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[latigo]

Can anyone tell me about the University of Balamand, in Lebanon?  Is it a respected institution?  What are the students like?  I'd never heard of it before I applied.

[lobloba]

It is a respected institution, but less so than American University of Beirut or St. Joseph University (Jesuit University) or Lebanese American University. It is a relatively new university and private (so students are more selective than those in public university (Lebanese university)). It has religious roots (Christan), but it is not comparable to religion-based schools in the U.S.
If you do not speak/ know Arabic, it is not a very important issue in Lebanon as many people speak English or French. 

[emerald]

It IS well-respected, and the rumor is that positions there are better-paid than they are here at the American U. of Beirut (though I don't know if this is true). I have met several people teaching there in the English dept. and they seem quite happy with it. However, they did say they were asked to teach literature courses out of their realm.

The campus and the surrounding area is lovely but a little isolated if the infamous Lebanese nightlife holds appeal. Tripoli is an interesting city but much quieter, smaller, and more conservative than Beirut. Some of the Balamand faculty I met were living in Beirut and commuting by university shuttle. I can't imagine it given the traffic around here, but they didn't think it was so bad.

[latigo]

Thanks, emerald.  That's very good to know.  I had particularly wanted to go to the American U at Beirut, but for my purposes, this sounds even better.  I also thank you for your response to my other thread, which I'm going to return to ...