26 July 2005

BEIRUT: After almost a 100 years of existence, the current Alumni Association of the American University of Beirut (AUB) fears that it is in jeopardy of losing its independence and being replaced by a new association chosen by the board of trustees. While the board of trustees of the AUB asserts that its move to create a new worldwide alumni association will improve the quality and quantity of services offered to alumni, current leaders of the existing alumni association have criticized the change.

The AUB board of trustees, consisting of 36 members, approved the establishment of a new worldwide alumni association at its June 17, 2005 meeting. This association will report to the office of development and alumni affairs.

Having operated independently for almost a 100 years, the current Alumni Association of AUB opposes the board's centralization plan.

In a press release issued July 12, the council of the AUB alumni association claimed that "the way the decision was announced was an attempt to impose a new reality on the alumni and their mother association, shrinking its free, historic, independent, self-giving and voluntary role and consequently transforming the mother association in Lebanon into an affiliated branch."

"The current association has an international, regional and national role. It is not only an association for AUB," said Fawaz al-Merheby, president of the alumni association. "Our basic objective is to support and care for the welfare of AUB."

"A university is measured by the achievement of its alumni association and alumni, who are holding the AUB banner high all over the world, making it a free soul family," said Merheby. "We cannot lose our independence. We have to make our own free decisions."

Farouk Jabr, member of the AUB board of trustees, rejected the council's claims. He said: "There have been discussions about this for the past 20 years. This is no surprise. It was the fact that a decision was finally taken that surprised the current alumni association."

According to statements made by the board of trustees, the existing alumni association is not necessarily fulfilling its duties toward AUB; it is prioritizing other events and neglecting the need for improvement.

"In order to benefit you need to have a centralized office that would direct and guide the core of the alumni worldwide," explained Jabr.

"The mission of a worldwide association is to harness the thousands and thousands of AUB alumni worldwide for moral reasons, and to help raise funds to achieve its development purposes, whether capital or academic," he added.

According to a press release from the AUB board of trustees, "Historically, alumni relations have been developed through various independent chapters and branches worldwide ... The current structure (the alumni association) has not allowed for one united organization that is representative of all the international locations where alumni reside or for greater support by the university in facilitating a vision for alumni relations."

Stephen Jeffrey, vice president for development and external relations at AUB, as well as an alumnus himself, noted: "Every AUB alumni cares deeply about the success of AUB and its future. The board has decided that a single worldwide association would better serve AUB. I would only hope that the association in Beirut would understand that and appreciate it."

AUB president John Waterbury has endorsed the move, saying: "By forming AUBAA (American University of Beirut Alumni Association) the university is taking a needed step in alumni relations and in providing better services for all AUB graduates. AUBAA will allow the university to work more closely with the alumni in creating a strong unified body representing alumni of all geographical locations as well as class years."

One of the new association's goals is to eliminate the membership fees alumni are required to pay. "The current alumni association cannot have a legitimate association without having a fee, according to Lebanese law. With this new association though, we are working on canceling this fee, for being an alumni should be an automatically given right," said Jabr.

The board of trustees has also appointed a task force to develop a plan to improve and enhance alumni relations. The task force consists of nine members: three members of the board of trustees, three alumni from the Middle East, two from North America and one from Europe.

"It is fair to say that this task force will be listening to alumni around the world, making recommendations to the board of trustees on

how to proceed. We don't want to ignore any opinions," Jeffrey explained.

"Of the comments that we have received, 95 percent of the alumni around the world who have sent in responses are in favor of a single worldwide association," he added.