Before I Forget is more of a medley than a memoir. It chronicles the affairs of the American University of Beirut during an under studied period comprising and following the Lebanese civil war. In recording his perception of selective periods in his lifetime the author focuses on his AUB experience and documents his text with email exchanges with university officials. He exposes his personal experience as a student, an administrator and faculty member of AUB during a period that spans over the administration of fourteen presidents (from John Paul Leonard to Fadlo Khuri), several of whom he was closely associated with. During this period, he served in central capacities including: president of the Faculty Association, President of the Worldwide Alumni Association, Assistant Dean and chair of the Senate Steering Committee. In his engaging style the author draws attention to what he considers an association of AUB with US interests. The book also chronicles the difficulties and strivings the author faced since his family was forced to leave his homeland. It discusses the changes the author experienced moving from Lebanon to the US as a foreign student as well as the lifestyle adjustments he had to undergo when returning to Lebanon after graduation.
Dr Nabil Dajani is an emeritus professor of media studies at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. He holds a PhD degree in communication from the University of Iowa. He served, between 1971 and 1975, as a member of UNESCO’s International Panel of Experts on Communication Research. Dr Dajani has been on the faculty of the American University of Beirut for the past 50 years and has served as an Assistant Dean of its Faculty of Arts and Sciences, and chairperson of the Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences. He is the author of several manuscripts and books and over 50 articles in professional journals.