The Lebanese Civil War (1975–1990), which often severely disrupted all life in Beirut, also interrupted the Kerr family's yearly travels.[citation needed] Accordingly, in 1976–1977, Kerr was again in Egypt, serving as 'visiting distinguished professor' at the American University in Cairo.[citation needed] Eventually, he marshalled a Ford Foundation grant to fund a joint project of the Von Grunebaum Center at UCLA (which he then headed) and the Strategic Studies of the Al-Ahram Foundation in Egypt. He returned to Cairo in 1979, where he edited the results of this joint Egyptian-American academic effort, the book Rich and Poor States in the Middle East.[citation needed]