On the eve of the anniversary of Dr. Julinda Abu Nasr’s passing, family members, former colleagues and students gathered at the Riyad Nassar Library, Beirut campus, on March 4, 2025, to pay tribute to the founding director of the Arab Institute for Women (AiW) and her impactful life. The event was held under the patronage of the Minister of Education and Higher Education Rima Karami.

“By honoring Abu Nasr’s outstanding legacy,” said LAU President Chaouki T. Abdallah in his opening remarks, “We are drawing inspiration from and spreading knowledge of her many accomplishments, particularly one that LAU has and will continue to take pride in: the founding of the Arab Institute for Women.”

Upon returning from the US with a PhD in Developmental Psychology from Florida State University to the Beirut University College—present-day LAU—in 1973, Dr. Abu Nasr was tasked with establishing the Institute for Women’s Studies in the Arab World, as AiW was known back then, as the first-of-its-kind hub dedicated to women’s rights in the region.

Her pioneering work for the institute was not a departure from her professional trajectory as a dedicated teacher, mentor and advocate against injustices, where she often took the initiative and was resourceful in her approach, such as starting a mobile library that distributed books to orphanages, schools, social centers, hospitals, and remote areas.  

“Education for Abu Nasr was more than just an act of passing on knowledge; it was a path to breaking the cycle of injustice,” said AiW Executive Director Myriam Sfeir. “She devoted her life to this purpose, inspiring generations of students, and working tirelessly to ensure that education is not reserved for the elite, but a right for all.”

Calling attendees to “fight fiercely, spread knowledge and believe unequivocally in the power of justice,” Sfeir said: “Rest in peace, dear Julinda, as your impact will undoubtedly be everlasting.”

Reverend Habib Badr, pastor of the National Evangelical Church in Beirut spoke of Dr. Abu Nasr’s values and lifelong connection to the church, starting with her early years at the National Evangelical School for Boys and Girls in Saida, where she lived in the boarding school with her sister Margot and mother, who worked and taught at the school at the time.

He spoke fondly of the Christmas gatherings Dr. Abu Nasr hosted annually at her home as rich with warmth, laughter, conversations, music and a sense of togetherness.

“As we remember Julinda, we have to pay tribute to everything she held dear—particularly in education, reading, culture and music,” he said. Delivering a fitting performance in her honor, he proceeded to play How Great Thou Art on the piano, accompanied by LAU Assistant Professor of Practice and Artist-in-Residence Reem Deeb.

Representing Minister Karami, Director of Counseling and Guidance at the Lebanese Ministry of Education and Higher Education Hilda El Khoury praised Dr. Abu Nasr’s mantra of education for all, stressing the importance of educating the whole person.

“For Dr. Abu Nasr the act of educating others was not limited to the walls of her classrooms,” she said. “In fact, she carried her mobile library across Lebanon, visiting prisons and hospitals, and this is the true definition of quality education for all.”

Marveling at her aunt’s insatiable curiosity, loyalty, dedication and love as an educator and mentor, Lina Matta (BA ’84) revealed that “up until six months before she passed, she was still writing booklets for teaching children and fine-tuning her opus, a training manual on childhood education that we plan to publish and distribute in her honor.”

“We were lucky to know early on how blessed we were and try to savor our time with her as much as we could,” added Matta. “It is a gift to be left with so many warm memories.”