Joseph G. Jabbra: Serving As a Bridge Between East and West

Joseph G. Jabbra, president of Lebanese American University (LAU) since 2004, is a scholar and educator, author of 12 books and more than 33 scholarly articles, an internationally recognized expert on academic administration and accreditation, and a longtime proponent of international education. Prior to assuming the presidency at LAU, Jabbra served as academic vice president and full professor of political science at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles for 14 years, following a decade of service as vice president of academic research at St. Mary’s University in Nova Scotia, Canada. Jabbra earned his law degree at the Université Saint-Joseph in Beirut, and his PhD in political science from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C.

LAU, which was founded in 1835 by American missionaries as a school for girls, is an accredited American university operating in Beirut and Byblos, Lebanon, under a charter from the state of New York. Under Jabbra’s leadership and commitment to  international education, LAU became the first Middle Eastern university to establish a campus in the United States when it inaugurated its New York Academic Center in 2013 in the heart of Manhattan to serve as a platform for global educational outreach and cross-cultural dialogue. During Jabbra’s 12 years at LAU, the university has greatly expanded its international exchange and study abroad programs, which have sent LAU students from all academic fields to top universities in the United States, Canada, and Europe, and hosted thousands of visiting students from around the world on its campuses in