Originally from Bsous, Lebanon, Dr. Maksoud N. Feghali (1949-1999) was born and raised in the town of Hazmieh, a suburb of Beirut. In 1974, he emigrated to the United States, eventually earning his PhD from Michigan's Wayne State University. Starting in 1982, Dr. Feghali taught Arabic at the Defense Language Institute in California and co-authored the Arabic Basic Course, as well as co-developed the Defense Language Proficiency Test. In 1989, he joined Appalachian State University, a member institution of the University of North Carolina, as Professor of French and Director of the French Exchange Program. Dr. Feghali lectured extensively on Lebanon, France, the Middle East, Francophone culture and literature, English as a second language, and foreign language acquisition.