History
Founded by businessman and philanthropist H.E. Rafik B. Al-Hariri and established in the
United States in 1985, during its first decade the Foundation has sponsored more than 3,000 Lebanese students majoring in 29 fields at over 300 colleges and universities in North America. From its office in Washington, D.C., the Foundation provides educational placement and advisement, career counseling, and financial support to Hariri Scholars and Alumni.
Since its establishment the Foundation has come full circle from the days of welcoming hundreds of aspiring young Lebanese students to the days of celebrating their graduations, return home, and employment.
To enhance employment opportunities for our alumni and to help lay the groundwork for reconstruction and development activities, the Foundation funded ten research projects involving the American University of Beirut, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Each of these projects focussed on major problems that Lebanon faces as it increases the pace and scope of national recovery.
The research projects which M.I.T. and A.U.B. undertook included the following:
Each of the projects above resulted in concrete results which will have a long-term beneficial effect on the quality of life for the Lebanese.
The research project which A.U.B. and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard undertook focussed on the strategies and priorities of administrative reform in the Lebanese public sector and the re-organization of public autonomous agencies. The goals which this project supported are the revising and strengthening of the central control and management agencies of Lebanon: the Civil Service Council, the Central Inspection Board, the Bureau of Accounts, and the Ministry of Finance.
The Hariri Foundation also funded a Conflict Analysis Project in which the American University of Beirut and George Mason University collaborated to develop a conflict analysis curriculum for A.U.B. The project resulted in the inclusion of conflict analysis modules in existing courses in economics, English, and the civilization sequence as well as the introduction of a special topics seminar entitled "Conflict Resolution and Communication" and a special topics course entitled "The Arab League and the Palestinian Conflict". Several workshops and faculty exchanges also resulted from the project.
The Hariri Foundation and the American University of Beirut in the fall of 1987 initiated the A.U.B. Faculty Development/Faculty Dependents Programs to strengthen the quality of education at A.U.B. by: (1) sponsoring a select group of promising faculty members in graduate degree programs in the United States, in return for which the faculty members would teach at A.U.B. for the same number of years they were sponsored by the Foundation, and (2) sponsoring dependents of specially valued A.U.B. faculty members in degree programs in the U.S. as an incentive to faculty members to continue teaching at A.U.B.
Under this program between fall 1987 and spring 1994 15 faculty members from A.U.B. enrolled in doctoral programs at universities in the U.S., 2 in medical doctor programs, 5 in master of science programs, and one in a medical research fellowship program. In addition to the 23 faculty developmental program participants, 22 faculty dependents were sponsored under the program in graduate and undergraduate degree programs.
Steadfast in its commitment to providing a new generation of leadership for Lebanon, the Foundation continues in its second decade to focus its efforts on the strengthening of Lebanon's human resources through education, the transfer of knowledge and technology, public affairs, cultural enrichment, and alumni activities.
H.E. Mrs. Bahia El Hariri
Visits New York City, Los Angeles
And Washington, DC
During a week-long visit to New York City, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC, in March 1998 H.E. Mrs. Bahia El Hariri, Member of the Lebanese Parliament and Chair of both the Parliamentary Committee on Education and of the National Committee for the Public School, met with officials of many organizations devoted to education and development. In each meeting Mrs. Hariri discussed ways in which the organization could support the strengthening of the public school and university systems in Lebanon.
As a member of the Board of Trustees of the Lebanese American University, Mrs. Hariri attended the annual meeting of the board in New York City and reviewed, along with the other board members, the university's plans for future initiatives.
During her stay in Los Angeles, Mrs. Hariri gave the keynote address at the twelfth annual banquet of the Lebanese Ladies Cultural Society. She was very impressed by the mission of the Society and by its work to help needy children in Lebanon, work in which Mrs. Hariri strongly believes. She also met with Dr. Irene A. Bierman, Director of the Gustav E. Von Grunebaum Center for Near Eastern Studies, UCLA, to discuss faculty and student exchanges between UCLA and Lebanese University.
In Washington, DC, Mrs. Hariri spent two full days in meetings with The World Bank officials, particularly the president, who share her vision for increasing technical education and training in Lebanon. Among other topics, Mrs. Hariri and The World Bank officials discussed introducing The World Links for Development program into the secondary schools of Lebanon. Sponsored by The World Bank's Economic Development Institute, this program would use the internet, e-mail, and the World Wide Web to link students and teachers in Lebanon with their counterparts in industrialized countries, thereby enabling them to conduct collaborative research, teaching, and learning programs. By the year 2000 the World Program will link 1,500 secondary schools in developing countries with schools in Australia, Canada, Europe, Japan, and the United States.
From left to right: The Honorable Charles H. Percy, Chairman of the Hariri Foundation-USA and Former Chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee; Mr. Rafic A. Bizri, President, the Hariri Foundation-USA; Her Excellency Mrs. Bahia El Hariri, M.P. Lebanon; and The Honorable Mrs. Selwa Roosevelt, Member of the Board of Advisors, Hariri Foundation-USA, and Former Chief of Protocol, The White House.
In order to observe first-hand the most innovative and effective technical education and training, Mrs. Hariri toured the Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Northern Virginia. As one of the most innovative and prestigious technical high schools in the United States, Thomas Jefferson offers excellent models for curriculum and method instruction in technical education, models which Lebanese educators would like to implement in the technology schools now being established by the Hariri Foundation in Lebanon.
With the Peace Corps Mrs. Hariri shared her vision of promoting exchanges between Lebanon and the United States. Through such exchanges the Peace Corps promotes international understanding through people to people interaction. Potential Peace Corps programs in Lebanon discussed during the meeting include Teaching of English as a Second Language in public secondary schools and technical/vocational teachers for the new post secondary schools being established throughout the country.
From left to right: Mr. Rafic A. Bizri, President, the Hariri Foundation-USA; The Honorable Dr. Clovis Maksoud, Former Ambassador to the United Nations; Her Excellency Mrs. Bahia El Hariri, M.P. Lebanon; Dr. Bejamin Ladner, President, American University, Washington, DC; The Honorable Charles H. Percy, Chairman of the Hariri Foundation-USA and Former Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Mrs. Hariri also met with various other humanitarian organizations interested in building up the human resources of Lebanon. Finally, the Lebanese diplomatic corps graciously hosted Mrs. Hariri in each city she visited, and held substantive discussions of issues important to Lebanon. In Washington, DC, the Hariri Foundation-USA honored her with a dinner reception attended by several hundred prominent educators, diplomats, and members of the local Lebanese-American community. Mrs. Hariri has been a trustee of the Hariri Foundation-USA since it was established thirteen years ago.