Staff Profiles: Wafa Abu Daher

Wafa Abu Daher

When speaking to Wafa Abu Daher about her work as the assistant to the director of AUB's Continuing Education Center, her face lights up with visible pride. After all, she has been working steadily for the University for forty uninterrupted years.

Abu Daher first joined AUB in 1967 as a filing clerk in the registrar's office, where she stayed until 1973, when she became the secretary of the Civilization Sequence Program for a year before finally moving to the Division of Extension and Special Programs and becoming the Programs and Records Assistant. "Though the work did not change much since 1974, our offices did; we moved from West Hall to Fisk Hall, before ending up in our current building facing the Medical Gate," said Abu Daher.

Far from being routine, her work-which involves recruiting and monitoring teachers, introducing new courses, registering and following up on students, scheduling classes, and even advertising for the program-provides Abu Daher with continuous challenges and novel encounters. "I enjoy dealing with the teachers and the students, and there are always new and interesting things going on," says Abu Daher, who stays at her office daily until after 6:00 pm, except during the few days between semesters when no classes are held.

The center is open to all members of the community wishing to learn English, acquire new technical and vocational skills, or get various business-related diplomas, including the recently introduced diploma in Human Resource Management. All courses are regularly checked and overseen by related faculty chairpersons of AUB to ensure high standards of education.

Abu Daher is in charge of all the logistics of running the AUB Alumni of North American (AANA) summer program which is constructed to "expose the children of AUB Alumni of North America to their heritage and culture," she said.

Being a dynamic and enthusiastic employee, Abu Daher has been twice elected since 2002 as one of the twelve members of the AUB Syndicate for Employees and Workers. Outside her "home away from home," she likes to travel and go to concerts and art exhibitions, energizing herself to face the constant demands of her job.