After the first day of the education forum we organized a dinner in honor of Emeritus Dean at AUB, Dr. Nadim Cortas, outgoing Chair of the Ahliah School Board of Trustees (BOT) for over 30 years. He is succeeded by H.E Dr. Rima Karami as the coming Chair of the Ahliah BOT. During the opening ceremony H.E Dr. Rima Karami decorated Dr. Nadim Cortas with the Lebanese Order of Merit and pinned the medal.
During the dinner, the speakers of the Forum were joined by the Ahliah community, and his family including his wife, and children that came from abroad, for celebrating his remarkable leadership, lifelong service, and unwavering commitment to education and institution-building..
Dr. Cortas chaired the BOT as of the mid 1990s as the downtown school was battered by war, being in the mid of a construction site with diminishing number of students whose families left the area. The survival of the school was at question. Through the leadership of Dr. Cortas and with all its community, the school was stabilized and then totally rebuilt academically and structurally to gain top accreditations. Ahliah is now significantly better academically and financially than when he joined. He expanded good governance, made the school work together in harmony.
Through his guidance, Ahliah has continued to grow as a learning institution rooted in values, excellence, and responsibility.
In her remarks, H.E Dr. Rima Karami, emphasized that Dr. Nadim Cortas was not merely a chairperson, but a moral and professional reference, noting that leading an institution is not about authority, but about responsibility, a guardianship of its mission, its people, and its continuity. She further highlighted that honoring Dr. Cortas is, in essence, a tribute to Lebanese education itself and to the ethics of the educational mission. The Principal, Ms. Rida Ayache emphasized that his leadership empowered everyone and he was an excellent mentor who taught us a lot and that governance is not micromanagement but good eyes and collective thinking.
The dinner stood as a celebration of continuity, recognizing a legacy that will continue to guide and inspire the Ahliah community.
Thank you, Dr. Cortas, for your steadfast leadership, your belief in education as a public good, and your enduring legacy 💜
