Holy Spirit University of Kaslik

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Holy Spirit University of Kaslik
جامعة الروح القدس – الكسليك

Motto	When the Spirit of truth comes, he will lead you to the whole truth
Type	Private
Established	1938 (1938)
President	Reverend Father Talal Hachem
Vice-president	Reverend Father Elias Hanna
Students	6253 (Fall 2020–2021)
Location	Kaslik , Lebanon
Campus	Suburban 12 acres (49,000 m2)
Website	usek.edu.lb

The Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK; Arabic: جامعة الرّوح القدس – الكسليك, Jāmiʿah al-Rūḥ al-Quddus – al-Kaslīk) is a private, non-profit, Catholic university in Jounieh, Lebanon. The university was founded in 1950 and ratified under the new Higher Education Law of 1962. USEK is the first university in Lebanon to be established by Lebanese citizens.

The university began as a one-building scholasticate founded by the Lebanese Maronite Order (OLM) in 1938 before expanding in 1950 to include new buildings leading to the current purpose-built twelve acres (49,000 m2) campus at the same site. The campus buildings for six schools and one faculty, a nursing institute, a center for learning and teaching, a center for continuing education, an infirmary, administration offices, library, amphitheater, archeological museum, sports center, bookshop, female dorms, and guest house which are arranged around a central tree-lined walkway, connected to a central plaza and green spaces.

When USEK officially became a higher education institution in 1962, it already stood out as a liberal arts university, adding a new faculty or school every 5 to 10 years to include all the major academic fields - the arts, architecture, business, engineering, humanities, and sciences. Initially, these were taught primarily in French and Arabic until the university converted to the American Credit System in 1997, and since then almost all courses are taught in English.

USEK has rankings in three major league tables for the Near/Middle East. In 2021, it was ranked 2nd best university in Lebanon according to SCImago Institutions Rankings (SIR). Also, in 2021 it was ranked 1st Green University in Lebanon for the 4th consecutive year, 3rd in the Arab World and 117th worldwide according to UI GreenMetric World University Ranking. In 2020 it ranked 30th in the Arab region according to QS Arab University Rankings and among the top 650 universities in the world according to QS World University Rankings.

With a focus on comprehensive internationalization, the university has more than 250 international partnerships worldwide and is a member of around 150 international associations specialized in different fields. USEK was the only university outside the Americas to be part of the Internationalization Laboratory of the American Council of Education in the USA.

Along with seven other universities in Lebanon, it is a member of E-TALEB, an EU co-funded professional standards framework for excellence in Lebanese universities. The current president is Father Talal Hachem, since 2019.

Fun facts about the university

Religious treasures on campus include relics of Saint Charbel placed in the foundations of the original chapel in 1948, and Our Lady of Ilige, a 10th-century icon representing the Virgin Mary, the oldest Maronite icon, is conserved in the university archeological museum.

The USEK Library is home to one of the few surviving copies of the Book of Psalms, printed in 1610 on the first-ever printing press of the Levant region. This version is written in Garshouni, a script that Turkish rulers at the time could not understand.

Gibran Khalil Gibran, undoubtedly Lebanon’s most famous literary figure, features prominently at the University, which has restored hard copies of his works. As a show of gratitude, a license has been granted to keep digitalized copies of the complete collection for research purposes.

Lebanon’s iconic Martyrs’ memorial statue, which was damaged during the civil war in Beirut, was transported to USEK a few years after the end of hostilities to be restored by the university’s Sacred Art Department and local experts. It was returned to Downtown Beirut after its restoration.