The OU College of International Studies has received a significant monetary contribution towards their Iranian Studies program.
At a commemoration ceremony outside of Hester Hall on March 30, guests initially arrived for the unveiling of the statue of eleventh century poet, mathematician and scientist Omar Khayyám, but OU President David Boren announced a $4 million gift from the Farzaneh Family Foundation.
Boren recognized brothers Jalal Farzaneh and Mohammad Farzaneh for their generous donations to OU throughout the years, which include the support to establish a reception suite for the Education Abroad and International Student Services offices, an endowment fund, and a total of more than $8 million in donations.
The $4 million gift was met with rousing applause from the crowd gathered for the sculpture unveiling as Boren talked about the Farzaneh family’s history with OU.
The brothers, originally from Iran, are OU alumni who earned their bachelor's and master’s degrees in architecture. Boren said the donation may be the largest gift in OU’s history from anyone who came to OU as an international student.
The gift will support many aspects of Iranian Studies at the university, said Suzette Grillot, OU College of International Studies dean.
Grillot said the donation will create the Farzaneh Family Center for Iranian and Persian Gulf Studies and will establish scholarships for OU students studying Farsi, among other benefits.
The gift will also provide funding to purchase Persian art and books written in Farsi for the library, Grillot said.
Grillot feels the gift from the Farzaneh family will greatly benefit the College of International Studies and its students going forward.
“The impact that it has on this college is just tremendous," she said. "It’s allowing us to develop the world’s most premiere Iranian studies program. We’ll ultimately have six professors and lots of support for students, so the impact that it makes is really significant in the sense that students will have greater opportunities to learn more about that part of the world.”
Boren said at the statue unveiling he will soon make a proposal to the OU Board of Regents that the Farzaneh family be recognized by renaming the OU College of International Studies current building Farzaneh Hall.
The newly unveiled sculpture was also donated by the Farzaneh family, and was erected in commemoration of the many contributions of Khayyám.
