August 19, 2012

American U. in Cairo's Chief Has Bold Ambitions Amid Egypt's Upheaval

A Revolutionary President 1

Dana Smillie

Lisa Anderson, president of the American U. in Cairo: "This is this moment in Egypt where the kinds of investments you make in higher education and in research facilities and in outreach will have a disproportionate impact."

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close A Revolutionary President 1

Dana Smillie

Lisa Anderson, president of the American U. in Cairo: "This is this moment in Egypt where the kinds of investments you make in higher education and in research facilities and in outreach will have a disproportionate impact."

By Ursula Lindsey

Cairo

When Lisa Anderson became president of the American University in Cairo nearly two years ago, she thought her greatest challenge would be to help the university grow into its ambitious new campus.

She could not have anticipated how tumultuous the next two years would be.

Ms. Anderson's inauguration, in January 2011, was postponed because of the outbreak of the uprising against Egypt's president, Hosni Mubarak. In her first 19 months leading the private, nonprofit,