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 TRANS JORPANIA 
 
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Builder of Good Will 
 
 “The briefest sojourn on its lovely campus, among 
 its two dozen noble buildings, with its superb views, 
 eastward and northward, of opalescent Lebanon, and 
 westward of the great blue sea; with a visit to its 
 museums, its laboratories, its observatory, its library, 
 its athletic fields, its hospitals, its student buildings; 
 interviews with its hundred teachers; contact with its 
 thousand students of many races ( Syrian, Turk, 
 Tartar, Persian, Indian, Egyptian) and of many 
 religions (Moslem, Druze, Jewish, Bahai and all the 
 Christian sects), as they study, as they play, as they 
 worship—a visit, I say, of this kind establishes the 
 irrefutable conviction that here has been created a 
 4 psychological climate 9 from whose influence no stu¬ 
 dent can escape. He is not, indeed, always aware of 
 the changes in himself. . . . The fruitage of this seed 
 may not come until long after he has left the College 
 campus. But a change is being wrought, and he is 
 daily learning, not merely, not chiefly from his books, 
 lessons in fairness, in honesty, in purity, in respect for 
 labour and for learning and culture, in reverence, in 
 modesty, in courage, in self-control, in regard for 
 women, in the many forces which make for religion. 
 
 . . . Wherever this man goes, he makes it easier to 
 foster education, to overturn tyranny, to soften fanat¬ 
 icism, to promote freedom in state and church.” 
 
 Dr. Howard S. Bliss, 
 
 In the Atlantic Monthly, May, 1920. 
 
1 111111111111 1 1 1 1111 1 1111 1 111111111 (1111111 ! 111111 ! 1 1 1 11 , ,, 1 111111 , 1 1 , | (| | , | m | , | , M| | , 11 K| m n n I M u ! 
 
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 E 
 
 TOURIST GUIDE 
 
 to 
 
 The American University 
 
 of Beirut 
 
 “Builder of Good Will" 
 
 Published by 
 
 Near East Colleges 
 
 18 East Forty-first Street 
 New York, U. S. A. 
 
 0. ....•. . ...it. . . ■■■■■in . . hi ■ ■ . . in iiiiiii iiiiiii n i[Ti 
 
BEIRUT AND THE HARBOUR WITH THE LEBANONS IN THE DISTANCE. 
 
Beirut 
 
 B ERYTUS, as Beirut was known, was one of the most 
 ancient settlements on the Phoenician coast; but 
 nothing more of it than the name is known till B.C. 
 
 140, when the town was taken and destroyed by Tryphon 
 in his contest with Antiochus VII for the throne of the 
 Seleucids,” according to the Encyclopedia Britanmca. 
 “It duly passed under Rome, much favored by the Herods, 
 and became a colonia.' It was famous for its schools, 
 especially that of law, from the fourth century A.D. 
 onwards. Justinian recognized it as one of three official 
 law schools of the empire (A.D. 533) but within a few 
 years, as the result of a disastrous earthquake (551), 
 the students were transferred to Sidon. 
 
 “In the following century the city passed on 
 to the Arabs (635), and was not again a Christian city 
 till 1111, when Baldwin captured it. Saladin retook it 
 in 1 187, and thence-forward, for six centuries and a half, 
 whoever its nominal lords may have been, Saracen, Cru¬ 
 sader, Mameluke or (from the 16th century) Turk, the 
 Druse emirs of Lebanon dominated it. When the powers 
 moved against the Egyptians in 1 840, Beirut had shortly 
 before been occupied in force by Ibrahim as a menace 
 to the Druses; but he was easily driven out after a 
 destructive bombardment by Admiral Sir Ro ert top- 
 ford. After the pacification of the Lebanon in I860, 
 Beirut greatly increased in extent and became the centre 
 of the transit trade for Syria. 
 
 Page Three 
 
BEIRUT 
 
 ....II...II11III lllllllll Mill 11 Ml III II111111111111111111111111 
 
 The City of Sunsets 
 
 This ancient and historical city on the eastern shore 
 of the Mediterranean is described by the National Geo¬ 
 graphic Society, as “the City of Sunsets.” 
 
 “Picture, nestling at the base of the Lebanon, a many 
 tinted city pushed out into the setting sun by the pressure 
 of a famous mountain range, which, just east of the city 
 and robbing it of the early morning light, towers to 8,500 
 feet in a beautiful mountain whose snowy heights form 
 the crystal screen upon which is projected the rose glow 
 of the world’s most colorful sunsets. 
 
 “The backbone of the city stretches to the west from 
 a low alluvial plain which almost makes Beirut an island. 
 The wharves are to the north, looking away from the 
 more famous but inferior ports of Tyre and Sidon to the 
 south and toward the other Phoenician ports of Tripoli 
 and Alexandretta and Seleucia, all of which have old 
 Phoenician names long since forgotten by the inhabitants. 
 
 Rivals Bay of Napl es 
 
 “Just outside the disfiguring breakwater lies the blu¬ 
 est, most nearly perfect curve of bay east of Naples. It 
 bears the name of St. George and although it is the 
 French that have improved it, the British have made 
 it notable on their beautiful gold coins, now extinct, 
 which showed St. George killing the dragon. 
 
 “The streets of Beirut are narrow and full of life. 
 The buildings are kalsomined in various hues, ugly near 
 at hand, but truly Turneresque from a distance. On one 
 of the highest points at the eastern end of the high rib 
 which the city straddles there is a military barracks. 
 Beirut has tram lines which run along the backbone, and 
 near the center of the city there is a small park around 
 
 Page Four 
 
BEIRUT 
 
 Mill.Ill IIII11 III.HIM I.Ml.II.MMMMMMM.MIMIMMM.Ml. 
 
 which the trams turn. There is another line of trams 
 which runs to the south to a beautiful grove of pines 
 which were planted to save the city from the drifting 
 sands. 
 
 Beautiful College Campus 
 
 “The western end of the limestone ridge is called 
 Ras Beirut, or the point of Beirut, and near the extremity 
 of this section there is one of the loveliest college cam¬ 
 puses on earth (American University of Beirut) with 
 more than a score of principal buildings. Possibly no¬ 
 where else on earth has America’s name been more 
 revered, and so lovely is the scene of the deep blue bay 
 and the snowy mountain range that there has long been 
 a standing argument between this college and Robert 
 College at Rumeli Hissar, outside Constantinople on the 
 Bosporus, as to which has the lovelier view. 
 
 “In from the west and north sweep the waves which 
 are eating away at the limestone cliffs and each year the 
 shore line recedes before the fierce battle with the waters 
 upon which the Phoenician argosies set out in search of 
 fame and commerce. Narrow coves extend in from the 
 sea and in these one finds some of the finest natural 
 swimming pools. These coves form the playground of 
 the college students and each has its name. There is 
 the Preparatory Cove for young students, the College 
 Cove and the Faculty Cove where the young American 
 teachers swim. 
 
 Famous Tourist Route 
 
 “From the harbor there rises a cog wheel railway 
 which connects the ancient city of Damascus to the sea- 
 coast. It is this French railway and the French harbor 
 which has given Beirut its prominence as a port and few 
 
 Page Five 
 
BEIRUT 
 
 indeed are the Palestinian tourists who have not passed 
 over this road while leaving the world’s oldest city, a 
 green oasis in the midst of the tawny desert, and the 
 Cyclopean ruins of Baalbek, to return to the ship for 
 home. 
 
 “The natives say that the Lebanon has summer in 
 its lap, spring on its bosom and winter on its head and 
 by moving up the slopes one can find the temperature 
 desired. The mountains offer various summer resorts 
 for the inhabitants of the city of Beirut and rich Egyp¬ 
 tians. There are gaming places on Lebanon, and up the 
 winding roads there now climb motor cars of all shapes 
 and sizes. The green masses of the foothills are dotted 
 with pretty Lebanon villages from which thousands of 
 Syrians have set out across the sea as did the Phoenicians 
 from the same port but to the land in America instead 
 of to the chalk cliffs of Albion, where tin was obtained 
 in ancient times.” 
 
 Government of Syria 
 
 On July 20, 1923, the Assembly of the League of 
 Nations confirmed the French mandate over Syria. This 
 state is bounded on the South by Palestine and Trans- 
 jordania, on the east by Irak and on the north by Turkey. 
 It contains an area of approximately 70,000 square miles 
 and its population numbers about 3,350,000. General 
 Weygand is the French High Commissioner of the terri¬ 
 tory. He is assisted by a Syrian Governor and a Syrian 
 council of ministers with French advisers. 
 
 The state is divided into four administrative districts. 
 Beirut is an autonomous municipality in the Lebanon 
 district. The Alauite Territory also has a special ad¬ 
 ministration. 
 
 Page Six 
 
BEIRUT 
 
 ■ ■■■■ .mu mi .. ii i ii mi in mi 11 in mi.in."in 
 
 Each of the four districts has a separate administra¬ 
 tion under a French official appointed by the High Com¬ 
 missioner, and a council of French and Syrians. The 
 districts choose delegates to a Federal Council which sits 
 in an advisory capacity on questions of general concern 
 to all, such as customs, finance and legislation. 
 
 Commerce and Industry 
 
 With a good harbor and favorable environs, Beirut, 
 now a city of about 200,000, has outdistanced the rival 
 ports of Tripoli and Alexandretta to the north and is 
 today the metropolis of Syria. 
 
 Damascus, the gateway of the desert, lies just beyond 
 the Lebanon mountains directly to the east of Beirut. 
 Modern motor transport facilities out from Damascus 
 across Mesopotamia link the hinterland more closely with 
 the old Phoenician city on the coast. The northern 
 boundary of the state lies along the railroad line eastward 
 from Aleppo and thus cuts off by a customs barrier a 
 rich country to the north which formerly gave a pros¬ 
 perous trade to Aleppo and stimulated the activity of 
 its nearest port, Alexandretta. 
 
 Syria enjoys a diversity of climates within a very 
 narrow strip of territory. Leguminous and graminous 
 crops flourish along the seashore where the climate is 
 also favorable to the fig and olive; tobacco is raised 
 successfully. Further inland wheat and corn are grown, 
 and there are vineyards and apple, pear and apricot 
 orchards. In the mountains are forests of pine and oak, 
 and mulberry orchards and vineyards. Such crops allow 
 the export of a certain amount of olives, olive oil, raisins, 
 fruit and fruit paste, and cocoons. In the interior are 
 tanneries and a few native textile industries. Rugs and 
 
 Page Seven 
 
■ I ii mi min mu ii inn mi ii him ii mi ii 11 
 
 BEIRUT 
 
 ornamental brass wares are characteristic products. 
 Flocks and herds provide wool, skins, sheep casings and 
 hides for export. But no mineral wealth has been found 
 or developed and since the production of foodstuffs 
 within the country is insufficient for its needs and the 
 exports are so limited in quantity the trade balance has 
 thus far been adverse. This is offset in a measure by 
 remittances from Syrians located in America and else¬ 
 where abroad. 
 
 The approximate foreign trade statistics for 1922 as 
 given in the United States Consular reports are: Imports, 
 $41,1 19,902; exports, $7,206,448. In 1922 the United 
 Kingdom was first; France, second; Germany, fifth, and 
 the United States sixth in the amount of imports into 
 Syria. The United States was fourth in the order of 
 destination of exports from Syria. 
 
 The chief imports and the principal countries of ori¬ 
 gin of goods shipped through the port of Beirut during 
 1922 were: cotton goods, from Italy, the United Kingdom 
 and Egypt; food products from France, Italy and Nether¬ 
 lands; liquors and beverages from France, Germany and 
 Egypt; colonial products and grain from Egypt, the 
 United States and France; iron and steel from Belgium 
 and England; building material from France and Bel¬ 
 gium; automobiles and petroleum from the United States. 
 
 Syrian Currency 
 
 The Syrian currency system is taken from the French, 
 and the financial relations of the two countries are so 
 linked that the value of the Syrian money fluctuates with 
 the value of the French franc. Twenty French francs 
 equal one Syrian lira, whose original value was about 
 $4.00. One lira is one hundred Syrian piasters. 
 
 Page Eight 
 
BE I RUT 
 
 GUIDE FOR TOURISTS 
 
 Visitors Welcome at the University 
 
 All tourists are most cordially invited to the Uni¬ 
 versity. The institution is easily accessible by motor, 
 carriage or street car and is a fifteen minutes walk from 
 the center of the city. When going by trolley one can 
 take car marked ‘‘Phare near the steamship pier, and 
 get off at “Kulleyyah, ’ which is the entrance of the 
 University. 
 
 The “City Tour”—Side Trips 
 
 In addition to a visit to the American University a 
 tour of the city could include the Ocean Drive, Pigeon 
 Rocks, the French High Commissioner’s Residence and 
 Park, the Armenian Refugee Camp, the American Board 
 School for Girls, the Mission Compound with schools 
 and the American Press and the Y. W. C. A. Service 
 Center. 
 
 The following interesting side trips are suggested: 
 
 1. North from Beirut to ancient Jibail, ancient in¬ 
 scriptions on the cliffs of Dog River; royal tombs; Arme¬ 
 nian orphanages. 
 
 2. Shebaniyah, 2500 feet up in the Lebanon moun¬ 
 tains. Beautiful views. Site of the only tuberculosis hos¬ 
 pital in Syria. Time, one-half day. 
 
 3. Lebanon Mountain trip, along the Sidon road, 
 up through Shweifat, Aim Ainub and Shimlan back along 
 the Lebanon ridge looking down upon Beirut and the 
 ocean 2500 feet below, through Suk-el-Gharb and Aleih 
 (popular summer resorts) down past the Asfuriyeh to 
 Beirut. Time one-half day. 
 
 Page Nine 
 
STUDENTS OF THE UNIVERSITY LEAVING CHAPEL 
 
The American University 
 
 of Beirut 
 
 S ITUATED in the land which has been the birthplace 
 of three great religions, the American University of 
 Beirut is one of the most cosmopolitan educational 
 institutions in the world. It is proving to be a powerful 
 force in bringing the leaders of many nationalities in the 
 Near East into a better understanding and appreciation 
 of each other. It has been referred to as a perpetual 
 peace conference in the interest of international good will. 
 
 Dr. Daniel Bliss, The Central Figure 
 
 The tragic events of 1860 in Syria were a kind of 
 mental earthquake that shook the people out of a self- 
 satisfied lethargy and made them long to know more of 
 the world outside of Syria. The desire for knowledge 
 was more or less indefinite until the American Mission 
 in Syria gave it shape. 
 
 Dr. Daniel Bliss was a central figure in this early 
 educational movement. The schools in Syria were not 
 adapted to meet all the varied demands of the country, 
 and the need of a real college was strongly felt. 
 
 In January, 1862, the committee appointed by the 
 Mission to consider this question recommended the estab¬ 
 lishment of a “Literary Institution of high character to 
 
 Page Eleven 
 
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT 
 
 be guided and guarded by the combined wisdom and 
 experience of the Mission” though not organically con¬ 
 nected with it. Dr. Daniel Bliss was chosen Principal of 
 the institution. Subsequently he was directed to go to 
 America to acquaint the public with this proposal to found 
 a college. 
 
 In America when Dr. Bliss had been assured of funds 
 for the institution, chiefly through the staunch support 
 of William Earl Dodge, he visited the Board of Regents 
 of the University of the State of New York at Albany 
 and, with the advocacy of Samuel J. Tilden, succeeded 
 in obtaining a charter for the college. On April 24, 1863, 
 it was incorporated under the laws of the State of New 
 York as “The Trustees of the Syrian Protestant College.” 
 
 Two years were spent by Dr. Bliss in the United 
 States and a year and a half in England in the effort to 
 raise money for the college. He returned to Beirut in 
 March, 1866. In England he had collected a little more 
 than four thousand pounds sterling which enabled him 
 to start his college at once while he wisely allowed the 
 $100,000 in greenbacks collected in the United States 
 to regain par value. 
 
 The college opened on December 3, 1866. There 
 were sixteen students. 
 
 New Site Selected 
 
 For three years the college was housed in four or 
 five rooms in an insignificant building in an unattrac¬ 
 tive district of the city of Beirut. The all important 
 question soon arose regarding its final location on land 
 and in buildings of its own. “We rode everywhere 
 through the city,” states Dr. Bliss in his “Reminiscences,” 
 “looking as we rode. Finally we saw the piece of ground 
 
 Page T tv elve 
 
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT 
 
 where the college now stands and fell in love with it at 
 sight and immediately decided that we had found the 
 finest site in all Beirut if not in all Syria.” In later years, 
 Dr. Bliss used to point with amusement to some of the 
 sites which had first been suggested, which showed that 
 those who proposed them had utterly failed to grasp the 
 idea of a home for a great university. 
 
 New Departments 
 
 Urged by the crying need for trained physicians in a 
 “land cursed by medical quacks and jugglers” the Faculty 
 organized a School of Medicine in 18 67, but one year 
 after the opening of the college proper. The clinic was 
 small and at the beginning there were only four beds in 
 the hospital. It is remarkable that at the start a four 
 years’ course in the Medical Department was offered 
 although nearly all the medical schools in America had 
 at that time a three years’ course only. 
 
 In 1875 the School of Pharmacy was founded as a 
 natural supplement to the Medical School. 
 
 The native schools were not adequate in number, or 
 in character to supply students ready for college work. 
 During the early years the college was obliged to insti¬ 
 tute supplementary classes to fit applicants for entrance. 
 Finally in 1 880 these classes were organized into a Pre¬ 
 paratory Department which now is not only a feeder for 
 the college but is a complete institution in itself to pro¬ 
 vide a superior secondary education for those unable to 
 continue their courses further. 
 
 The School of Commerce, established in 1900, grew 
 out of a conviction that a great service could be rendered 
 in developing a higher degree of business efficiency 
 among the people of the Near East and infusing a higher 
 
 Page Thirteen 
 
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AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT 
 
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 standard of ethics into their trading activities. First class 
 clerical material is only a by-product of this school; the 
 primary purpose of its technical training is to fit men for 
 the larger work of organizing and conducting business 
 undertakings according to modern methods. 
 
 In 1902 at the age of 79, Dr. Bliss resigned the presi¬ 
 dency of the college, after a period of more than half 
 his lifetime at the helm. When he became President- 
 Emeritus his active duties did not cease. For some years 
 longer he conducted his classes and attended Faculty 
 meetings until 1912. He passed away at Beirut in June, 
 1916. Dr. Howard Sweetser Bliss succeeded his father 
 as President. 
 
 The Orient has been slow in consenting to assign to 
 women a part even in humanitarian service, but in 1905 
 the college led the way in starting a Nurses’ Training 
 School. Since the war attendance at the school has 
 doubled. It is hoped that a suitable home for the nurses 
 can be provided from the * Mary Bliss Dale Fund that is 
 now being solicited. 
 
 The Teachers’ Training Course was instituted in 1909, 
 the first year after the Turkish Revolution, when the 
 promised freedom in education made the demand for 
 teachers so urgent. 
 
 In the following year the School of Dentistry was 
 founded. In 1914, courses in Agriculture and Engineer¬ 
 ing were added to the curriculum. Most appropriately 
 in the land of the Bible a School of Biblical Archaeology 
 and Philology has been organized to promote research 
 by advanced students. 
 
 Page Fifteen 
 
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT 
 
 ..... mi hum 11111111 ii 
 
 A Great University 
 
 In reading this long list of the schools of the American 
 University of Beirut one should realize that these schools 
 are established far from America in a land which was 
 virtually forgotten by the western world during a period 
 of nearly six hundred years after the Crusades. Twenty- 
 nine college buildings now rise on a piece of ground that 
 sixty years ago was a bare stretch of neglected bluff 
 above the sea. They may truly be said to have sprung 
 from that ground for they are built of rock quarried in 
 the campus. Picture this splendid group as a part of 
 Daniel Bliss’ conception sixty years ago of a great uni¬ 
 versity for a land barren of social and intellectual agencies 
 and unmindful of its spiritual heritage. It brings a thrill 
 of joy and pride to those who share in this great con¬ 
 tribution which Americans are herein making not only 
 to the Near East but to the many lands to which the 
 thousands of the University graduates have scattered. 
 
 The War Period 
 
 Naturally the number of teachers and students was 
 affected by the Great War, though far less than might 
 have been expected. The diary of those tense years of 
 isolation evidences only the calm courage of the Presi¬ 
 dent and his faculty and their unperturbed confidence 
 in their call to service even during the darkest days. 
 What an achievement that amid the turbulent cross cur¬ 
 rents of the war, the college held steadily to its course, 
 kept its doors open and came through the struggle 
 crowned with prestige! 
 
 In 1918, Dr. John H. Finley, Commissioner of Edu¬ 
 cation of the State of New York, visited Beirut and the 
 college. It was largely on the basis of his report on the 
 
 Page Sixteen 
 
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT 
 
 .... ■■■■■■■■.iiiiiitiiiiiiiiiituiiiniintiiiiiiiutiiiuni.■■■■■■...mu 
 
 splendid organization and work of the college that the 
 Board of Regents of the University of the State of New 
 York on November 18, 1920, amended its charter and 
 changed its name. The corporate name of the institution 
 is now “The Trustees of the American University of 
 Beirut.” Dr. Bliss did not live to see the consummation 
 of these negotiations. The stress of the war and the 
 strain of unwearying effort in behalf of the college and 
 Syria during armistice period had undermined his con¬ 
 dition. He passed away on May 2, 1920. 
 
 Coeducation 
 
 The Orient has only slowly been persuaded to the 
 importance of education for women and provisions for 
 their education have been correspondingly meagre and 
 elementary. But the women of the Near East gained a 
 freedom and an independence through their war service 
 as did their sisters in the west, and they demanded the 
 privileges of their new status. The University had what 
 the women wanted and demanded and in 1920 the pro¬ 
 fessional schools were opened to them. In 1922 they 
 were admitted to the upper classes in the School of Arts 
 and Sciences. 
 
 President Dodge Inaugurated 
 
 Rev. Bayard Dodge, son-in-law of Dr. Howard Bliss, 
 was appointed from the Faculty of the University to 
 succeed the late president. The inaugural exercises were 
 held on the University grounds on June 28, 1923. The 
 presence there of the thousands of all races and creeds 
 and ranks of the Near East and of many from distant 
 lands was a fitting testimony of the love and esteem which 
 the University had inspired among those people and a 
 token of their gratitude and continued loyalty. 
 
 Page Seventeen 
 
PANORAMIC VIEW OF T 
 
 The University is nearing the close of its sixth decade. 
 
 Its place is established. It is justified of its students in 
 its purpose to carry on in a new era which had opened 
 for the people of the Near East. It has many loyal 
 friends in America and there are a few whose contribu¬ 
 tions have been most generous. The men and women 
 whose donations are responsible for the spacious grounds 
 and substantial buildings of the University have contrib¬ 
 uted because they have believed in its work for the up¬ 
 building of the civilization of the Near East. The Uni¬ 
 versity is now too large to be the burden of a limited 
 group, and its expanding service demands a wider circle 
 of sympathetic friends who will contribute to its support. 
 
 Purpose of the University 
 
 As a privately endowed non-sectarian institution, the 
 American University of Beirut aims to share with all its 
 students the Christian heritage of thought and life. It is 
 not an attempt to Americanize the natives. Its purpose 
 is rather to furnish cultural and scientific training to the 
 young men and young women who are to be the leaders 
 in the professional and commercial life of the Near East; 
 
 Page Eighteen 
 
JNIVERSITY BUILDINGS 
 
 to awaken the spirit of brotherhood there between the 
 members of hostile races and sects; and to inspire the 
 students with the great moral standards and spiritual 
 ideals of Christianity. 
 
 “The College is for all conditions and classes of men,” 
 said Dr. Daniel Bliss, “without reference to color, nation¬ 
 ality, race or religion. A man, white, black, or yellow, 
 Christian, Jew, Mohammedan or heathen may enter and 
 enjoy all the advantages of the institution for three, four, 
 or eight years, and go out believing in one God or 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 be¬ 
 lief.” The character and aims of the University have 
 again been most convincingly stated by Dr. Howard Bliss 
 in his article, “The Modern Missionary,” that appeared 
 in the Atlantic Monthly of May, 1920. 
 
 Faculty 
 
 The University means new life to thousands, new 
 ideas, a new knowledge of the teachings of Christianity, 
 a new force of character which is slowly but surely revo¬ 
 lutionizing the Near East. So apparent is its value to the 
 
 Page Nineteen 
 
PRESIDENT BAYARD DODGE WITH FACULTY AND STAFF OF THE UNIVERSITY 
 
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT 
 
 individual students and to the countries which it serves 
 that the native rulers have come to see in it an agency 
 for the improvement and rehabilitation of their states 
 to make them real nations. 
 
 The Minister of Interior under King Hussein in the 
 Kingdom of Hedjaz is a former student of the University; 
 the Minister of Defense in the Kingdom of Irak is an 
 alumnus. To students in America King Feisal of Irak last 
 year sent the following message: “Tell them to come 
 out here and build an institution similar to the American 
 University of Beirut and Robert College at Constan¬ 
 tinople.” 
 
 The University has a teaching and administrative 
 force of 1 36, of whom about fifty are Americans; about 
 the same number are Syrians and the remainder are 
 British, Greeks, Armenians, Hebrews and Swiss. The 
 greater number of the native teachers have been students 
 at the University and they have shown themselves most 
 capable of interpreting in Eastern character the work and 
 spirit of the institution. 
 
 In addition to the members of the permanent faculty, 
 there are American instructors who go out to the Uni¬ 
 versity for a term of three years. From six to eight of 
 these younger college men are selected each year. The 
 effort is made to secure on the Faculty and staff repre¬ 
 sentation of the very best leadership to be found in 
 America. 
 
 Students 
 
 The students, almost a thousand in number, come 
 from Syria, Palestine, Arabia, Irak, Asia Minor, the 
 Greek Islands, Persia, the Sudan, Abyssinia, and occa¬ 
 sionally from Russia, Central Europe and South America. 
 One of the most hopeful evidences of the large service 
 
 Page Twenty-one 
 
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT 
 
 of the University beyond the borders of Syria is the fact 
 that nearly fifty students have come this year from the 
 Mesopotamian Kingdom of Irak and twenty-two from 
 Persia. 
 
 The students belong to the following religious sects: 
 Moslems, Bahais, Druzes, Jews, Copts, Gregorians, Cath¬ 
 olics (Greek, Armenian, Maronite, others), Jacobite, 
 Syriac, Greek Orthodox and Protestants. They represent 
 every class in society and under the supervision of broad¬ 
 minded Americans they learn the meaning of democratic 
 social life together. Of late years between 40% and 50% 
 of the student body has been non-Christian. 
 
 The following list from the register of 1922 is typical 
 of the cosmopolitan character of the student body: 
 
 Syrian. 
 
 .561 
 
 Brazilian. 
 
 . 3 
 
 Egyptian. 
 
 . 99 
 
 Turks. 
 
 . 3 
 
 Palestinian . . . 
 
 . 99 
 
 Albanian . 
 
 . 2 
 
 Armenian .... 
 
 . 74 
 
 Swedish . 
 
 . 2 
 
 Greek. 
 
 . 27 
 
 Austrian. 
 
 . 1 
 
 American .... 
 
 . 25 
 
 Circassian. 
 
 . 1 
 
 Persian. 
 
 . 19 
 
 Italian. 
 
 . 1 
 
 Mesopotamian 
 
 . 17 
 
 Polish. 
 
 . 1 
 
 Russian . 
 
 . 15 
 
 Spanish . 
 
 . 1 
 
 Arab . 
 
 . 6 
 
 
 
 British Subjects 
 
 . 5 
 
 
 966 
 
 Bulgarian .... 
 
 . 4 
 
 
 
 The following 
 
 table 
 
 shows the enrollment 
 
 for the 
 
 year 1923-24: 
 
 School of Pharmacy . 20 
 
 School of Nursing . 41 
 
 School of Dentistry. 44 
 
 School of Commerce. 68 
 
 School of Medicine . 99 
 
 School of Arts and Sciences.166 
 
 Preparatory School. 470 
 
 Total 
 
 908 
 
 Page Tjvenly-trvo 
 
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT 
 
 ... ■ ■ ■ 11 ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ 11 ■ ■ ■ .. 
 
 
 . .... 
 
 CLASS IN BACTERIOLOGY 
 
 The Curricula 
 
 The American University of Beirut is a real uni¬ 
 versity with all the leading professional schools (except 
 those of law and theology), as well as a liberal arts col¬ 
 lege, and in everything save numbers and elaborate 
 equipment on a par with our American Universities. Its 
 standards are high and are meticulously enforced. 
 
 During the early days of the college Arabic was the 
 language of instruction in all departments. Lack of text 
 books in Arabic and the growing cosmopolitan character 
 of the student body forced the change to a western lan¬ 
 guage and English was chosen as most appropriate for 
 the methods and ideals of the institution. However, 
 
 Page Twenty-three 
 
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT 
 
 vernacular study, which is, of course, chiefly Arabic, is 
 obligatory throughout the preparatory course and the 
 first two years of college. 
 
 Syria is under a French mandate. French is the lan¬ 
 guage of commerce and one of the official languages as 
 well, and French schools offer attractions to prospective 
 students, especially since they represent the means of 
 easy access to public and semi-public appointments under 
 the French. Courses in French at the University are pre¬ 
 scribed to neutralize this handicap; a minimum of four 
 years of French is required. The University aims to give 
 the student a thorough, knowledge of three languages, 
 his vernacular, English and French. 
 
 The standard of the professional schools is kept high 
 through certain obligatory professional courses in the 
 School of Arts and Sciences. But, after the manner of 
 our American schools, there are combined courses which 
 enable the student to shorten the preparatory training 
 through concentration on subjects in his chosen field. 
 
 While the University endeavors to keep high the 
 standard of its own work for full recognition of its diplo¬ 
 mas in American and European institutions, it has also 
 reacted beneficially on the native and other schools of 
 the Near East many of whose students are fitting them¬ 
 selves for the more advanced courses at the University. 
 
 The University is not static either in its courses or its 
 methods and continually has before it the ideal in educa¬ 
 tion for young men and young women of the Near East. 
 It is obliged to consider three essential factors in arrang¬ 
 ing its curricula. It must present courses of study satis¬ 
 factory to both the Board of Regents of the University 
 of the State of New York and the Department of Public 
 Instruction of France which determines the educational 
 
 Page Twenty-four 
 
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT 
 
 THE ADMINISTRATION BUILDING 
 
 laws of Syria, and it must furnish courses appropriate to 
 the conditions prevailing in the countries where the grad¬ 
 uates find their life work. Since the Great War a thor¬ 
 ough study of the curricula and processes is being made 
 to discover what adjustments are best suited to the 
 changed conditions of the new era, especially with respect 
 to more extensive courses in Arabic literature and culture. 
 
 Religious Exercises and Instruction 
 
 The University is a Christian institution but its attitude 
 toward men of other religions is one of cooperation in 
 an earnest search after truth. It believes that the students 
 of the different religions can cooperate helpfully in at¬ 
 tendance on and participation in the various religious 
 activities of the University. 
 
 Page Twenty-Five 
 
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIR 
 
 
 
 UT 
 
 There are morning chapel exercises five days in the 
 week which the entire teaching and student body in the 
 upper departments of the University are expected to 
 attend. Other religious exercises are held on Sunday, 
 attendance upon which is voluntary for students. 
 
 For such students as have conscientious objections 
 to taking part in the distinctly religious life of the Uni¬ 
 versity, a series of alternative exercises are arranged which 
 they are required to attend instead. Although in these 
 exercises the conventional form of religious teaching is 
 omitted, the moral and spiritual aim of the University is 
 presented emphatically. A large majority of the students 
 elect to attend the religious services. 
 
 In the Preparatory School and in the School of Arts 
 and Sciences there are regular curriculum classes for the 
 study of the Bible. There are alternative courses in 
 ethics or allied subjects for those who are excused from 
 Bible classes. 
 
 Brotherhoods have been organized both in the col¬ 
 lege proper and in the preparatory department as vol¬ 
 untary religious societies for students and teachers. 
 
 Athletics 
 
 The University grounds are large and admirably sit¬ 
 uated so that every student may receive the inestimable 
 advantages of daily invigorating exercise in the open air. 
 Regular physical exercises, carefully supervised by a 
 trained instructor, are compulsory for all Preparatory 
 students and for the Freshman and Sophomore classes 
 of the Schools of Arts and Sciences and of Commerce. 
 Association football is the principal game, while basket¬ 
 ball, field hockey, tennis and swimming are also popular. 
 The mildness of the climate has helped to counteract 
 
 Page Twenty-six 
 
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT 
 
 COSMOPOLITAN ASSEMBLAGE AT FIELD DAY SPORTS 
 
 the lack of a gymnasium. There are baths, supplied with 
 hot and cold water, and in warm weather the students 
 go to the sea, under the supervision of a university officer, 
 for sea-bathing. Every student is expected to learn to 
 swim while at the University. 
 
 The class games and field sports have proven to be 
 not only health builders for the students but an important 
 factor in encouraging democracy and in instilling a sense 
 of fair play even among students whose racial and relig¬ 
 ious traditions have often led their peoples to bitter 
 conflicts. 
 
 Field Day at the University is a gala event for the 
 whole country and brings together distinguished visitors 
 and a most cosmopolitan and enthusiastic concourse to 
 witness the strange antics of the students in western style 
 athletic contests. 
 
 Page Trventy-seven 
 
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT 
 
 Other Activities 
 
 The students take a keen interest in literary work and 
 their class societies afford them an opportunity for dis¬ 
 play of talents in oratorical and debating contests as well 
 as in dramatic entertainment, to which they are especially 
 attracted. The students have formed special literary so¬ 
 cieties for the study of the literature of their vernacular, 
 such as Arabic, Hebrew, Greek and Armenian, and also 
 for the study of English and French. The Arabic Literary 
 Society is the oldest student organization. Its annual 
 meeting, open to the public on invitation, is one of the 
 principal literary events of the year. 
 
 Commencement Day is considered by the Syrians 
 themselves as one of the most important days in the na¬ 
 tional calendar, and the University grounds are crowded 
 during the exercises with people of many races and creeds 
 and classes, who have intimate contact with the University 
 and a sympathetic interest in its work. 
 
 The Al Kullayah is the monthly magazine published 
 by the University with news of the College and alumni 
 and special articles of more general interest. 
 
 The students have their college and class songs and 
 join with enthusiasm in group singing, but the oriental 
 music, weird to western ears, maintains its peculiar hold. 
 Instrumental music is popular with the students and they 
 have organized an orchestra. 
 
 Manual labor has seemed to be an irradicable dis¬ 
 tinction between classes in the Orient. American schools 
 in the Near East have perhaps been more responsible 
 than any other agency for inculcating the idea of the 
 “dignity of labor.” The lesson is not yet thoroughly 
 learned but the University has a great many examples of 
 it among its students, and the age of ridicule at manual 
 service there is now past. 
 
 Page Twenty-eight 
 
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF 
 
 BEIRUT 
 
 than 3,500 diplomas have been granted during 
 the past sixty years and many other students have spent 
 several years at the University without completing the 
 full course. 
 
 Among the thousands of graduates are eager, earnest 
 future leaders of the Near East. They have been trained 
 to become teachers, doctors, merchants, pharmacists, den¬ 
 tists, engineers, nurses; men and women who have re¬ 
 sponded to the “psychological climate” of the University, 
 and at the same time have been disciplined in a definite 
 way to become centers of light and leading throughout 
 the Near East and in many distant lands. 
 
 Naturally the greater number of the alumni have re¬ 
 mained to serve in the home land, and they are always 
 well represented on the Faculty of the University. They 
 are found in almost all the larger states of the world, and 
 in certain countries they have rendered noteworthy pub¬ 
 lic service, especially in the Sudan, in Mesopotamia, and 
 in the Philippines. It is of these that Lord Cromer and 
 Lord Kitchener and Sir Eldon Corst and Sir Reginald 
 Wingate and Field-Marshal Lord Allenby have spoken 
 in such warm and generous praise for their splendid 
 work. It is for such men that King Feisal, son of the 
 King of the Hedjaz, has recently made a personal 
 demand for his Mesopotamian Kingdom. 
 
 The alumni have always manifested a very great in¬ 
 terest in the University and are just as proud of their 
 Alma Mater as American graduates are of theirs. They 
 plan to send their children to the University; some of 
 the young descendants of the third generation are now 
 being educated there. 
 
 Page Trventy-nine 
 
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT 
 
 . mull.. in i mi ii i ii hi i limn min ... 
 
 In 1908 the alumni of Egypt and the Sudan gave 
 the University the beautiful life size marble statue of 
 Dr. Daniel Bliss which stands in the library. 
 
 At the annual meeting of the alumni held in connec¬ 
 tion with Commencement in 1923, it was voted that a 
 minimum fund of $130,000 be raised in the course 
 of the next three years, $50,000 of which will be devoted 
 to scholarships and the Oriental Department of the 
 Library of the University, and the balance to be applied 
 to the new general hospital building. Such evidence of 
 loyalty on the part of the students gives the assurance 
 that the interest of the natives in the University is gen¬ 
 uine and that American contributions serve a worthy 
 cause here. 
 
 Alumni Associations have already been organized at 
 Aleppo, Tripoli, Beirut, Haifa, Jerusalem, Cairo, Khar¬ 
 tum, Bagdad, San Paulo (Brazil) and New York. Other 
 branches are in the process of organization. 
 
 Grounds an d Buildings 
 
 The University campus includes about fifty acres of 
 land on which twenty-nine attractive buildings have been 
 erected. 
 
 Within the walls of the main campus there are eleven 
 large buildings including Marquand House, the home of 
 the President, the Observatory, and several smaller build¬ 
 ings. Immediately to the west of the main campus is a 
 group of four new buildings accommodating the Prepar¬ 
 atory Department, while in a separate enclosure at the 
 eastern end of the main campus are the Women’s, Chil¬ 
 dren’s and Eye Hospitals connected with the Medical 
 School, and the Home for Nurses. Near by is the Dental 
 
 Page Thirty) 
 
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT 
 
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 School and also a group of buildings used for clinics. 
 The equipment of the laboratories compares favorably 
 with that of the average college in the United States. 
 
 The Assembly Hall is used for chapel and Sunday 
 services and other public meetings. College Hall houses 
 the library which numbers about 24,000 volumes, includ¬ 
 ing 1,700 in Arabic. The Administration building con¬ 
 tains the executive offices and visitor s reception room. 
 
 Several of the buildings have been named in memory 
 of donors or prominent professors at the University, as 
 Sage Hall, Rockefeller Hall, Daniel Bliss Hall, Thomson 
 Hall, Morris K. Jessup Hall, Pliny Fisk Hall and Martin 
 House, home of the Principal of the Preparatory School. 
 
 Ada Dodge Memorial Hall contains the president’s 
 office, reception rooms, the bookstore, the refectory, lec¬ 
 ture rooms, physiological laboratory and dormitories. 
 
 The George E. Post Science Hall contains the geo¬ 
 logical, minerological, zoological, botanical, archaeolog¬ 
 ical, and Biblical collections and science laboratories. 
 
 The Robert H. West Hall was opened in 19 14 as a 
 home for religious, social and other student activities. 
 
 Museums 
 
 The Archaeological Museum contains a collection of 
 antiquities and coins from the Near East. 
 
 A Biblical Museum has been established to illustrate 
 the life, manners, customs, dress, implements, utensils, 
 etc., in use in the lands and time of the Bible. 
 
 The Geological Museum exhibits a large collection of 
 rocks, minerals and fossils, mainly cretaceous, both from 
 Syria and foreign lands. The cretaceous fish deposits of 
 Lebanon are among the richest in the world. 
 
 Page Thirty-one 
 
AMERICAN 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT 
 
 The Botanical Museum contains an extensive series of 
 models for class room work and an herbarium with about 
 fifteen thousand species; The herbarium is particularly 
 rich in the oriental species, and shows a considerable 
 number which are unique and new to science. The late 
 Dr. George E. Post was the author of the most important 
 text book on the flora of the Near East. 
 
 The Zoological Museum is devoted mainly to the 
 fauna of Syria and Palestine. 
 
 The Observatory 
 
 The Astronomical Observatory is equipped with many 
 valuable instruments, including a 1 2-inch visual and pho¬ 
 tographic refractor with spectrograph and polarizing pho¬ 
 tometer. The station prepares the official weather reports 
 for Syria. 
 
 GRADUATING CLASS OF NURSES 
 
 Page Thirty-two 
 
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT 
 
 Needs of the University 
 The outstanding needs of the University include: 
 
 a. Gifts to complete the permanent endowment fund. 
 The radical territorial changes after the war and con¬ 
 sequent economic depression have increased the cost 
 of maintenance and lessened local revenue for the 
 University; the present sources of financial support 
 have been rendered inadequate. 
 
 b. General hospital building. For over forty years the 
 medical school used the hospital owned by the Ger¬ 
 mans. That was taken away when America entered 
 the war and cannot be recovered. The alumni are 
 pledging a part of their fund for the new hospital 
 building; additional funds are necessary. 
 
 c. Scholarship funds for worthy students. The tuition 
 amounts to $75.00 and full scholarship including 
 board, lodging and tuition, $225.00. 
 
 d. Library. 
 
 e. Gymnasium. 
 
 r. Faculty houses. Rented houses are expensive and not 
 conveniently available. Proper homes increase the 
 efficiency of teaching force. $15,000 will build a 
 house and thus provide a real home for a faculty 
 family. 
 
 g. $20,000 to complete the building of the Nurses’ 
 Training School. 
 
 Page Thirty-three 
 
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT 
 
 Americans in Residence at University of Beirut 
 
 1923-24 
 
 Faculty 
 
 Bayard Dodge . President 
 
 ALFRED E. Day . Natural Sciences , Dean of School 
 
 of Arts and Sciences 
 
 Walter B. Adams . Pharmacology , Therapeutics and 
 
 Dermatology 
 
 Charles A. Webster. .Anatomy and Diseases of Eye and 
 
 Ear 
 
 William H. Hall . Principal of Preparatory School 
 
 ^Edward F. Nickoley. . . Economics , Principal of School of 
 
 Commerce 
 
 J. Stewart Crawford. .Bible and Ethics 
 
 Harry G. Dorman . Gynecology , Dean of Medical 
 
 Faculty 
 
 Harold H. Nelson. . . .History 
 
 Julius A. Brown . Astronomy 
 
 ARTHUR R. Dray . Operative Dentistry , Principal of 
 
 the School of Dentistry 
 
 Edwin St. John Ward. .Surgery 
 William T. Van Dyck. Zoology 
 
 Byron P. Smith . English 
 
 Harold W. Close . Chemistry 
 
 Arthur A. Bacon . Physics 
 
 Philip K. Hitti . History 
 
 Laurens H. Seelye. . . .Psychology and Philosophy 
 
 Habib Y. Rihan . Prosthetic Dentistry 
 
 Wm. D. Cruikshank. . .Pathology 
 
 Henry W. Smith . Psychiatry and Neurology 
 
 Leland W. Parr . Bacteriology 
 
 Edward L. Turner. . . .Physiology 
 George B. Stewart, Jr. Treasurer 
 
 Page Thirty-four 
 
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT 
 
 Memb ers of Staff and Additional Administration 
 
 Officials 
 
 Mrs. Robert H. West 
 Mrs. J. S. Crawford 
 f Mrs. Gerald F. Dale 
 Mrs. FIarris Graham 
 Miss Jane E. VanZandt 
 *Mrs. Edw. F. Nickoley 
 Archie S. Crawford 
 Francis W. West 
 Walter H. Ritsher 
 Thomas D. Ewing 
 Walter L. Wright, Jr. 
 Joseph H. Stein 
 Raymond C. Whittlesey 
 Roy Neil Veatch 
 David Hall 
 Randolph B. Smith 
 Francis M. Potts 
 Alfred W. Bastress 
 Isaiah B. Hickman 
 Frederick T. Knepper 
 William A. West 
 
 Andrus O. Griffith 
 J. Forrest Crawford 
 Robert Stone 
 Robert C. Francis 
 Frederick Yeiser 
 William H. Forbes 
 G. Malcolm Van Dyke 
 Paul H. McKee 
 Fred T. Smith 
 Albert J. Dow 
 Miss Helen McBurney 
 Miss Margaret West 
 Miss Ella U. Osborne 
 Miss Sara A. Metzler 
 Miss Elsie Stancliffe 
 Miss Ellen Simpson 
 Miss Lydia Talbot 
 Miss Sarah R. Seybold 
 Miss Hazel B. Distin 
 Miss Kathryn M. Neuman 
 Miss Flora R. Landon 
 
 Miss Marjorie G. Webster 
 
 *Mr. and Mrs. Nickoley on leave at the University of Illinois. 
 tResigned January, 1923. 
 
 Page Thirty-five 
 
AMERICAN UNIVERSITY OF BEIRUT 
 
 BOARD OF TRUSTEES 
 
 Mr. William M. Kingsley 
 Mr. Arthur Curtis James 
 Mr. Alfred E. Marling 
 Mr. Marcellus Hartley Dodge 
 Mr. William Fellows Morgan 
 Miss Eleanor de Graff Cuyler 
 Dr. Franklin A. Dorman 
 Mr. James Howell Post 
 Mr. Clarence Phelps Dodge 
 Mrs. Van Santvoord Merle-Smith 
 Dr. William S. Ladd 
 Mr. Vanderbilt Webb 
 
 President, BAYARD Dodge 
 
 AMERICAN OFFICES 
 
 18 East 41st Street, New York City 
 Executive Secretary, Albert W. Staub 
 
 Page Thirty-six 
 
DIRECTORY 
 
 American University of Beirut. President, Rev. Bayard 
 Dodge. 
 
 American Consulate. Mr. Paul Knabenshue, Consul. 
 
 American Mission and Press. (Presbyterian.) Director, 
 Rev. Paul Erdman. 
 
 Arabic Bible and other literature for the Arabic 
 
 world is produced here. 
 
 American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Mis¬ 
 sions. (Congregational.) Director, Rev. Nesbit 
 Chambers, D.D. 
 
 Near East Relief. Director, Charles W. Fowle. 
 
 The Y. W. C. A. Service Center. (“The Club for Mutual 
 Help.’’) Director, Miss Brown. 
 
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