Faculty of Medical Sciences

Governance

LU-FMS Academic Advisory Committees - List of members 2023-2024

Academic Advisory Committees	Strategic Plan Advisory Board	Research Committee	Ethical Committee Regulations	Quality Assurance Committee	Program Evaluation Committee	Curriculum Committee	Continuing Professional Development Committee	Student Assessment Committee	Student Counselling Committee	Thesis Committee
Abbreviation	SPAB	RC	EC	QAC	PEC	CC	CPD	SAC	SCC	TC
Head	Assaad Mohanna	Pascale Salameh	Fadi Abou Mrad	Mona Al Buaini	Khalil Charafeddine	Antoine Abou Rached	Walid Alameh	Saada Alameh	Youssef Hazimeh	Wafaa Takash
Member Secretary (taking meeting minutes)	-----	-----	-----	-----	-----	-----	khalil Nasrallah	-----	-----	Joelle Azzi
Member	Alain Kortbaoui	Baqer Obeid	Jihad Alhassan	Abdallah Rahbani	Mona Al Buaini	Claude Sader Ghorra	Philippe Youness	Antoine Abou Rached	Abdallah Rahbani	Chadi Fakih
Member	Bassam Mansour	Charbel Mourad	Loubna Tarabay	Chadi Fakih	Celeine Baaklini	Elie Hadchity	Georges Yared	Elie Hadchity	Ghassan Kdouh	Charbel Mourad
Member	Doumit Semaan	Jeanine Menassa	Patricia Fadel	Hussein Mcheimeche	Claude Sader Ghorra	Fadi Abou Mrad		Jean Claude Najem	Haitham Zarzour	Toni Kachi
Member	Georges Yared	kariman Ghazal		Loubna Tarabay	Pierre Abi Hanna	Hussein Mcheimeche		khalil Nasrallah	Jihad Alhassan
Member	Hayat Hariti	Khalil Charafeddine		Pierre Abi Hanna		Jean Claude Najem		Mona Al Buaini	Khalil Charafeddine
Member	Joseph El Khalil	Nada Sbeiti		Rami Mohsen		Nawfal Nawfal		Rami Mohsen	Mona Alameh
Member	Majdi Hamadeh	Wafaa Takash		Khalil Charafeddine		Randa Choueiri		Randa Choueiri
Member	Maroun Ghabach					Walid Hreibi		Walid Hreibi
Member	Ziad Mansour
Total n	10	8	4	8	5	9	4	9	7	5
Terms of validity	-----	2 years	4 years	3 years	NA	-----	4 years	2 years	NA	2 years

LU-FMS Standing Committee TOR

LU-FMS Yearly Committee TOR

STRUCTURE AND GOVERNANCE

The LU-FMS medical school has clear governance structures and functions which conforms to the governance structures and functions of the Lebanese University:

1. Organization of the Lebanese University - Law No.75 dated 1967: http://legiliban.ul.edu.lb/LawView.aspx?opt=view&LawID=166998"
2. Law No. 66 dated 04/03/2009 - Organizing academic Councils at the Lebanese University: http://legiliban.ul.edu.lb/LawView.aspx?opt=view&LawID=246322

Generally, LU-FMS is subject to oversight by the Lebanese Ministry of Education and Higher Education, which sets the general guidelines and regulations for all higher education institutions in the country. The latter are compliant with the guidelines set by international accrediting bodies, such as the World Health Organization (WHO), the Ministry of Public Health and Physicians' Order, to ensure that the educational programs meet the highest standards of quality and effectiveness.

The Presidency of the Lebanese University worked alongside the deans, directors and a few faculty members on many projects: https://www.ul.edu.lb/lu/strategy_work.aspx

1. The Dean of the School & The Faculty Council

The leadership of the Lebanese University Medical School is entrusted to a dean and a Council.
The Dean of the Faculty of Medical Sciences takes charge of the comprehensive management and administration of the medical school.
The Dean is typically the top academic administrator and is responsible for providing overall leadership and strategic direction to the medical school. He/she is responsible for appointing the chairperson of the curriculum committee and assigning tasks related to curriculum development, promotion, and graduation. The Dean's education-related workload can be reduced by up to half.
The LU-FMS Dean is appointed for a non-renewable four-year term by the Council of Ministers, based on the proposal of the guardianship minister. The proposal is derived from a nomination list provided by the University Council, which selects three names out of five proposed by the Faculty Council. The candidates for the dean position must be professors included in the faculty's staff at the rank of professor or meet the necessary conditions. If a professor is not available, someone from another unit with a similar specialization can be chosen. In case of the dean's absence, the highest-ranking directors act on their behalf, and if a vacancy occurs, a new dean is appointed to complete the mandate based on the established procedure, refer to Law “Different provisions related to some of the regulations of the LU” - Law No.12 dated 1981: http://legiliban.ul.edu.lb/LawView.aspx?opt=view&LawID=244093

Following the Dean, there is the LU-FMS Faculty Council.

• For Faculty Council: http://medicine.ul.edu.lb/intro/council.aspx

2. Academic Teaching Staff/Department

LU-FMS has 3 academic departments:

• 1 Research Department including the newly established “Research Committee”, refer to http://medicine.ul.edu.lb/files/committeesTOR.pdf
• 1 Basic Sciences Department
• 7 Clinical Sciences Departments including: Anaesthesia and Intensive Care, Histopathology, Internal Medicine, Obstetric Gynecology, Paediatrics, Radiology, Surgery

Some of these departments include divisions. LU-FMS has 33 Clinical Sciences Divisions including:

• Under the “Histopathology” department: Anatomy, Laboratory Medicine
• Under the “Internal Medicine” department: Cardiology, Clinical Immunology, Dermatology, Endocrinology, Gastro-Enterology, Intensive Care Units, Infectious Diseases, Nephrology, Neurology, Oncology, Pulmonary, Rheumatology, Emergency Medicine, Family Medicine, Forensic Medicine, Psychiatry, Geriatric
• Under the “Surgery” department: Cardiothoracic Surgery, General Surgery, Neurosurgery, Ophthalmology, Orthopaedic, Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, Paediatric Surgery, Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Urology, Vascular Surgery
• Under the “Paediatrics” department: Intensive Care Neonatology, Neonatology, Oncology Paediatric
• Under the “Radiology” department: Interventional Radiology

The Research, Basic Sciences, and Clinical Sciences Department Chairs are responsible for the academic programs and research activities within their departments, and report to the Dean. Each academic department is responsible for developing and updating their respective curricula and degree requirements, subject to the approval and oversight of the Faculty Council and the University administration.

The academic departments at LU-FMS are headed by a chairperson. The chairperson consists of elected members from different academic ranks within the department. The establishment of departments is based on the proposal of the Faculty Council and approval of the University Council. Department chairs represent their departments in the Faculty Council and handle academic and educational affairs. They are responsible for convening department meetings, preparing reports, and ensuring the smooth functioning of the department. The term of office for the department chair is two years, renewable once. In the absence of the chair, the highest-ranking council member acts on their behalf, and if needed, new elections are held to fill vacancies. The department chair has various duties, including proposing material distribution to teaching staff, suggesting annual activity programs, and determining educational affairs. They also participate in amending curricula and programs, nominate supervisors for postgraduate studies, and coordinate teaching materials and exams. The candidate for department chair must meet specific criteria, including having sufficient teaching experience and expertise in the department's specialization. The election process for department chair involves voting by faculty and full-time professors, considering teaching quorums and specializations. Department Chairs are responsible for overseeing academic activities, faculty recruitment, and research within their departments. They also play a role in setting goals and objectives through committee participation in the educational program, refer to Law “Different provisions related to some of the regulations of the LU” - Law No.12 dated 1981: http://legiliban.ul.edu.lb/LawView.aspx?opt=view&LawID=244093

The Division Chairs are responsible for overseeing the academic activities within their respective divisions, including curriculum development, faculty recruitment, and research activities, in coordination with the Departments Chairs. The division chairs are chosen among the professors teaching the topic related to each division based on merit and qualifications.

The Faculty Members and Teaching Staff are responsible for delivering the academic programs and conducting research within their areas of expertise. Faculty members at LU-FMS include professors, associate professors, assistant professors, instructors/lecturers, and teaching assistants. They are appointed on a contractual basis and subject to periodic evaluations.

The university may collaborate with contractual academics in case of any vacant position due to retirement, death, resignation of permanent or dedicated contracted teachers, or due to a newly established position, an increase in workload, or similar reasons before the end of February.

The scientific committees, responsible for studying vacancies and needs and evaluating candidates' files, rely on the criteria defined by the system in the unit. The latter reviews the vacancy files referred by the dean (or unit head), submitting a justified report on educational needs, along with a scale of priorities, conditions, and academic specifications required in candidates, which the dean, in turn, submits to the university president to include in the announcement. The committees thoroughly examine candidates' files, accurately addressing:

• The alignment of submitted documents with the specified requirements, particularly the highest degree, in the unit's system.
• The match between the candidate's specialization and the vacant position's specifications.
• The required level of the contracting degree and attached research.
• The candidate's proficiency in the teaching language.
• The candidate's proficiency in any foreign languages taught in the unit.
• The result of the personal interview following the file review.

Assistant professors spend two years as trainees before becoming permanent state employees based on the Faculty Council's recommendation and the University Council's approval.

Program Coordinator and Program directors are other roles established within the faculty. Program Coordinator and Program Directors hold the responsibility of overseeing the diverse educational programs offered by the medical school, encompassing both undergraduate and graduate programs, as well as continuing education. They play a crucial role in providing assistance in the planning of pre-clinical, clinical and residency programs across all departments and divisions.

This includes:

• the Pre-clinical Coordinator, responsible for managing the preclinical rotation program for 5th-year students.
• the Interns Program Director overseeing clinical training.
• the Residency Program Director and Assistant to the Residency Program Director responsible for residency training.

3. Advisory committees:

Advisory committees are committees newly established at LU-FMS to advise on the development of the medical education program at the faculty. The advisory committees play a crucial role in providing expert guidance and advice to faculty members, administrators, and students on matters related to the various programs and activities of the faculty in order to ensure that the faculty can achieve its mission of providing high-quality education and research programs in the field of medical sciences. The final decision of these committees necessity approval from the dean and the faculty council.

They consist of 9 standing committees in addition to the “Research Committee (RC LU-FMS), refer to http://medicine.ul.edu.lb/files/committeesTOR.pdf

1. Strategic Plan Advisory Board (SPAB LU-FMS)
2. Ethical Committee Regulations (EC LU-FMS)
3. Quality Assurance Committee (QAC LU-FMS)
4. Program Evaluation Committee (PEC LU-FMS)
5. Student Assessment Committee (SAC LU-FMS)
6. Student Counselling Committee (SCC LU-FMS)
7. Thesis Committee (TC LU-FMS)
8. Curriculum Committee (CC LU-FMS)
9. Continuing Professional Development (CPD LU-FMS)

In addition, we have 7 additional committees that operate on a yearly or temporary basis, LU-FMS Yearly Committee TOR

1. Accreditation Steering Committee (ASC LU-FMS)
2. Student Admission Committee (SACt LU-FMS)
3. Promotion Committee (PC LU-FMS)
4. Scientific Committees (SC LU-FMS)
5. Examining Committees for exams (ECC LU-FMS)
6. Stem Cells Committee (SCCt LU-FMS)
7. International Relations Committee (IRC LU-FMS)

The principal stakeholders of these committee are the following:

1. Dean as a chairman
2. Secretary General as representative for the administrative departments
3. Faculty members nominated by the Dean or Faculty Council
4. Student representatives selected from the “Student Working Group”

In addition to the above, 10 standing advisory committees are established to define, manage and review the curriculum. The Strategic Plan Advisory Board is one of these committees that will work closely with other committees to write the strategic plan for the faculty.

Administrative and Technical Staff/Department

LU-FMS has 3 Administrative and technical staff/departments consist of:

• the General Secretariat, refer to http://medicine.ul.edu.lb/intro/administration.aspx, including:
  Administrative Department - Accounting Department - Human Resources Department - Student Affairs Department - Facility Equipment Department - IT Department
• The General Secretariat is responsible for various tasks, such as managing correspondence and notifications, maintaining records of academic staff and students, providing information on faculty matters, handling fee collections and supply needs, and carrying out administrative tasks assigned by the dean, as well as general Diwaniyah tasks.
• the library including the sports office.
• the laboratories, refer to , including:
  Biology Laboratory - Histology and Cytology Laboratory - Immunology Laboratory - Chemistry and Biochemistry Laboratory - Bacteriology Laboratory - Molecular Biology Laboratory - Physiology Laboratory - ENT Laboratory - Laparoscopy Laboratory - Gynecology Simulator Laboratory - Cardiology Simulator Laboratory - Anatomic Pathology Laboratory - Neuroscience Center Laboratory

The Administrative Staff support the overall operations of the medical school, including finance, human resources, and student services. The library and laboratories, which are vital components of the faculty of medical sciences, are responsible for the research conduct, for providing access to information resources, and for supporting teaching and learning.

Master's programs:

LU-FMS has 2 research centers, refer to http://medicine.ul.edu.lb/education/default.aspx:

1. Neuroscience Research Center
2. Medical Research Center

The Head of the Research Centers, Pr. Hayat Harati, is the responsible for the management and administration of the master programs, and report to the Dean.

Students & Student Working Group:

LU-FMS students are the main stakeholder of LU-FMS. LU-FMS strive to ensure students attain the learning outcomes of each course and program, preparing them adequately for their future careers.

LU-FMS "Student Working Group" consists of delegates selected from the Heartbeat club, chosen for their active presence within the student body, refer to http://medicine.ul.edu.lb/intro/studentGroups.aspx

Core members include those from the Heartbeat club, while additional representatives from productive student activities, such as LEMSIC and MEDICA, may also be included. This group is expected to actively contribute to decision-making and organizational processes within the faculty, with regular bi-weekly meetings scheduled with the dean to ensure their input and keep them informed about faculty updates.