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As the sound of bulldozers and construction
fill the Ras Beirut campus, a silent sigh echoes
with it. It’s been a long journey to find a final
home for IC. The campus, after all, did not
belong to IC but to AUB. Many attempts
were made to move and to expand. Each and
every one failed. Each and every one was a
disappointment. Still, IC Board, administra-
tion, staff and teachers would not be deterred.
The search for an expanded and final home
for IC continued.
The journey began in the 1950s and saw the
leadership of three IC presidents…..
Thomas C. Schuller knew he had three
main issues to focus on as he was formally
inaugurated as the new President of IC in
May 1961.
The first was to improve the school’s aca-
demic standards, second was to establish
a separate identity from AUB and third
was to locate a large plot of land to build a
new campus for IC.
The student body was growing at a steady
rate. Moreover, AUB had grown im-
mensely since the end of WWII and was
adding new programs. The university
needed its Ras Beirut property back and
requested that IC relocate to another
campus.
In the 1950’s a plot of land in Aramoun
was purchased. But when Schuller took
over, the search began for a larger plot.
Land was still abundant then and a beau-
tiful spot on the hills in Meshref was the
perfect spot.The view of the sea and the
surrounding greenery was well worth the
drive from Beirut.
The soliciting of necessary funds began
“in hopes to fulfill great expectations for
augmenting the already distinguished
record of the College, the Trustees have
embarked upon a project to construct a
new campus for IC, south of Beirut, where
additional facilities and the most modern
equipment may be available,” announced
Schuller in 1960.
The renowned American architectural
firm of Edward Durell Stone was hired.
Stone was making waves in the architec-
tural world with his use of the “Interna-
tional Style” in his designs. He was noted
for his designs of the Museum of Mod-
ern Art in New York City, the Kennedy
Center in Washington D.C., the Pepsico
World Headquarters, the University at
Albany campus and Beirut’s very own
Phoenicia Hotel.
Meanwhile, donations began to come
in – mostly notably from USAID, Dodge
Foundation, former AUB president
Bayard Dodge and Mrs Dewitt Acheson
Wallace the co-founder of the Reader’s
Digest magazine.
On October 21, 1971 the Meshref campus
was officially inaugurated.
As hundreds of students testified, they
were good days. Unfortunately, they
were short lived. Civil war erupted in
April 1975 and the road to Meshref was
blocked. Still, the administration hoped
that by October all would go back to
normal.That was not to be.
“It was a big blow,” recalled Elie Kurban,
IC’s former Chief ’s Finacial Officer, who
had joined IC in 1966. “Schuller, espe-
cially, took it hard.”
A skeletal staff made up of teachers Thomas
Weaver, Maurice Dumont and Nimr Ibra-
him tried to keep an eye on it by reaching
it through another road in the mountains.
But eventually, even they had to abandon
the school as militias moved in, looted the
school and occupied the premises.
With a heavy heart, IC administration
turned its attention to make place for
students in its Ras Beirut campus. Board-
ing school was cancelled and the rooms
used by boarders turned into classrooms.
Other classrooms were rented from the
neighboring ACS (American Community
School). The new lodgings were thought
to be temporary until students return to
Meshref. “We kept hoping to move back,”
said Kurban. “Little did we know that the
troubles were just only beginning.”
A Home At Last
But eventually, even they had to abandon the school
as militias moved in, looted the school and
occupied the premises.
4
SUMMER
2011
The only remnant of the Bchamoun Campus.The area is currently a construction site
for a development project.