Safa Jafari, Office of Communications, communications@aub.edu.lb
This year's Saouma Boujaoude Teaching Excellence Award has been presented to two faculty members, Dr. Mohammad Harb and Dr. Hani Hassan. An awarding ceremony was held on May 5, 2025 to honor and recognize the award winners for their distinction and contributions to education at the American University of Beirut (AUB).
Held to honor individuals who have exhibited excellence in teaching at the university and emphasize the importance of outstanding teaching, the award was established by the Office of the Provost in 2002 and is based on assessments of candidates' nominations, teaching philosophy, and work evidence by an anonymous committee of excellence and innovation in teaching, in addition to contribution to instruction, mentoring, service, and professional development.
Dr. Mohammad Harb is associate professor of mechanical engineering and co-principal investigator at the Smart Structures Laboratory. He is also founder and principal investigator of Engineering Learning Lab and founder and director of AUB Makerspace. Among his many achievements, he was commended by colleagues and students for his effort to position the Maroun Semaan Faculty of Engineering and Architecture as a global leader in problem-based, active learning and his passion for using human-centered design to transform the learning experience for his students as in his impactful creation of learning opportunities.
Dr. Harb thanked all who had influenced and inspired him in his career. He said, “In this time of rapid technological transformation, I believe we should fundamentally rethink how we approach education. Our students are no longer limited by access to knowledge. They choose how, when, and from whom to learn. It's at their fingertips… Now, what students need most are not just answers but spaces to think, to explore, and to grow. That's what I hope and strive to create: Not just classrooms but communities of learning where I become a mentor, a guide, and a co-traveler on their journey, and for the opportunity to do that every day, I am really and greatly thankful."
Now on his third decade at AUB, counting his education at the university, Dr. Hani Hassan has been a faculty member at the Faculty of Arts and Sciences offering a wide array of courses at the Critical Humanities for the Liberal Arts Program (previously Civilization Studies Program) since July 2002, and at the Philosophy Department since February 2003. He has been serving as director for the MEPI-Tomorrow's Leaders Undergraduate Program at AUB since March 2014.
In their testimonials, students described him as a considerate, inspiring, and giving mentor whose “empathetic and committed approach is clearly reflected throughout the students' commitments." He was also referred to as one of the best professors in the university who cares about his students understanding, rather than just covering the study material, and uses various tools and approaches that have fully immersed his students in his classes and motivated many to major in philosophy.
In his thanks to all at AUB who he had studied under and worked with at various faculties and administrative offices, Dr. Hassan emphasized, “What led me to the realization that teaching was going to be my lifelong service were the students themselves: their energy, their natural curiosity, their genuine interest in creating a shared-learning journey, that's what got me from the very first day and very first session of teaching at AUB. And it's precisely that which keeps me driven and keeps my passion for teaching alive year after year. I owe a huge word of thanks to every single student I've had the pleasure of working with. My standing here today is mostly due to you."
This is the first time that the AUB Teaching Excellence Award is presented under its new name, the Saouma Boujaoude Teaching Excellence Award to “celebrate a legacy of mentorship, selfless leadership, and excellence in education, inspiring generations to uphold the highest standards and the passion that Dr. Saouma Boujaoude has manifested throughout his outstanding career," as AUB President Fadlo Khuri announced in October 2024.
“Today we honor something that lies at the very core of our mission, great teaching. The kind of teaching that shapes both lives and minds," said Dr. Khuri at the awarding ceremony. “This year's awardees come from different disciplines. Their approaches and fields vary. What binds them, however, is how they approach the art of teaching and the themes that emerge from their classrooms. Themes that offer the rest of us a roadmap for deeper and more meaningful engagement."