Impact Stories

“I’ve had a wonderful life,” says Lois Aroian. “None of it would have happened without AUB.” Lois was an undergraduate pre-theology student at Occidental College when she first heard of AUB. A French major at the time, she was looking for somewhere interesting to spend her junior year abroad (1965-66) where she could speak French, so France and Switzerland were at the top of her list. However, a Jewish classmate urged her to aim for Lebanon. “AUB was initially my third choice. I was fortunate that the Presbyterian Junior Year Abroad program allowed me to switch to AUB as a first choice,” she says. “I knew that I would probably get to Europe someday, but I thought I would learn more by going to Lebanon.” Lois switched her major to the interdisciplinary diplomacy and world affairs so that she could graduate on time.

Lois arrived in Beirut not knowing much about the Arab Middle East. “I was asked lots of questions about Israel, Palestine, and US policy as soon as I arrived,” she says. “I had lots of Jewish friends growing up, so I knew something about Israel, but I knew nothing about Palestine at the time.” She learned fast – from the other women who she lived with in Bustani Hall, including her two roommates from Jordan and Iran; in classes she took with AUB professors like Zeine Zeine and Hanna Batatu; and during trips throughout Lebanon that were organized by Rev. Benjamin Weir, who was the Presbyterian Church’s representative in Beirut, and Rev. Paul Uhlinger, who was the AUB chaplain.

Occidental history professor Brice Harris supported her determination to do a PhD in history and remained a lifelong mentor and friend. Lois finished her PhD in Middle Eastern History at the University of Michigan during which time she studied Arabic and did doctoral research in Egypt. She co-authored a Middle East history textbook with Professor Richard Mitchell. Lois spent two years teaching Middle Eastern, North African, and Mediterranean history at the University of Ilorin in Nigeria and then worked for the US Congress on a fellowship before joining the US Foreign Service. During her 23-year career as a foreign service officer with the US Department of State, she served in Sudan, Morocco, Lebanon, Kenya, Syria, Mauritania, Canada, and Botswana as well as in the US. Lois enrolled in seminary in 2003 and started a new career as a Presbyterian pastor in 2010. Now retired, Lois is still active. She recently co-authored Jesus IS a Democrat: Essays on the Teachings of Jesus and the Democratic Party Platform.

A member of the AUB Clock Tower Society, Lois has made a bequest to AUB that will fund two endowed scholarships: the Lois Aroian Endowed Scholarship and the Leo and Arminé Aroian Endowed Scholarship, in the name of her parents. “I feel so blessed and am very grateful to AUB that gave me the knowledge and this wonderful life,” she says.

“It has been a pleasure and a privilege to get to know and to spend time with Dr. Aroian at her home in East Jordan, Michigan,” says Associate Vice President for Development Walid Katergi. “We are especially grateful to her for her generous and impactful bequest.”