Kerr Family’s rich legacy at AUB lives on through Ann Kerr-Adams

Earlier this month, the American University of Beirut held its 154th commencement for more than 2000 students during 2 evenings in a row. I attended along with my fellow trustees, including Ann Kerr-Adams, a trustee emerita I had the pleasure of meeting in New York last March. However, during the commencement week, I was very happy to spend time talking to her, doing my own due diligence to know more about her.

?Well, Ann is the widow of the late Malcolm Kerr, a respected scholar and academic serving as the university’s president from 1982 until his untimely assassination in 1984. To date, Ann and Malcolm Kerr remain renowned figures in the history of the American University of Beirut.?Malcolm was a passionate advocate for higher education in the Middle East, and his tenure at AUB was marked by a commitment to fostering intellectual excellence and cultural understanding. The Kerr family’s rich ties to the university extend even further. Malcolm was born and raised in Beirut. His parents, Stanley and Elsa Kerr, also taught at AUB. His father was a professor, and his mother was the dean of women.?

Ann attended the university between 1954-1955 as a junior year abroad student from California. In an excerpt from her book,?Come with Me from Lebanon, she recounts how she came to love Beirut.?

Too exhilarated to sleep at the end of that extraordinary first day in Beirut, I sat propped up in bed under a small light writing to my parents and sister, trying to describe all that had happened that day. It was difficult to convey in words the wonder of all the new sights and sounds, and smells, the charm of my roommates, and the distinctive beauty of the AUB campus. But for me, writing was a way of sorting things out and making my family a part of these new experiences. In the past, I had always been homesick when I went away from home—to summer camp as a child and when I started college—but in Beirut, I was too captivated with all that I was doing and seeing to be homesick.

At AUB, she met Malcolm Kerr, who was studying for a master’s degree. Malcolm and Ann went on to marry and had four children, three of who were born at AUB Hospital.?

On the morning of January 18, 1984, Dr. Malcolm Kerr, the president of the American University of Beirut (AUB), walked through a hallway towards his office on the sprawling campus in Lebanon's capital. The country had been engulfed in a nine-year civil war, adding to the already tense atmosphere. Suddenly, two armed men materialized, launching a swift and deadly attack on the 52-year-old Kerr. Struck twice in the back of his head, he tragically lost his life instantaneously. The killers vanished into anonymity, leaving their identities forever undisclosed.

Shortly after the assassination, the Islamic Jihad Organization (IJO), a Shiite militia supported by Iran, claimed responsibility for the brutal act. They justified their actions by pointing to the presence of US military forces in Lebanon. These troops were part of a multinational peacekeeping force established in 1982 during a ceasefire mediated by the United States between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel.

Ann and Malcolm had met while studying at AUB in the 1950s, where he pursued a master's degree in Arabic studies, and she was on a study trip from Occidental College in Los Angeles. AUB held a special significance for them, representing the epitome of what the United States could offer.

Malcolm Kerr, an American citizen born and raised in Lebanon, received his education in the US. With his parents being former professors at AUB, the university held a deep personal connection for him. He frequently returned to Lebanon, engaging in further studies and teaching assignments at AUB. As an authority on the Middle East and the Arab world, he was honored with the prestigious position of AUB's president in 1982.

Malcolm Kerr's tragic assassination shook the world, especially as it indicated another potential attack against the United States in Lebanon. The incident garnered a response from the then-president of the United States, Ronald Reagan, who condemned the act of terrorism and stressed the importance of not succumbing to its influence.

Reagan stated, "Dr. Kerr’s untimely and tragic assassination at the hands of these despicable assassins must strengthen our resolve not to give in to the acts of terrorists. Terrorism must not be allowed to take control of the lives, actions, or future of ourselves and our friends.

Malcolm Kerr’s ashes were buried at AUB under a tree, where his family placed a memorial. It reads: “In memory of Malcolm H. Kerr, 1931-1984.” “He lived life abundantly.”

Despite her late husband’s tragic assassination, Ann’s ties to Lebanon and AUB have remained strong, serving as a trustee since 1984. Ann went on to teach English at the American University in Cairo before relocating back to her home in California in 1989. Ann continues to teach an undergraduate course at UCLA on international cross-cultural understanding.?

In 2017, she was instrumental in establishing the Kerr Family UCLA scholarship fund for Middle Eastern students, honoring three generations of the Kerr family.?

Steve Kerr is the third of four children born to Ann and Malcolm Kerr and the Coach of the Golden State Warriors. Born in Beirut, he was 18 years old when he received a phone call from the then-AUB vice president informing him of his father’s assassination. At the time, Steve was a freshman playing NCAA basketball at the University of Arizona. He was drafted into the NBA in 1988 and won three championships with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. In an interview with Arab News, Steve attributed his success as a coach to his father.?

“I just think my dad was a very humble person. He was a brilliant man. He was brilliant in his knowledge of his field, but also in his social awareness and emotional intelligence. He had a lot of patience, and I think he understood how to have conversations with people from every background and every different point of view” he said … “I learned from that. I learned how important it is to be humble and to listen,” he added.?

Steve’s formative years in the Middle East also helped to define his career.?

“I think my whole life events and my childhood learning from my parents have prepared me to become a coach and to become a public figure. I was very fortunate.”?

Steve praised his mother, Ann as a woman of resilience.

“I give my mom amazing credit for how strong she has been, continuing to live her life in a really productive and positive manner.”

As the Kerr family's strong ties to Lebanon live on through resilience as does the American University of Beirut. Lebanon’s beacon of hope for the future shines even brighter, leaping 26 places from last year’s world ranking for top universities. AUB is now ranked 226 globally, 5th?in the Arab region, and number 1 in Lebanon.?

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