Charles W. Hostler Student Center Opens

Closer view of the center

Named after former ambassador and AUB alumnus Charles W. Hostler following his $11.7 million gift, the Charles W. Hostler Student Center (CHSC) opened its facilities for use on May 23, 2008, leading in, with its ultra modern design, a new and bright era for sports and fitness at AUB.

While the center's facilities extend beyond the complex to include the AUB Beach, they comprise health and fitness rooms, an indoor 25-meter long swimming pool to be available for use in the near future, a multi-use gymnasium, three basketball courts, indoor soccer and handball courts, two squash courts, student activity rooms, a refurbished track and Green Field, a 280-seat auditorium, a cafe, an internet room, and an underground parking area for around 200 cars.

"The Charles W. Hostler Student Center is a cutting edge architectural design overlooking the Mediterranean Sea under the gaze of Lebanon's proud mountains. The Hostler Center has already become a major landmark on AUB's lower campus," said Dean of Student Affairs Maroun Kisirwani. "It strives to encourage continued participation in a healthy lifestyle throughout a student's life through a blend of competition, lifetime activities, and health education," he added.

Similarly, AUB's Vice President for Facilities Samer Maamari, who witnessed, oversaw, and tracked the development of the Center, has high admiration for its aesthetic quality and is very pleased with the outcome.

"Everytime I look through my office window in College Hall and see the Charles Hostler Center silhouette looming over the Green Field, it seems to me that it had always been there. Then I realize that it's only my love for AUB that makes me feel that everything that is beautiful on campus had always existed there," said Maamari expressively.

Dean Kisirwani also believes that "the Hostler Center is taking student life at AUB to new heights and will ensure that the University remains ahead of its regional competitors."

He noted that "a cafeteria, an auditorium, and an amphitheater allow larger gatherings to take place, a fact that will make the center a vibrant location on lower campus for many years to come. The Hostler Center is certainly a setting that AUB students and alumni will be proud of."

The center's compound, whose groundbreaking ceremony took place on April 5, 2004, is entirely smoke-free and possesses an environment-friendly design that minimizes heat and cooling needs by recycling water, and employing energy-efficient lighting. Solar panels installed at the site heat the indoor pool and a green plant cover filled with landscaped vegetation maintains the coolness of the entire area during hot summer days.

As for Charles W. Hostler, he is an AUB graduate [1953-55] in international relations. After living in Lebanon for a total of nine years between 1953 and 1967, he always dreamed of building a student center for the University.

A self-made man who struggled during the Great Depression of the 1930s, Hostler sold newspapers at the age of 13 while still in school. He served as a colonel in the US Air Force during World War II and then worked as a diplomat and businessman before he finally built up a wealth that turned him into a philanthropist constantly active in non-profit organizations and civic and educational causes.

Information on CHSC-namely on programs offered, scheduled events, membership costs, and the like-is available on the CHSC website.