November 18, 2016
Hundreds of people came together Sunday at a memorial service in Virginia to celebrate the legacy of Professor Ruhollah K. Ramazani, known as the dean of Iranian foreign policy studies at the University of Virginia.
Ramazani passed away October 5 after working for more than six decades to make an impact in the United States.
“The fact“is that he had a tremendous amount of courage to immigrate to America in 1952 and was very determined and that he worked very hard and had a wonderful career and a full family life,” his son,David Rama-zani, told the crowd.
After earning his degree from the University of Virginia School Of Law, Ramazani went on to teach at the university for 45 years.
“I think, among other things, he really helped, he was here such a long time at the university, he had such love and devotion for the university, he really helped to change it along with many others from a local, kind of regional institution to a global and international one,” Jahan Ramazani,”another son, said.
Those close to Ramazani say his life was more than being an adviser to presidents, to the Departments of State, Defense, and Treasury and the secretary general of the United Nations. They say his greatest contributions were to his family.
“He was the most fantastic grandfather any father could ever have wished for. He was enormously generous to my kids and all of his grandchildren,” Jahan said.
In addition to his wife, children, and grandchildren, Ramazani also leaves behind more than 100 articles and more than 15 books he wrote as part of his legacy.