AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT PO Box 11-0236 Riad El Solh 1107 2020 Beirut, Lebanon (+961) 1 340 176, ext. 2530 AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT THE DEBS CENTER 3 Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, 8th floor New York, NY 10017 2303 USA (+1) 212 583 7600 BOLDLY.AUB.EDU.LB AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT INVESTING IN IT@AUB
A STRATEGIC PARTNER BOLDLY AUB WE ARE A STRATEGIC AND DYNAMIC PARTNER WITH THE ACADEMIC AND ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS HELPING TO TRANSFORM TEACHING, RESEARCH, STUDENT LIFE, AND PATIENT CARE AT AUB. WE WORK WITH FACULTY AND ADMINISTRATORS TO TRANSFORM TEACHING, RESEARCH, STUDENT LIFE, AND PATIENT CARE BY IDENTIFYING AND INTEGRATING SERVICES FROM MULTIPLE SOURCES. WE ARE IT@AUB.
IN JANUARY 2017, AUB PRESIDENT FADLO R. KHURI ANNOUNCED BOLDLY AUB: THE CAMPAIGN TO LEAD, INNOVATE, AND SERVE. THIS $650 MILLION FUNDRAISING CAMPAIGN, THE LARGEST AND MOST AMBITIOUS IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSITY, AND INDEED IN THE ENTIRE REGION, IS A TESTAMENT TO AUB S ENDURING COMMITMENT TO SERVE THE PEOPLES OF THE MIDDLE EAST AND BEYOND A COMMITMENT THAT HAS DEFINED OUR HISTORY AND IS THE CORNERSTONE OF THE CAMPAIGN WILL Enrich the educational and research experience of students and faculty Serve the healthcare needs of the region Prioritize innovation and entrepreneurship Engage with communities in the region to achieve real impact Secure the University s long-term sustainability OUR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE.
We will lead, by producing thought-leaders and C O M M U N I T Y B O LD LY L E A D E R S with the passion and drive to effect significant and MEANINGFUL CHANGE. We will innovate, by keeping AUB at the forefront of GROUNDBREAKING MOVEMENTS and ideas in the MENA region and beyond. We will serve the C O M M U N I T I E S around us, near and far, through O U T R E A C H, R E S E A R C H, and L E A D E R S H I P I N H E A LT H C A R E. PHILIP S. KHOURY, CHAIRMAN, BOARD OF TRUSTEES 2
Whether it s the INTERNET of things, wearable tech, or big data TRANSFORMING BUSINESS, HEALTHCARE, EDUCATION, or as yet UNKNOWN COMBINATIONS OF TECHNOLOGIES, we know that in the future, and VERY SOON, people s lives are going to be CHANGED BEYOND RECOGNITION as this NEW AGE UNFOLDS. Institutions like AUB are POISED not just to be shaped by these developments but also TO HELP SHAPE THE EMERGING WORLD that is appearing before our eyes at this MOST CHALLENGING, EXCITING TIME. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MISSION-CRITICAL TO AUB IT is not about technology. It s actually about understanding what the faculty do and what the students need, and then finding the solutions for them using technology. YOUSIF ASFOUR, CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER We are helping to transform teaching, research, student life, and patient care at AUB. We are no longer operating as a separate entity that interacts only occasionally with other university departments usually when something is not working. We are instead partnering with the faculties in knowledge acquisition, creation, and dissemination. We are mission-critical to AUB. As the role of technology and information increases in all academic disciplines, it places even greater responsibility on IT departments requiring them to assume a central place in carrying out universities teaching, research, and service missions. We are enormously proud of what we have accomplished so far and very excited about our plans for the future. We need your help to expand our capacity, upgrade our services, and invest in technologies that will fundamentally transform the way AUB teaches and conducts research. FADLO R. KHURI, AUB PRESIDENT 4
FINDING SOLUTIONS Information technology connects faculty with colleagues, databases, and networks providing them with access to the resources they need for research. Information technology is also a basic requirement in classrooms enabling students to learn more effectively. IT can have an especially powerful impact on the learning experiences of students with varied skills and special needs. Information technology also makes it possible for AUB to reach beyond the walls of its campus and share the expertise and perspective of AUB faculty and students with audiences around the world. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IS MAKING IT POSSIBLE FOR AUB TO MAKE CHANGES THROUGHOUT THE UNIVERSITY. IT IS CENTRAL TO THE IMPLEMENTATION, FOR EXAMPLE, OF THE AUBHEALTH HOSPITAL INFORMATION SYSTEM THAT IS TRANSFORMING THE PATIENT CARE EXPERIENCE AT THE AUB MEDICAL CENTER AND PROVIDING HEALTHCARE PROFESSIONALS WITH A WEALTH OF ELECTRONIC TOOLS TO MANAGE INFORMATION ABOUT HEALTH AND HEALTHCARE AND TO IMPROVE PATIENT SAFETY. DOCTORS ARE ALSO USING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TO CONSULT WITH COLLEAGUES IN OTHER LOCATIONS AND TO SECURE ACCESS TO CURRENT, EVIDENCE-BASED INFORMATION ENABLING THEM TO PROVIDE EVEN BETTER CARE TO THEIR PATIENTS. Our mission in IT is to partner directly with the academic and administrative units within AUB to help transform teaching, research, student life, and patient care. The way we do that is by creating a flexible ecosystem and acting as a service broker. 6 IT has to be a leader and a partner with all the stakeholders within AUB. YOUSIF ASFOUR, CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER
AT THE HEART OF THE UNIVERSITY TO THRIVE, UNIVERSITIES REQUIRE A ROBUST AND FLEXIBLE DIGITAL ENVIRONMENT. We work closely with our faculty to learn about the research they are doing, the information they need, and the challenges they are facing in acquiring, generating, sharing, and storing data and information. We talk with them also about how they want to teach their classes how they are structured, about their students, and the learning outcomes they seek to achieve. We help them understand not how they can use technology in different ways, but how technology can be used to change the way they do things. We want to impact not only the life, but the success, of our students. YOUSIF ASFOUR, CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER We are working with faculty at the Suliman S. Olayan School of Business, for example, to develop the content, pedagogy, and platforms for the EMBA program; with the Faculty of Arts and Sciences on student advising; with the Maroun Semaan Faculty of Engineering and Architecture to set up labs; and with the Continuing Education Center on online courses. We collaborate with AUB s University Libraries to support outstanding research and scholarship, strengthen the educational experience of students in the classroom, and facilitate the preservation of historic documents. We manage computer labs and e-classrooms; support technologies that enable remote users to access library resources; and design, implement, operate, and build digital repositories. 8
LEADING, INNOVATING, AND SERVING One of the most significant changes in recent years has been in how many of us around the world interact with information technology not just as students, in the workplace, or when we go to the doctor. IT is now a ubiquitous part of our lives. AUB s Office of Information Technology has been in the vanguard in bringing the internet to Lebanon. Our IT Department continues to Lead, Innovate, and Serve by playing a central role in regional networks and governing bodies. IT@AUB led the effort to establish a National Research and Education Network (NREN) and is working closely with other global and regional NRENs such as Europe s GEANT, the Arab region s ASREN, the North American Internet2, and New York s NYSERNET. By taking a leading role and participating in these networks and governing bodies IT@AUB is helping advance learning and research at AUB and in Lebanon and the region by encouraging collaboration among the faculty and students across different local, regional, and global institutions. We are learning the lessons of the past, while setting our sights on the future. One thing has not changed since Daniel Bliss founded AUB in 1866: we are determined to make an impact on knowledge, and on society. AUB PRESIDENT FADLO R. KHURI 10
A dynamic, robust, and innovative information technology ecosystem is key to the success of AUB s BOLDLY AUB campaign. MAKE A BOLD STATEMENT AUB s student body has grown dramatically in recent years from more than 7,300 in 2007-08 to more than 9,000 in 2017-18. During the same period, the number of full-time faculty has increased from 570 to more than 900. We have made enormous changes during this period to strengthen, expand, and transform Information Technology at AUB so that it can meet the everincreasing demands of our expanding community. We have, for example, invested in student learning, upgraded the University s financial aid system, implemented library digitization infrastructure upgrades, improved the IT systems in classrooms throughout the campus, and installed enhancements in AUB s accounts receivable system. We have also more than tripled the network bandwidth at AUB in just the last three years providing the on-campus community with one of the best networks in Lebanon. Despite these changes, AUB requires a larger and more robust IT infrastructure to achieve its mission to Lead, Innovate, and Serve. 12
There is so much that we could and must do to extend the breadth and depth of IT services at AUB. We need to increase our network capacity tenfold to support the demands of modern-day research and of a target student population of 12,000. Demands for data are also increasing. We need to quadruple our storage capacity and increase our computational needs by at least 10 times to meet the capacity required by researchers. There are a number of opportunities to partner with us to establish and name centers, laboratories, and studios including a computational research center; a technology innovation lab; a technology evaluation lab; a technology learning center; a technology support center; an extended reality development lab; and a high fidelity recording studio for e-learning. Associating your name with a particular office or computer classroom is a prominent way to indicate your support for the University and for Information Technology. It is also an especially meaningful way to improve the experience of every student, faculty member, and staff person on campus. Endowing a named position signals an individual s enduring interest in Information Technology. It also confers prestige to the individual selected for the position and to AUB. We are also seeking support to expand the existing university-wide systems and IT services that are the lifeblood of AUB: email, student services, finances and human resources, and WiFi to name a few. Capital Funds provide essential resources and tools that will enable us to continue to make the necessary investments in infrastructure and technology. We are seeking support in all areas: high-performance computing and classroom and laboratory upgrades to enhance teaching and research; classroom scheduling, contact and document management, reporting, and student advising to strengthen academic operations; and upgrades to our security, telephone, and wireless networks to create a more robust infrastructure. 14
TOGETHER BOLDLY The AUB story is one of advancing knowledge; of providing for the healthcare needs of our community; of deep and abiding commitment to Lebanon and the region; of hope and perseverance; of inclusivity and diversity; and of fostering respect and mutual trust. The challenges before Lebanon and the region are daunting. We are eager to Lead efforts to overcome these challenges, to Innovate bold and effective solutions, and to continue to Serve the people of Lebanon and the region for generations to come. Please join us. 16