by Daily Star BEIRUT: The American University of Beirut announced Tuesday that its staff would endure significant pay cuts and potential layoffs resulting from the rapid decline of Lebanon’s economy and the establishment’s “greatest crisis since the university’s foundation in 1866.” “Everyone will be affected,” a statement from the university said. “From our senior leadership, which will take significant pay reductions, to faculty members who have seen their buying power reduced, to students and their families who are struggling more than ever to pay tuition fees, to our staff who comprise our most financially challenged group.” The university said that steps under consideration include the closure of some programs and departments, the departure of “community members,” furloughs, a halt to capital expenditures, and cancellation of university sponsored travels, leaves and conferences for the foreseeable future. AUB was ranked first in the Middle East region and 177th out of 1,200 universities worldwide by the Moscow International University Ranking in 2019.

The university employs over 1,200 staff and provides over 140 undergraduate and graduate programs. Almost 10,000 students are enrolled. Nurseries, schools and universities were among the first establishments ordered shut on Feb. 28 under lockdown measures to stem the spread of coronavirus in the country. Lockdown measures, which have so far been extended four times and are in effect until at least May 24, have wreaked havoc on an economy already suffering from steep recession. The Lebanese pound has slumped on the parallel market since October, when the country’s long-brewing economic troubles came to a head, prompting a financial and banking crisis considered the biggest risk to stability since the 1975-90 Civil War. The national currency has lost nearly 60 percent of its value since Oct. 2019. The university said that it had raised “more than $10 million in solidarity funds for students, patients and staff, and are exploring multiple options to preserve the buying power of our faculty with commitments here and abroad.”