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10
Winter
2013
The Talal &
Maha Shair
Building
The dedication of the Talal & Maha Shair Building took place
on Thursday, October 24th in the IC Elementary school grounds
in the presence of government officials, American University
of Beirut President Dr. Peter Dorman, IC Board members, IC
President John Johnson and other school officials. As the school
choir rose in song and the sun set behind the majestic new El-
ementary school buildings, Johnson took to the stand thanking
the Shairs for their generous donation.
“This dedication and the completion of this new Elemen-
tary school is about a dream coming true and members of our
community “holding fast” to their dreams,” he said. “When I
first arrived in Beirut I met the wonderful head of our Ras Beirut
Parents’ Committee who was Maha Shair. She and her commit-
tee gave all of us at IC the encouragement to think big and to
improve the facilities at IC. Her husband,
Talal Shair ‘83
, shared
that dream and, as a member of the IC’s Board of Trustees, he
also worked hard to realize this dream. Talal has also been a
member of the Board’s Buildings and Grounds Committee and
they have worked countless hours on this dream from beginning
to end. I think we all agree that they did a great job.”
Shair had spent ten years at IC. Today, his four sons attend
the school. For his part, Shair credits IC for building his character
and helping him to become the man he is today. He stressed
that the only way to create a free society is by freeing minds at
an early age.
“It is crucial that we invest more in Elementary education to
rid our children from those fixed prejudices that are so often
forced upon them by ourselves or greater society, unrestricted
technology and media, etc…, etc… let us keep IC as a bastion
of illumination and openness.”
His wife, Maha, then spoke a few words. “I love this build-
ing,” she said confessing that, when the couple first moved
from Cairo, she almost withdrew her kids from IC. The old
Elementary school building had not impressed her. But the main
reason for coming to Beirut was so their children could attend
IC. She left them at the school and worked hard – as head of
the Parents’ Committee - to change many things in the old
building. But when she saw the newly built Elementary school
building sparkling just above the Mediterranean sea, she asked
her eldest son whether he thought it wise for the family to
invest in IC. The son promptly gave his support and encouraged
his parents to invest in the best education system in the country.
Afterwards, the Board of Trustees and the Administration pre-
sented the “IC Partnership for Excellence” plaque to the Shairs,
as the couple with their children then removed the IC flag cover-
ing a part of the building to reveal the name in bold letters: Talal
& Maha Shair Building.
The event was followed by a reception.