Obituaries

Nasrine Adibe, internationally renowned science educator, Professor Emeritus at C. W. Post Center, Long Island University, and longtime resident of Westbury, died on Sept. 22, 2006 from complications of pneumonia.

In her 21 years at C. W. Post, where she taught science education and directed the Program in Science Education, Dr. Adibe taught teachers how to bring science to life at all levels, from K-12. She emphasized hands-on learning and encouraged critical thinking skills through experiments with toys, balloons and pennies. She was dedicated to making science instruction accessible to all, especially to women. In addition, Dr. Adibe served as education consultant on Long Island and in Oman and Yemen, and she was a Fulbright scholar in Bahrain in Spring 1994.

Dr. Adibe graduated from the American University of Beirut (Lebanon) in 1940, at a time when only 40 women were enrolled at the university. Immediately after her graduation, she became the first woman to teach at the College of Pharmacy in Baghdad, Iraq. In 1950, she received a UNESCO scholarship to study at the University of Michigan and received her MA in Education in 1951. On her return to Baghdad in 1951, she introduced innovative methods of science instruction including science fairs and the use of everyday materials in science experiments. From 1954-1958, Dr. Adibe served as UNESCO Technical Assistance Expert in the newly independent Kingdom of Libya, where she designed the K-12 science curriculum that remained in use in Libya for two decades. Her program in science education was the first of its kind in the Middle East. She received her doctorate in education (Ed.D.) from Teachers College, Columbia University, in 1971. Dr. Adibe's enthusiasm for learning extended to her tireless participation in professional and alumni associations; she often lectured on the Middle East and Islam at local churches, synagogues and community organizations. She lived in Westbury from 1963 to 1997.

Dr. Adibe lived a full and exotic life. She was born in 1918 to an elite family in Istanbul, Turkey, during the last years of the Ottoman era and spent her childhood and young adulthood in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon. In 1944 Dr. Adibe married the late H.E. Abd Al-Rahman Omar Adra, Ambassador and Dean of the Lebanese Diplomatic Corps until he retired in 1975. They divorced in 1948. In 1958, she married the late Dr. Virgil Alfred Clift, Professor Emeritus, New York University, associate editor of the Encyclopedia of Black America, and member of Westbury's School Board in the mid-1960s. They divorced in 1967.

Dr. Adibe is survived by her daughter, Najwa Adra, grandson, Jihan Daniel Varisco, son-in-law, Daniel Martin Varisco, two sisters, Naziha Adibe and Nesima Adibe Batayneh, a brother, Muhsin Adib, and numerous loving cousins, nieces and nephews.

Donations in Nasrine Adibe's memory should be sent to: The Nasrine Adibe Scholarship Fund, Attn: Sujatha Vempaty, American University of Beirut, 3 Dag Hammarskjold Plaza, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10017-2303.