Salim DACCACHE, SJ

Rector of USJ
President of Fondation USJ
Chairman of the HDF Board of Directors

Salim Daccache, SJ has served as Rector of USJ since 2012. He holds a PhD in Educational Sciences from the University of Strasbourg (2010) and a PhD in Philosophy and Literature from Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne (1988).

Throughout his career, he has held several academic and administrative positions, including Dean of the Faculty of Religious Studies (2008-2012), Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies (2010-2012), and Rector of Collège Notre-Dame de Jamhour (1991-2008). He also served as a member of the Board of Directors of the Agence Universitaire de la Francophonie (AUF) and as Vice-Chairman of its Board (2017-2021).

He currently chairs the Regional Conference of Rectors (C2R) of the Middle East, the Universities Association of Lebanon, and the Board of Directors of HDF. Additionally, he is a member of the Board of Directors of the International Association of Universities (IAU) and serves as Editor-in-Chief of Al-Machreq.

A prolific author, he has published over 200 articles and books on education, philosophy, and interreligious dialogue. His contributions have earned him numerous honors, including the rank of Officer of the Order of Academic Palms (2007), the Order of Merit of the French Republic (2015), the rank of Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honor (2021), and the Peter Canisius Medal from the International Association of Jesuit Universities (IAJU) (2022), in recognition of his exceptional dedication to education and its advancement on intellectual, cultural, social, and spiritual levels.