Charles W. Hostler Student Center opens its facilities to fitness enthusiasts

Named after former ambassador and AUB alumnus Charles W. Hostler following his $11.7m gift, the 93,000-square-foot center includes health and fitness rooms, an indoor 25-meter long swimming pool to be available for use in the near future, a multi-use gymnasium, three basketball courts, indoor volleyball and handball courts, two squash courts, student activity rooms, a refurbished track and Green Field, a 280-seat auditorium, a cafe, and an internet room.

All these facilities are housed in a modern architectural design that overlooks the Mediterranean and employs an environmentally-friendly, energy-efficient system for cooling, heating, and lighting. Solar panels installed at the site heat the indoor pool and a green plant cover filled with landscaped vegetation maintains the coolness of the entire area during hot summer days.

The AUB Beach is also part of the Hostler sports complex.

"The Charles W. Hostler Student Center encourage continued participation in a healthy lifestyle throughout a student's life through a blend of competition, activities, and health education,"

said Dean of Student Affairs Maroun Kisirwani.

Dean Kisirwani also believes that "the Hostler Center will ensure that the University remains ahead of its regional competitors," by offering a pleasant space for students to gather and practice their hobbies and activities.

The Center's compound, whose groundbreaking ceremony took place on April 5, 2004, is entirely smoke-free and was designed by Vincent James Associates Architects, which won an AUB-run international design competition for the center in 2002.

As for Charles W. Hostler, he was an AUB graduate student [1953-1955] of international relations. After living in Lebanon for a total of nine years between 1953 and 1967, he had always dreamt of building a student center for the University.

A self-made man who struggled during the Great Depression of the 1930s, Hostler sold newspapers at the age of 13 while still in school. He served as a colonel in the US Air Force during World War II and then worked as a diplomat and businessman before he finally built up a wealth that turned him into a philanthropist constantly active in non-profit organizations and civic and educational causes.