Dear University Community,

We, at Azm University, are all starting the academic year 2022-2023 enthusiastically, prompted by a series of positive developments.

We are back on campus following two years in which we first had to carry our courses online, and then adopt a hybrid formula that deprived us of the wonderful experience of rubbing shoulders with our students, faculty and staff. We are now back onsite. While online education may have its positive aspects, it certainly cannot compare with the experience of direct contact. We all recognize this fact, and delighted that our students are back experiencing campus life.

We are happy, too, to welcome on campus two great new deans. Dr. Derek Bousé, a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania, joins us as the Dean of the Faculty of Arts & Sciences, a faculty that will soon begin to oversee programs in Criminology, Education, English and Chemistry, in addition to its current major in Journalism and Media Communication. We expect to start the new programs in the Spring, having already received approval to do so from the Ministry of Education and Higher Education and the Council of Ministers. We expect an official go-ahead shortly.

Mr. Mohamad Nasri, a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is our new Dean of Architecture. Enjoying an extensive professional and academic experience, Dean Nasri has already embarked on a revision of the Jamal Abed Faculty of Architecture curriculum that will ensure its continued institutional leadership in the North. We are very pleased to have him onboard.

We are also planning a number of significant events for the year. In April 2023 we will hold a national conference on Gender Cognizance in Education, and the following month we will host an international conference on Penology and Recidivism. Throughout the year we will be inviting international ambassadors to meet with our northern community, in a revival of our popular Ambassadors’ Series. In May, we will host once again an Art Fair in our outdoor space – an event that last year allowed thousands of Tripolitans to appreciate, in person, the works of over 50 artists.

We have many other plans and we will inform you of them once scheduled. Academically, I am pleased to report that, despite the difficult times the country is experiencing, we were able to maintain our impressive scholarly legion. We have revisited our English-language program to make sure our students master the language expertly. This is a massive challenge which we are absolutely determined to meet, and already significant progress has been made in just the first few weeks.

In only a few years, Azm University has established itself as a leading institution in the North of the country. Despite the dire economic conditions, the larger number of our graduates have been able to move forward, either by obtaining meaningful employment or by securing scholarships to continue their studies locally or abroad. Recent alumni have obtained scholarships to pursue master’s degrees in the United States, Spain, Turkey and Qatar.

Still, we want to do more, and will continue to set our goals higher. Tripoli needs and deserves a first-tier University and all of us at Azm University, faculty, staff and sponsors are committed to delivering on our motto: A University for the Outstanding – and, of course, a University deserving of the Outstanding.

We are looking forward enthusiastically to a very meaningful year. We will keep you informed. All the best to our very dear University community.

Ramez Maluf