Under the patronage of Mrs. Nazik Rafik Hariri, President of RHU Board of Trustees and President of Rafik Hariri Foundation, represented by Ms. Huda Tabbara, RHU celebrated the achievements of class 2023 at its 22nd Commencement Ceremony on the afternoon of Friday, May 26, 2023. A cohort of 227 graduates who earned the right to join a growing body of RHU alumni shared with their parents and friends an evening filled with a sense of accomplishment and pride in the RHU picturesque campus in the heart of nature. The ceremony was live streamed on RHU Facebook page.
The academic procession began at around 6 p.m. The RHU president, college deans, chairs, and faculty members, and senior staff lead the graduates, all resplendent in academic costumes, across the campus among legions of cheering family and friends, to their designated seats around the stage.
The degree ceremony began with the Lebanese National Anthem and a moment of silence in memory of RHU Founder the late Prime Minister Martyr Rafik Hariri. RHU faculty member and master of ceremony Dr. Houssam Salami gave the welcoming address and invited the graduating class representative Kasem Faour and the postgraduate class representative Bilal Aridi to give their speeches. For both speakers, the days they spent at RHU leading up to Commencement were as reflective as they were triumphant. They both expressed deep appreciation of the exceptional RHU education and the remarkable dedication of RHU faculty members in equipping them with the knowledge and skills to be ready to connect to a world of opportunities.
RHU Interim President, Dr. Hiam Lotfi, in remarks of welcome, shared the RHU vision 2030 that is based on three key pillars., excellence in education which will remain at the core of RHU educational mission, technical innovation and creativity, and community engagement that will be integral constituents of the RHU university identity. She congratulated the graduates and their parents and commended the hard work of RHU faculty and administrative staff who have supported the graduates in their endeavors.
Taking the stage, Dr. Mohamad Naji Alamuddin delivered a motivational address as the 2023 RHU Commencement Keynote speaker. He reminded the graduates that they have learned in a university that beholds the name of a great man, Martyr Rafik Hariri. He indicated that he had the honor to be one of the pioneers of Martyr Prime Minister Rafik Hariri’s integrated model project, the school, university, and hospital project. He concluded by raising prayers and mercy for the founder of the university, President Rafik Hariri.
Dr. Lotfi presented a plaque to Dr. Alamuddin in appreciation for his participation as the 2023 Keynote Commencement Speaker.
RHU then proudly announced Ms. Aline Fayed Hasan (computer and communications engineering) and Ms. Ghia Saeed Zaatar (management) as the winners of the RHU Nazik Rafik Hariri Graduate Studies Award for 2023. RHU has awarded them a full scholarship towards their MS degrees at RHU, being the top ranked (attained highest GPA) in their respective colleges.
In happy succession, RHU Registrar Ms. Nidal Khalaf invited the deans of the Colleges to join RHU President and Mrs. Huda Tabbarah to the stage to confer the degrees on the graduates of the Class 2023.
