Beirut, 10 September 2026– Father Joseph Mukarzel o.l.m, Rector of the Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK), was elected President of the Regional Conference of Rectors (C2R) of the member institutions of the Middle East AUF for a two-year term, covering the period 2027-2028.
His election took place following a show of hands vote at the General Elective Conference of the C2R Middle East, held online Wednesday, September 9, 2026, in the presence of Father François Boëdec s.j., outgoing President of the C2R Middle East and Rector of the Saint Joseph University of Beirut of the rectors of the institutions members of the Conference, and Jean-Noël Baléo, Regional Director of the AUF Middle East.
Father Mukarzel thus succeeds the Rector of the Saint Joseph University of Beirut. Its election is a continuation of the momentum initiated by the C2R to strengthen cooperation between the higher education institutions members of the AUF in the region, to encourage the sharing of experiences and to contribute to the development of joint projects serving the scientific Francophonie.
A journey to higher education, culture and heritage
Since July 2025, Moukarzel has held a doctorate in history from the Université Paris-Sorbonne (Paris IV). Professor-Researcher at the USEK since 2001, he has held several academic and institutional responsibilities, including head of the Library, University Museum and Phoenix Centre for Lebanese Studies.
His work includes the history of Lebanon and the Middle East, manuscript heritage, Syriac studies and Islamic-Christian relations. He has participated in numerous research projects, supervised theses, supervised academic work and sat on juries at several universities abroad. He has also collaborated on a number of international initiatives, including the study and valuation of Oriental manuscripts.
He is also a foreign researcher with the Centre national de la recherche scientifique (CNRS) in France.
About the C2R Middle East
Each AUF Regional Directorate consists of a Regional Conference of Rectors (C2R), an exchange and consultation body whose role is to bring together the first leaders of the AUF member institutions in order to contribute to the development of the scientific Francophonie.
C2R is a regional forum with the AUF Middle East, dedicated to the reflection on strategic issues in the field of higher education, and provides a space for confrontation and dissemination of ideas and solutions. It also has an operational role, with a series of activities led by its various thematic commissions:Research; Internationalization; Quality assurance and accreditation; Mediation and conflict management.
The C2R Middle East brings together 53 Rectors, Presidents of Universities and Directors of University Institutions of the Middle East, members of the AUF, in 13 countries of the region.
