Center for the Humanities and the Public Sphere

Dr. Salem will share some of the challenges and opportunities of living and working in Lebanon, especially during this historic October 17 revolution.  She will discuss gender equity in Lebanon and Lebanese American University, a university with roots in the 19th century as a school for girls that became the first College for Women early in the 20th century before turning co-ed with the oldest and most prestigious Arab Institute for Women.  She will present specific university initiatives related to young women’s empowerment, refugee projects, USAID scholarship funding, and the Title IX office.  Dr. Salem will conclude with stories and images from the front lines of the current popular uprising in Lebanon, where the leadership and involvement of women has been unprecedented.

Elise Salem, PhD, is Vice President for Student Development and Enrollment Management at the Lebanese American University.  An advocate for gender equity in Lebanon, she is a professor of literature, and author of Constructing Lebanon: A Century of Literary Narratives.

This event is sponsored by the Edna Saffy Lecture Series and the Center for Gender, Sexualities, and Women’s Studies Research.  Reception to follow.