New Horizons: American University of Beirut

By Marilyn Raschka

When you are 125 years old it's probably not a bad idea to have a facelift. Walking on the campus of the century-and-a-quarter-year-old American University of Beirut (AUB) gives one the feeling that most of the 60 buildings on campus are being renovated, remodeled or even rebuilt.

Project Facelift, scheduled for the early '70s, was shelved as 16 years of war raged through the country and local and regional powers made AUB's survival the university's first and only priority. But the construction fund was waiting in the wings.

On Nov. 8, 1991, a van packed with explosives destroyed the main administration building, ripping off one facade and leaving the building structurally unsalvageable. Professors' personal archives, university records and telex machines were just some of the things extracted from the wobbly building. Then the AUB community watched as the building was reduced to a parking lot over subsequent months. Many friends of College Hall still pause at the site to pay their respects to its memory.

Project Facelift Begins

On Nov. 8, 1992, Project Facelift began. Under a bright blue sky, Lebanese President Elias Hrawi laid the cornerstone for the new College Hall.

In ceremonies held in the chapel, a message from AUB President Frederic Herter was read. "We meet today not to give recognition to the infamous act of a year ago which destroyed our cherished College Hall, but rather to reaffirm our solemn commitment to the future of the American University of Beirut."

Herter, who governs AUB from New York due to the U.S. ban on travel to Lebanon, also thanked those who helped AUB raise the funds needed. The U.S. government, which has pledged $3 million to the reconstruction of College Hall, was represented at the ceremonies by U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker, whose public appearances remain limited because of security concerns.

Herter quoted AUB's first president, Dr. Daniel Bliss, at the cornerstone-laying of the first College Hall on Nov. 28, 1871: "This college is for all conditions and classes of men without regard to color, nationality, race or religion. A man white, black, or yellow; Christian, Jew, Mohammadan or heathen, may enter and enjoy all the advantages of this institution for three, four or eight years, and go out believing in one God, in many gods, or in no God. But it will be impossible for anyone to continue with us long without knowing what we believe to be the truth and our reasons for that belief."

The first College Hall was completed in two years, at a cost of $9,800. The new structure will take about the same amount of time, but cost $15 million.

Groundbreaking is scheduled for April, and the New York-based firm of Haines, Lumborg, and Waehler will undertake the project. Because of the U.S. travel ban, the firm's international staff will oversee the construction, and nearby Cyprus will serve as staging point for the project.

The new College Hall, a slightly larger copy of the original, will be set back a few meters to make space for a plaza between the building and the Main Gate. The original stone blocks will not be reused. Engineers say that after the necessary redressing of the damaged stones, they would no longer be of uniform size. The good news is that three truckloads have been saved, perhaps to be used in the plaza.

But the original College Hall had a landmark tower, topped with its clock and bell. Today, one facade of the clock tower remains where it plunged—near the library. There is sentiment on campus to place this last remnant of College Hall in a permanent spot on the campus. The original clock and bell were a gift from AUB trustee William E. Dodge, Sr. The new ones will be the gift of hundreds of donors.

Wonderful stories are told about the importance to Beirut of the AUB clock. When the clock needed repairs and started giving the incorrect time, something had to be done for the thousands of Beirutis who depended on its tolling to keep their own clocks adjusted. A huge black ball was raised every day at 12 noon by the university observatory so people could adjust their own timepieces. It is said that the people of the mountain town of Broumana, 12 miles from Beirut, bought a small telescope to be able to watch the time ball.

AUB old-timers admit they still look instinctively toward the empty space that used to be College Hall. But the AUB of 1992 has seen other changes. Take Bliss Hall, which houses the math department. Its complete facelift and "tummy tuck" (internal remodeling) is near completion, and the building will return to service soon. Fisk Hall, home to the departments of education and English, has had a chronic leakage problem solved with a new roof and internal repairs. There will be no more "poor poets" sheltering under an umbrella indoors at AUB—no more need for students to wear a waterproof watch.

Marilyn Raschka is an American free-lance writer who lives in Beirut.