AUCToday is a magazine produced by the Office of Marketing Communication and Public Affairs at The American University in Cairo.
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Editor’s Note: Spring 2025
We finally did it! After more than a year of lengthy meetings, heated debates and late evenings (as well as plenty of laughter), we present to you the new look of AUCToday. Inside, you’ll find cleaner layouts, bolder visuals and a more engaging cover-to-cover experience.
Our revamp isn’t merely a makeover, though. We’ve also rethought our approach to telling stories and connecting with our readers. As you flip through this issue, you’ll find new departments alongside old favorites. The last page, People of AUC, is now a fun, fixed Q&A with a community member; this spring, we spoke with award-winning car racer and business senior Wafaa Elfaramawi to find out things like what drives her, what’s on her mind and which ice cream flavor is her go-to. Fact Check consults AUC’s faculty experts to explain hot topics of debate or common misconceptions. The focus in this issue is microplastics — the teeny tiny particles causing a huge uproar.
Meanwhile, we’re still bringing you the latest in faculty research, student and alumni success stories and our beloved archival content, which, in this issue, chronicles the life of Egyptian feminist leader Doria Shafik.
Beyond the revamp excitement, this issue is quite dear to me for personal reasons. It is my last as editor-in-chief as I prepare to leave AUC and Egypt and begin a new chapter.
Everything looks different when you’re leaving. When I left Oregon to come to Cairo almost five years ago, I remember lamenting the loss of the beautiful scenery that I grew up taking for granted. Now, as I pack up my apartment and workspace, Cairo’s dust-covered skyline takes my breath away, the cry of the robabikya man early in the morning makes me smile and last-minute story assignments are overzealously accepted.
Whether it’s anticipatory nostalgia, the way the light hits the streets at dusk or knowing that my work here is done, I’ll never know. But I am sure of one thing: With the revamp, AUCToday is also ready to enter a new chapter, and I am excited to watch it continue to grow.
Once an editor, always a reader. Thanks for everything
Devon