September 01, 2017
The University of California at Irvine has received a $1.5 million grant from Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute to establish the Elahe Omidyar Mir-Djalali Presidential Chair in Art History & Archaeology of Ancient Iran.
“We are incredibly grateful to Dr. Mir-Djalali and Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute for this important endowed chair position,” said Georges Van Den Abbeele, dean of the School of Humanities. “With this support, UCI is poised to attract scholars and students from around the world who seek a diverse range of scholarly opportunities in both ancient and modern Iranian and Persian studies.”
Elahe Omidyar Mir-Djalali is the founder, chair and president of Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute, a private foundation that supports cultural and educational activities and helps nurture a new generation of educators to preserve the transmission and instruction of Persian language and culture.
Founded in 2000, the foundation has awarded millions of dollars in grants for the strengthening or establishment of academic Persian programs at universities in the United States and around the world.
“We are delighted to endow a new chair specializing in ancient Iran at the UCI School of Humanities,” Mir-Djalali said. “Persian culture and history stretches back 3,500 years. Understanding and appreciating this rich and influential heritage is essential to developing more effective communication in today’s sometimes antagonistic relationships.”
The chair will teach and conduct extensive research on any or all of the three dynasties of the ancient Persian world: Achaemenid, Parthian and Sassanian (550 BCE to 650 CE).
UCI’s Samuel M. Jordan Center for Persian Studies & Culture was founded in 2009.
“The Elahe Omidyar Mir-Djalali Presidential Chair in Art History & Archaeology of Ancient Iran will position the Jordan Center as a national leader in both modern and ancient Iran and secure our footing for continued excellence in Persian and Iranian studies,” said history professor Touraj Daryaee, center director and Maseeh Chair in Persian Studies & Culture.
Founded in 1965, UCI has more than 30,000 students and offers 192 degree programs. It is Orange County’s second-largest employer.