Khaberni - Written by: Hassan Safirah
Perhaps the genuine global rankings that are bestowed upon Al-Ahliyya Amman University annually have begun to elicit admiration and respect among those acquainted with Jordanian educational and academic matters, and everyone keenly follows the emergence of any of these rankings to search through its published tables for the name of this national institution, which is often found climbing the university rankings ladder each year over the previous one until it has topped both public and private universities. This, if it indicates anything, indicates the effort and exertion invested to reach the peaks of this significant sector, whether on the local, regional, or global level.
Al-Ahliyya Amman University, which was constructively founded by the late Dr. Ahmad Muflah Al-Hourani, by God's permission, not only founded it but is also credited as the first person to establish the foundations of private university operations in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Thus, this university pioneered and was followed by many other private universities. However, the legacy of Al-Hourani the father has grown, matured, and strengthened thanks to his good successor represented by the astute economic-minded Chairman of the Board, Dr. Maher Al-Hourani, who worked and continued the series of achievements in a professional artistic manner with financial dimensions unattainable by governments or states. His studies were comprehensive, catering to the market's needs for graduates followed by the addition of specialties and colleges within the university’s walls while concurrently attracting educational expertise from university professors and recognized competencies, making graduates of Al-Ahliyya Amman highly sought after by the top companies and institutions operating across the Arab world from North to South, East to West.
The efforts of Dr. Maher Al-Hourani, who did not monopolize financial authority or own the university alone, but worked on employing material and human capabilities with utmost skill and ingenuity to serve the highest goal of bringing this legacy to the heights of glory. Therefore, the administrative staff and faculty members from the university president to the lowest employment grades worked with high institutional tempo as if it was their own, instilled in them as they are in it, and what mattered to them was both achieving and preserving capabilities without any regulatory or accountable influences. And adding to this, you find a prevailing familial spirit among these individuals, adding a distinguished social dimension to the university that you won't find anywhere else or in any other human assembly.
Al-Hourani the son, during his journey, did not look back nor was he affected by disparagement or scorn, and there is no place for words of discouragement in his dictionary as the university's train moves on a solid, stable, and well-defined track and his piercing eyes are always accurate in making decisions that benefit the public good with complete neutrality. Moreover, one of the notable secrets to Al-Hourani's success lies in not being stubborn in opinion and monopolizing it; on the contrary, he greatly regards the advice of his consultants and senior employees, drawing from their consultations a paved roadmap for the university's journey and its thriving future.
It remains to be said that this work and this tremendous development of the university and its administration will undoubtedly create among some defeated and troubled failures feelings of envy, malice, and resentment, leading them to spread rumors and lies trying in vain to stop or hinder the wheel. However, such is far from reality as the journey continues, the accomplishments grow, the rankings expand, and Al-Hourani and Al-Ahliyya Amman University will remain a pride to the Jordanian industry, liked by some and disliked by others, and as it was once said, "the sun cannot be covered with a sieve," and empty talk has no weight when work is combined with actions.
