DR. ELIE BADR, Acting Dean, SArD
RANDA ABDEL BAKI
TAREK KHOURY
Co-Chair, Department of Fine Arts and Foundation Studies
Chairperson, Department of Graphic Design
Co-Chair, Department of Graphic Design
Providing access to specialist studies in design and the visual arts, our curriculum strives to cultivate the individual imagination and offer the best 21st-century learning solutions to enable students meet the challenges of their future studies. The incorporation of new media and technologies where ‘direct action’ makes design thought visible, allows students to benefit from an exceptional educational experience current with contemporary trends in thought and technology. SArD has created a dynamic transdisciplinary arena for training sharp individuals, dotted with a broad outlook into design and visual arts. By consolidating the educational means with the resources of the various departments, SArD enables a panoptic environment that fosters scholarly inquiry and exchange.
The Graphic Design department offers a rich multicultural design experience. Our faculty has worldwide academic and professional experiences, promoting an international design outlook with a Middle Eastern heritage and producing a special blend of East meets West. By unifying all the design programs at LAU, SArD has created a multidisciplinary design environment where faculty and students learn, collaborate and create innovative academic endeavors. Our pedagogical approach is based on promoting growth and innovation, both personally and academically. Our students and graduates will have a flexible mindset, allowing them to tackle tomorrow’s design challenges with an out-of-the-box approach while adhering to sound design principles.
Graphic design is a multifaceted and ever-evolving discipline. Our program offers students the option to choose a specific emphasis in print media or digital media, enabling us to provide a greater diversity of courses to accommodate the needs of today’s market. We are now moving in a more crossdisciplinary and cohesive manner. More than ever, we are striving to build a new school with a primary objective: to graduate students with excellence in design. LAU’s graphic design program offers students facilities and faculty that foster an environment of personal, academic and artistic growth. Our students are taught to be intelligent visual communicators with a creative vision and know-how to tackle the design problems of today.
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& alumni bulletin
SILIA ABOU-ARBID
VOLUME 12 | issue nº 3 | Fall 2010
Over the past year, SArD established itself as one of the major schools at LAU. Its enrollment witnessed the highest increase ever, and addressing this, faculty recruitment has hit an all-time record, evidenced by hiring three tenure-track faculty and six visiting full-time faculty. Over the year ahead, SArD will keep on consolidating all of its programs. SArD has initiated the establishment of new programs at the undergraduate and graduate levels, and will also be creating a five-year strategic plan in order to focus on growth while upholding the highest standards. This includes expanding the architecture program accreditation — currently accredited by the French Ministry of Culture — to also be accredited by the National Architecture Accrediting Board (NAAB).