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HASSAN EL-FAWAL
PROFESSOR OF BIOMEDICAL SCIENCES
DEAN, SCHOOL OF SCIENCES AND ENGINEERING
FOUNDING DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE OF GLOBAL 
HEALTH AND HUMAN ECOLOGY

Setting the foundation for the future of health care in Egypt

The Inspiration

My specific research area is environmental health, with a particular focus on developing diagnostic tests for a range of conditions. But I've always had a broad interest in breaking down barriers that impede meaningful progress for humanity. One such example is our focus on precision health to arrive at a gene-environment model within the demographic and socioeconomic context. One project we're keen on now, in collaboration with colleagues -- most notably Mohamed Salama, physician and clinical neurotoxicologist who recently joined AUC as associate professor at the Institute of Global Health and Human Ecology -- and international partners, is establishing a reference genome for Egypt. This is an essential first step in identifying unique vulnerabilities of the population to communicable and non-communicable diseases. In that regard, it is a mission that satisfies both the interests of protecting environmental health and early disease diagnosis.

 

El-Fawal with faculty researchers Ahmed Moustafa, associate professor of bioinformatics; Mohamed Salama, associate professor at the Institute of Global Health and Human Ecology; and Anwar Abdelnaser, assistant professor of environmental health

The Process

We're collaborating with a number of institutions in Europe and the Middle East. It's a vast, interdisciplinary project that requires the team efforts of medical health professionals, biomedical scientists and engineers, as well as the expertise of colleagues in the social sciences. In one way, we're doing what every good research project does: defining gaps in our knowledge, asking the relevant questions, designing an adaptable approach, running tests, analyzing big data and refining our methods. But we're doing these things at the most advanced level and with diverse expertise.

 

The Next Steps

A complete database that reflects the efforts of researchers and practitioners across Egypt will inform the country's health policy and its management of health care and will establish AUC as an enabling partner for researchers in Egypt. Not at all coincidentally, AUC has developed two graduate programs -- a master's and doctorate in global public health -- that focus on these issues. The graduate programs, in turn, are part of our new Institute of Global Health and Human Ecology, which is designed to address worldwide challenges: food scarcity, environmental degradation, burgeoning populations, the spread of diseases associated with industrial development and much more.

The IMPACT

The reference genome for Egypt will provide a database for comparative studies and a repository for shared information on the genetic basis of health and disease to advance personalized medicine and health care among the Egyptian population. It will empower researchers and clinicians to better identify risk -- diagnosing diseases such as cancer, neurodegenerative conditions and heart disease -- while mitigating risk or customizing treatment. Simply put, it is the future of health care in Egypt that should inform policy.

 

The Future

AUC recently celebrated its centennial. To me, this project -- as well as the Institute of Global Health and Human Ecology -- represents the dawn of our second century of service. It's about working together across borders, across disciplines in a spirit of progress and collaboration to find solutions.

Read about the Institute of Global Health and Human Ecology.

 

 

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By Yakin Ouederni

Communicating in Arabic Sign Language with the tap of a phone

Baher Moursy '18, Heba Sakr '18, Youssef Khairalla '18 and Tamara Nagui '17 have always been driven by a desire to give back to their communities whenever the opportunity arises. So when it came time for them to decide on a graduation project in 2017, it was difficult to settle on one of the many ideas they thought of, but they were sure of one thing: Whatever it was, it needed to go beyond being just a thesis project.

After months of brainstorming, they came up with Eshara, a mobile application that translates Arabic Sign Language (ASL) into written Arabic in real time. Eshara works on any device with a camera, using video recognition technology to detect the hand movements of someone speaking ASL and simultaneously provide a written translation.

"Imagine a world in which a student can raise his or her hand in a classroom and sign what he or she is trying to communicate, and everyone else in the classroom reading or hearing the translation instantly," Khairalla said.

The Eshara logo was designed by Yasmine Nagui '16

Due to rapid advancements in artificial intelligence (AI), the world that Khairalla speaks of can soon become a reality. Eshara relies on computer vision and machine learning, a subset of AI that uses systems to identify patterns and make decisions with little to no human intervention. Both fields are increasingly being used across a variety of areas such as health care monitoring, financial services and transportation. In Eshara's case, the group films people speaking ASL and then programs the software to recognize specific movements as words so that it may provide a written translation.

"Basically, we design and train several AI computing models to associate each ASL word gesture with its corresponding text," said Mohamed Moustafa, associate professor in the Department of Computer Science and Engineering and the team's supervisor. "This work of action recognition is actually part of a bigger research topic known as human-computer interaction. Its applications are all futuristic."

Noting the great impact of machine learning on people's lives, Moustafa emphasized the importance of investing time into developing this field. "Self-driving vehicles are expected to be fully autonomous in a handful of years, bidirectional language translation is helping real-time conversations, and mature models are being developed to recommend your next online purchase," he said.

And it's exactly this type of impact that the team hopes to make with Eshara: creating programs that make people's lives easier by using AI to help underserved populations and inspire others to do the same. "We have the knowledge; we have the technology," Moursy said. "Why don't we use it for the good of society?"

"Be the Future" in Arabic Sign Language by (front row) Youssef Khairalla, Heba Sakr, Baher Moursy and (back) Amr AbdelGhani

Two years after presenting their idea to the thesis panel, the team members are still developing the app. Amr AbdelGhani '19 has since joined the team.

What the team members have now is the demo they created for the graduation project, which is capable of translating individual words and not full sentences. By the end of the year, they hope to accomplish two goals for the app: translating full sentences and being quick enough to produce words in real time. Development takes place in two stages: data collection then programming the machine.

Eshara app design

When the team members initially started conducting research, they were surprised to see that there was no project like theirs targeting ASL speakers in the Middle East. This made the data collection process much more difficult and time consuming. "It took us around a year to collect data for the demo," Moursy said.

One year for 16 words.

Data collection involves choosing words to include in the Eshara dictionary and then filming those words being spoken in ASL. To ensure Eshara's accuracy at all times of the day and in different locations, the team needed to film movements across a wide array of environments and with different people. With no ASL experience and no contacts with anyone who speaks it, the team members had to learn the movements and train their friends to shoot the videos.

"When filming the words, we needed a wide range of skin colors, hand sizes, backgrounds and lighting, and we had to film at different times of the day," Sakr said.

Their project stalled for one year when they lost funding, but AUC secured funding earlier in 2019, and the team got right back to work in July. Since then, they have expanded the dictionary to between 800 and 1,000 words. "Being part of the Eshara team resembles a great opportunity for me to help create something that can directly impact people's lives and has the potential to revolutionize communication with those who cannot hear," said AbdelGhani. "The current progress is unprecedented for Arabic Sign Language recognition, and I believe that we could potentially push this technology to achieve a breakthrough in scalable automatic ASL recognition. The passion and excitement of the team along with AUC's support make this project a fun and fulfilling journey."

Data Collection for Eshara

Turning AUC Tahrir Square into their workspace, the team members meet with ASL professionals and communities in Cairo that cannot hear or speak to film vocabulary. Khairalla, who is currently overseas, is helping with researching quicker and more efficient technologies for the app.

"Speed is our main concern," Moursy said. "The app needs to be able to translate full sentences in real time."

Sign language translating programs do exist for languages other than ASL, but what differentiates Eshara from all others is its accessibility. Most programs use censored gloves or 3D cameras to detect hand movements, while Eshara can be downloaded on mobile phones and works across different software.

"If someone who speaks Arabic Sign Language is sitting right next to me, there would be no way of communicating with him or her," Moursy said. "Eshara would allow me to just pull out my phone and carry out a conversation. We're not realizing that there's a whole demographic of people we aren't talking to."

What started out as a graduation project turned into an initiative to include an often neglected demographic in society. Even AUC Tahrir Square, which started off as a meeting place for data collection, became a space for a community of people working toward a common cause.

"The ASL professionals were really excited about the project and even want to continue helping us for free," Sakr said, emphasizing how this project will allow ASL speakers to enter the workforce more easily, making way for diverse skills and talents that were previously not tapped into. "We're helping to create a better future for them because they can finally be able to take part in regular, everyday life like everyone else."

 

HASSAN AZZAZY
PROFESSOR AND CHAIR
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY

Building a low-cost sensor that monitors water quality

The Inspiration

I believe that clean water is a human right. Yet developing countries often lack the capacity to detect and remove toxic metals from their water supply. If you're exposed to those metals -- mercury, cadmium, arsenic and lead -- in your water every day, they accumulate in your body. As they accumulate, they can severely affect your health. They can lower IQs in children, damage organs in people of any age and more. My research team is trying to develop a low-cost testing device -- a colorimetric sensor -- for toxic metals in water.

The Process

The first step was putting together a multidisciplinary team: graduate students with expertise in sensing technologies, nanotechnology and analytical chemistry. Together, we prepared innovative nanosensors, which have been granted patent by the United States Patent and Trademark Office; assembled sensor strips; ran tests and compared results. Those results were qualitative; they provided only a yes/no answer for the presence of a specific toxic metal. Similar to pregnancy tests, the color of each sensor strip changes in the presence of a specific toxic metal. We have also developed a portable device that can measure the intensity of the developed color and, therefore, produce quantitative results -- numbers that can be used to assess the exact level of toxic metals in water.

The Next Steps

The next phase of our project is very exciting. We'll develop a tool that can help remove toxic metals from water. In everything we do, we're guided by the idea that our research should contribute practical solutions to address national and global challenges.

The IMPACT

Simply put, the devices we produce will help communities, especially those in remote locations dependent on underground water, to monitor their water quality. Local authorities will be able to assess the toxicity of metals in their water, giving them the information they need to warn community members of danger or to ensure that their water is safe for drinking or other uses.

Four toxic metals -- MERCURY, CADMIUM, ARSENIC AND LEAD -- are among the World Health Organization's Top 10 Chemicals of Major Public Concern.

The Future

AUC is one of the best places in Egypt to conduct innovative research. The high-caliber faculty, the industrious students, the advanced facilities and instruments -- these are all important factors. But the culture of AUC is important too. This is a University that encourages multidisciplinary research, innovation and entrepreneurship.

Read about the newly inaugurated AUC and Alexandria University Center of Excellence for Water.

 

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Bridging the global radiology gap

By Nahla El Gendy

According to the World Health organization, in many medical cases worldwide, clinical considerations are not enough to make a correct diagnosis. radiology, or diagnostic imaging, allows doctors to see inside the body, providing detailed information that is crucial for proper disease diagnosis. As the World Health Organization put it, "diagnostic imaging is a prerequisite for the correct and successful treatment of at least a quarter of all patients worldwide."

The problem? Two-thirds of the world's population lacks access to basic radiology services, whether in the form of X-rays, ultrasounds, CAt scans, magnetic resonance or other procedures -- what HealthManagement.org describes as the "global radiology gap that now poses a threat to public health."

"With technological advances in the last two decades, radiology is expanding rapidly worldwide while the number of radiologists has not increased at the same rate," said Amr Abodraiaa, CEO and co-founder of Rology, a startup of the AUC Venture Lab (V-Lab), Egypt's first university-based accelerator. Abodraiaa became aware of the problem several years ago when he worked on a hospital management system with a startup company in Egypt. "it always concerned me how there was a constant delay in issuing patient reports," he said. "Patients would sometimes have to wait for two or three weeks to receive their final diagnostic reports."

Using artificial intelligence, Rology works to bridge this gap through an on-demand, web-based teleradiology platform that instantly and remotely matches radiology images originating from hospitals with professional radiologists in different parts of the globe. Rology can be easily accessed by radiologists worldwide and doesn't require special hardware.

" Rology helps hospitals provide their patients with a fast and accurate report," said Abodraiaa. "this is crucial because a patient's diagnosis and treatment can only start after the physician receives the radiology report."

Rology operations follow three main steps: upload, match and report. the hospital uploads the patient's medical images onto the system. Based on the first auto analysis, Rology then matches the scan with the optimal radiologist, depending on availability and subspecialty. Afterward, the radiologist writes the final diagnostic report and sends it back to the hospital through a quality control process.

"The health care sector in Egypt is ripe for innovations," said Ayman Ismail 
'95, '97, Abdul Latif Jameel Chair in Entrepreneurship, associate professor at AUC's School of Business and V-Lab founding director. "there is a huge need for expanding access, improving quality of care and reducing costs for health care services in Egypt, especially with the growing population and rising incomes. startups like Rology are using innovative technologies and business models to expand access to radiology services. At the AUC Venture Lab, we are now adding health care as a focus sector and working with entrepreneurs like Amr to introduce new innovations to this vital sector."

Rology is already making an impact in Egypt. "We have helped hospitals and radiology centers in various Egyptian governorates to improve their operations by issuing almost 60,000 accurate and timely diagnostic reports since we started operating in October 2017," said Abodraiaa.

Rology currently works with 54 hospitals and private radiology centers across Egypt and has recently started operating in Saudi Arabia and Kenya, with plans to expand its services to new markets in Africa and the Middle East by 2020. "We have five main countries in our expansion plan for this year, including Ethiopia, Nigeria, and Congo," said Abodraiaa. "it's just the start."

 

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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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.

---

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
•  

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Photos compiled by Aliah Salih | These photos appeared in the Fall 2017 edition of AUCToday and are courtesy of the University Archives.

Since its founding, AUC has always welcomed students from different parts of the world. Charles R. Watson, AUC's founding president, laid an "emphasis on international relations" at AUC.

"Here in Egypt, we are international in language, in customs, in race, in culture. The training of any Egyptian must include training in internationalism. This is achieved in our College not through language studies, history classes, [and] sociological and economic courses, but through the very practical training given in this College by its very life. Let me read to you the racial types included in our enrollment: Egyptian 60 percent, then come Palestinian, Armenian, Greek, American, Syrian, British, French, Malayan, Sumatran, Italian, Persian, Mesopotamian, Higazi, Javanese [in Indonesia], Turkish, Maltese, Russian, Moroccan. Do you imagine that any student can live and study in our international atmosphere and not gain an international training which will fit him for Egypt's outstanding international life?"

-- Charles R. Watson, AUC's Founding President
"The Place and Program of The American University at Cairo," 1933

 

 

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Check out some more historical snapshots from AUC's rich history here.

 

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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.
 

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

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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."

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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

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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."