Francis Horn Oral History

Francis Horn was a faculty member at AUC, as a “short-term” teacher from 1930-1933. Horn tells how he joined AUC, and about the arrival in and first impressions of Cairo for new faculty. He depicts the campus as an enclave within an international city, with an international student body, and discusses the university’s educational mission and the early days of coeducation at AUC. Horn recollects Extension Division lectures in Ewart Hall, prominent visitors, and other events on or around campus. Athletics, travel outings, and other student extracurricular activities are also covered, as well as the younger faculty’s close relationships with their students, who often invited them to visit their families’ homes in Egypt or elsewhere in the region. Horn describes social life for himself and other young (all male) faculty, including friendships, interactions with visitors, and marriages to the daughters of older professors. Recreational activities encompassed sports and spending time at clubs, cultural events, and travel (despite tight finances). Portraits of AUC personnel like former English professor and later diplomat William Eddy, Philadelphia Office head Herman Lum, University Physician Gilbert Ibrahim, School of Oriental Studies linguist Arthur Jeffrey, and Dean Russell Galt are provided. He also mentions political developments of note, from local anti-British riots to growing conflict in Palestine often discussed by Palestinian students. Having greatest impact on AUC was the worldwide Depression that damaged the university’s finances to the extent that, despite funds provided by Trustees like the Hills, fewer faculty were hired and some, like Horn, could not be retained. Like several of his fellow ‘short-term” teachers, Horn went on to a career in academic administration as a college president. Visits and other contacts with former students are recalled, and he tells of his family’s ongoing work in the Middle East