the people.' In opposition to the familiar business term, '--- Company, Limited,' it has been called 'Education, Unlimited.'

-- "The Place and Program of The American University at Cairo," Commencement Address May 26, 1933