Under the patronage of Mrs. Nazik Rafik Hariri, President of RHU Board of Trustees and President of Rafik Hariri Foundation, RHU celebrated its 17th Commencement Ceremony on the afternoon of Saturday, June 23, 2018. A cohort of 140 graduates who earned the right to join a growing body of RHU alumni were dedicated for peace in the world. The graduates shared with their parents and friends an evening filled with a sense of accomplishment and pride in the RHU splendid campus in the heart of nature.
RHU President, Dr. Ahmad Smaili, deans, chairs, and faculty and senior staff members led the procession of class of 2018 amid joyful applause from family, friends and guests. After a moment of silence in memory of the late Prime Minister Martyr Rafik Hariri, the Master of Ceremony, Dr. Dina Serhal, Assistant Professor at RHU, introduced the ceremony speakers, award recipients, graduates and distinguished alumna.
Ms. Farida Hamieh and Ms. Rofaida Al Ahmad Matar, representing their graduating class, delivered a speech on their behalf. Their words were filled with ardor, joy and expectation as they step out to impact the world.
RHU President, Dr. Ahmad Smaili, delivered a speech on the significance of promoting “Peace” in a world that is being ravaged by wars and conflicts and the big role that Martyr Rafik Hariri played in establishing peace in Lebanon and beyond. Addressing the graduating class of 2018, he said "Martyr Rafik Hariri believed in you as the guardians of peaceful and dignified Lebanon; he who broke the walls of division and crossed the confines of sectarianism and sacrificed his life for his country." He ended his speech by saying: “May this institution remain a beacon for hope and a platform for freedom as it should be.”
Dr. May Chidiac delivered her keynote address and affirmed that “peace is the choice of the courageous and brave and the university carries the name of a great man who had a creative vision, a pioneer in creating hope where there was only despair, a staunch believer in education. He founded the university scholarship program for young women and men from all sects and regions with no discrimination. He took his country from ruins to urbanization, from chaos to order, from war to dialogue and these principles are at the heart of the founding statement of this university which you graduate from today.”
Dr. Nazek El-Atab Hammoud (Class 2012/ Computer and Communications Engineering), Post-Doctoral research fellow in the Integrated Nanotechnology Lab at KAUST- King Abdullah University For Science And Technology, received the 2018 RHU Annual Alumni Award! The Award recognizes and celebrates the graduates who embody the core values that RHU upholds and fulfills and its culture of quality, innovation and transformation that impacts higher education. Established in 2015, this award is presented to an RHU alumnus or alumna who has made meaningful contributions and achievements in academia and beyond.
During the ceremony Ms. Rofaida Ahmad Al Ahmad Matar (computer and communications engineering) and Ms. Carla Mahfoud Ghanem (human resources management) were announced as the 2018 Nazek Rafik Hariri Graduate Studies Award recipients for 2018. Established in 2012, the award covers the full tuition towards the completion of graduate studies at RHU to the top rankers (attained highest GPA) in each College.