Founded in 1866, the American University of Beirut is celebrating its 150th birthday. This milestone is especially meaningful considering the school continued to run throughout Lebanon’s civil war (1975-1991). Even during the toughest and most dangerous times when classes needed to be suspended, the university never completely shut down. Such dedication to education makes it no surprise that AUB is the top university in the country. College Hall, featured in this post, was demolished by an explosion in 1991. Action to rebuild it was taken immediately, and it was reopened in 1999 with an exterior resembling the old building and a modernized interior. I spent one summer in college studying Arabic at AUB almost a decade ago, and was happy to be back on campus this summer.

AUB

“That they may have life, and have it more abundantly.”