Independent woman: Saad recalls road from Egypt to BU

She has been described by her colleagues as “a whirlwind of excitement and enthusiasm,” “a loved woman here at the University,” “the czar of students” and “Leila the irreplaceable.”

And with her retirement to come in just over a month, Leila Saad, assistant dean of Academic Support Programs, told of her odyssey of experiences yesterday in Marsh Chapel at a Food for Thought lecture titled, “Roots to Wings and Back: My Journey in America and at BU.”

Originally from Egypt, Saad came to the United States in February of 1966 to complete graduate work at the University of Southern California, leaving behind a 6-year-old son, as well as her ex-husband and the rest of her family.

“I had no funds except for my scholarship and some change,” she said, describing the culture shock she faced as a young Egyptian female alone in the United States.

“I lived right next to Watts,” a site notorious for riots at that time. “I grew up in a colorblind society. I didn’t understand riots or what people were angry about.” She adopted the mantra, “I will survive,” as she dealt with the experience of living in a completely different environment than she was accustomed to.

However, living in such a place inspired her to undertake the mission of working toward diversity at USC, she said. “The most amazing human gift is called adapting and being flexible. The expectation was for me to show up in an ‘I Dream of Jeannie’ outfit. I decided to adjust.”

Saad then went to Portland, Ore., to further her graduate work and her adaptation to American culture. “I wanted to know about Vietnam, Kurt Vonnegut, Stanley Kubrick, the Beatles.”

When her son became a teenager, he came to the United States to live with her. However, Saad said it was strenuous to raise a teen in this country at the time and sent him instead to a British boarding school.

In 1977, Saad was offered a position at Boston University in CELOP, the Center for English Language and Orientation Programs. Taking the invitation, she came to BU in the summer of 1978, and was brought on full-time in 1979.

Since then Saad has worked in a number of positions within the University in addition to acting in experimental theater groups. She worked in the Office of the Registrar before registration was possible on the Internet or over the telephone.

“Registration was cubbyholes and long lines at the George Sherman Union,” she said. If a student wanted to pick a class and there were no more slips in a particular cubbyhole, the class was closed and the student would have to choose otherwise.

Saad also worked for the Office of Student Employment and as an Academic Advisor at the College of Communication. She served as the Director of Freshman Services and Student Services and also helped start the University Resource Center.

“BU became my life: it was the blood, sweat and tears,” Saad said. While working here, she said she has developed the “ability to have faith to take whatever life handed out,” and the “freedom to make choices.”

Saad consistently assesses her own performance, keeping in mind statements her father made to her years ago. “Relish every aspect of every day, take risks; to play it safe is to play it dead,” he told her, also saying, “Freedom is not doing as I please, but as I choose.”

Saad said it is time to “exit gracefully,” noting she needs to care for her aging mother in addition to her desire to be with her family and friends back home.

“I’m ready to take back all that I learned and go back to my roots,” Saad said. “It’s time to go back and share the wealth I have accumulated”

In her retirement, though, Saad expects she will miss her students above everything else.

“I’m very passionate about what I do and what I teach,” she said. “Young people kept me here. [It’s great to] watch students for four years. It’s amazing, like watching the flowers in springtime; little bud to full blossoming.”