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Farewell to Elie Kurban
E
lie Kurban joined IC in
August 1966. It is here that
he met his wife, Elham, who
was working at the time as a secre-
tary. The couple married in 1970.
They have a son, Anthony, and are
grand parents to Axelle [5] yrs and
Karl [3]. He is leaving the post of
Vice President of Administration.
Q: You have been at IC for 42 years. What would you say
were your most precious moments here?
Every year-end was a memorable moment when I close the
books with no deficits and no errors! Even every month-end
was a precious moment when we issued the payroll on time –
no easy task in a war! But the most precious memory I have
was in 1974 when after consulting with William Abdul-Karim
(to whom I owe a lot for teaching me the job), President Schull-
er promoted me to Business Manager. I was 33 years of age
with eight years of work experience.
Q: During the war years, what were some of the things that
you went through that you will never forget?
Those 15 years were the worst years of my life and my career. I
was caught in many dangerous moments, living in one part of
Beirut and working in the other. I was almost kidnapped three
times, sniped at twice, and was exposed to bombing several
times on both sides of the city. I had to sleep a few times in the
office and several months in furnished apartments or faculty
apartments or in the boarding department. I once counted the
beds I had to change during those years: 22 beds!
I have a lot of stories to tell: during the Israeli invasion in June
‘82, I had to move the big computer discs with the help of Kifah
Badreddine, my assistant, to where I live so as to prepare the
payroll in the offices of our software provider. Then I had to con-
vert my house into an office where I exchanged checks for cash
for faculty and staff who could not reach the school. I am proud
to say that throughout the war, the monthly payroll was never
delayed. Another story I remember was when President Reyn-
olds asked me to move some 12 foreign teachers from Ras Bei-
rut. I had to house them in the mountains for a whole week and
then take them to Jounieh to travel on board a ship to France.
My saddest memory was when
President Reynolds passed away
suddenly in October ‘86 while he
was living in a chalet in Maamelt-
ein with Mr. Weaver. I had to
cross through some dangerous
check-points to handle the sad
formalities.
Also during the war, we had a
huge drop in student enrollment.
One year the number of students
dropped by almost half and several teachers could not come to
school. We had to find replacement teachers and provide hous-
ing for teachers coming from different parts of the country and
the political divide. Those years were the most difficult years
of IC’s history. Today I consider IC at its peak both financially
and academically.
Q: What have you personally gained from your long associa-
tion with IC?
I am proud to say that my association with IC taught me a lot: it
taught me how to deal with people correctly and honestly on a
basis of equity. It taught me not to differentiate between people
and to respect each and every one’s beliefs. It taught me not to
care about what people say when they spread rumors that hurt,
and it taught me that if you do your work with all dignity and
honesty, you can succeed in your career
IC is my life, my home, my family, my friend. It is where I
learned the job, and it has been a second home for my wife
and son as he grew up. I will never forget what IC offered me
and my family. I want the best future for IC and its family. The
Board needs the cooperation and assistance of each and every
one associated with IC and all the Alumni around the world to
succeed in achieving the target (of the Capital Campaign) they
have set for the institution.
Q:What are your plans after retirement?
As for my retirement, frankly, I have no specific plans. I have
been asked to continue next year as a consultant. I want to
enjoy my retirement with my family, especially my grand chil-
dren. And I would like to do some reading and writing, I will
also travel, find the time to do some sport at last, and I will al-
ways be available to assist IC in any field needed.