Zurayk, Constantine Kaisar (1909-2000), was an Arab scholar and diplomat. His academic career began at the American University of Beirut, where he gained his degree at the early age of 19. After completing postgraduate studies in the United States, he returned to the American University of Beirut, where he later became acting president. He combined his academic work with many other responsibilities, including representing Syria in the United States from 1945 to 1947 and at the United Nations in 1946 and 1947. From 1965 to 1970, Zurayk served as president of the International Association of Universities, a Paris-based organization that promotes international cooperation among universities and other institutions of higher education. From 1965 to 1984, he served as chairman of the Institute for Palestine Studies, a nonprofit research organization funded chiefly by Arab countries that collects and distributes information on the Palestinian situation. Zurayk was born in Damascus, Syria, and died on Aug. 12, 2000, in Beirut, Lebanon.
