Supporting students to take “our own history, and past, into our own hands”
October 20, 2020
Etel Adnan is an internationally renowned poet and painter. She is also a recipient of the AUB University Medal, the most prestigious accolade that the university awards. It was established by the AUB Board of Trustees in 1990 to recognize individuals for their distinguished and meritorious service to the university.
When she received the University Medal in May 2017, Adnan, who grew up not far from AUB and lived for a while in Ras Beirut, spoke about the connection that she feels to AUB: “I have always dreamt of teaching at AUB. Receiving this medal touches me very much. I feel as though I enter AUB through its beautiful gates. It feels like a homecoming.”
Simone Fattal is also globally recognized as an artist and is the founder and publisher of the Post-Apollo Press. Adnan and Fattal’s work have often been featured in the same exhibit as it was in “Here and Elsewhere,” an exhibition of contemporary art from the Arab world at the New Museum in 2014, and in 2019 at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. They also joined forces recently to establish the Simone Fattal and Etel Adnan Endowed Scholarship to support students majoring in archaeology.
“We have always felt,” they explained, “that we do not have enough archeologists especially given the fact that Lebanon is one of the places richest in archaeological treasures in the whole world. Often our riches are claimed by other countries. It’s a matter of taking our own history, and past, into our own hands.” Quoting from Italian archaeologist Salvatore Settis, they continued, “Every era to find identity and strength has invented a different idea of classic. The classic always concerns not only the past but also the present and a vision of the future. To shape the world of tomorrow it is necessary to rethink our many roots.” Adnan and Fattal urged other donors to do what they have done and support AUB: “To make a gift at this time is crucial.”
Commenting on the gift, AUB Trustee Leila Bissat noted, “Etel and Simone’s gift is enormously valuable to our university and highlights the importance of investing in our rich history and archaeology.”
The need for scholarship support is especially urgent today because of the devastating and widespread collapse of the Lebanese economy. “Our university is fully committed to doing whatever we can to make sure that students at AUB today can continue until they graduate. We need the help of generous donors like Etel and Simone – now more than ever,” said Associate Vice President for Development and Alumni Relations Salma Dannawi Oueida.