AUB Couples

Najla Cortas and. Constantine Zurayk met in Brumana in the summer of 1927 when she was 16 and he was 18. They later reconnected at AUB when she was a student and he was assistant professor in the Department of History. Constantine proposed to Najla while sitting on one of the benches on campus and they were married in 1940. Najla worked as a teacher and later worked on social problems in Lebanon through the YWCA. Constantine was AUB acting president, vice president and dean of the faculties and later became distinguished professor of history in 1965. They had four daughters: Ilham (deceased) (BS ’63) taught briefly in the Department of Physics; Huda (BA ’65), previous dean of and retired professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences; Afaf (BA ’70) artist and lecturer in the Department of Fine Arts and Art History; and Hanan (BA ’73) who worked in publishing and as an editor and married George Tawil (MD ’73). They have two granddaughters, Shireen, who attended AUB as a junior year abroad student in 2002 and Randa.

AUB Couples

Najla Tannous Cortas '37 & Constantine Zurayk '28

Najla Tannous Cortas '37 & Constantine Zurayk '28

Maida Al Haidari '40 & Najib Mahmoud Ahmed '35

Maida Al Haidari '40 & Najib Mahmoud Ahmed '35