Spring 2010

AUCTODAY MAIN

FEATURES

A Celebration of Success

The Golden Age

Beyond Literary Bounds

ACT One

What's Up With Downtown

From Inside AUC

Discovering A Foreign Land

AUSCENES
Queen Rania Al Abdullah ’91 speaks at AUC, new Board of Trustees member appointed, PhD program begins, provost starts new lecture series, Arabic Web site launched

LETTER

FACULTY SPOTLIGHT
Professor Salah Arafa honored for environmental work

ALUMNI PROFILE
Ethar El-Katatney ’07 is the first Egyptian to win CNN’s African Journalist of the Year Award

Nevine Loutfy ’74 is the first woman in the Arab world to head an
Islamic bank

Gala El Hadidi ’05, ’07 is the youngest singer to join the Cairo Opera Company

AROUND THE WORLD

AKHER KALAM
Gihane Refaat, a graduate of the
Goldman Sachs 10,000 Women Entrepreneurship and Leadership Center, recounts the lessons learned from the program

 



Alumni at the Forefront

    It’s always a pleasure to talk about fellow alumni and where they are now. In this issue, we feature examples of AUC alumni who have stood out and excelled in their fields. Ethar El-Katatney ’07 (“A Reporter Without Borders,” page 14), who entered AUC at the young age of 15 and is currently studying for a dual master’s degree at the university, is the first Egyptian to win in CNN’s African Journalist of the Year competition. Nevine Loutfy ’74 (“A Career of Firsts,” page 25), the first woman in the Arab world to head an Islamic bank, is spearheading the difficult mission of reforming the National Bank for Development, which was in a loss situation, and transforming it into an institution compliant with Islamic sharia. In addition, Galal El Hadidi ’05, ’07 (“Hitting a High Note,” page 39), the youngest singer to join the Cairo Opera Company, is studying for a Master of Music degree at Yale’s School of Music and has been an opera singer in numerous countries worldwide.

    Theatre lovers will be excited to hear about the new Alumni Community Theatre group (see “Act One,” page 20). Bringing together approximately 40 alumni who share a passion for theatre, members of the group handle the whole process, from performing, directing and fundraising to stage management, production and design. Still in its first year, the group has performed two productions in different theatre venues throughout Cairo, including churches, bookstores, gardens, and of course, their alma mater. Despite the fact that many of them have their own jobs and have to drive straight from work for late-night rehearsals, they are persistent on achieving their goal of becoming a recognized alumni theatre group in Egypt, giving back good theatre to the community and relaying what they’ve learned through theatre and improvisation workshops.

    It makes me proud to see such examples of AUC alumni who are making a mark. This all comes to show that whatever field you are in, if you work with passion and commitment, you are bound to achieve something.