CIS Leads Scholars-at-Risk Program

The scholars-at-risk program is an initiative of the College of International Studies to host scholars across the University of Oklahoma campus. Earlier this year, the Farzaneh Family Center for Iranian and Persian Gulf Studies in the College of International Studies welcomed two visiting scholars from Afghanistan, our Omar Khayyam Scholars Husnia Hazara(left) and Mehri Rezaee (right). Hosting these scholars would not have been possible without the generous financial support of the Farzaneh Family, as well as the efforts of Farzaneh Family Instructor of Persian/Director of Outreach Programs Marjan Seirafi-Pour, Dean Scott Fritzen, and Center Director Joshua Landis.

Other scholars-at-risk being hosted at OU include Shabnam Khalilyar of Afghanistan, formerly a visitor with Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication and now a graduate student in our Master of International Studies program; Feroz Bashari, also from Afghanistan, who is hosted jointly by Gaylord College and Price College of Business; and Myo Win of Myanmar, who is hosted by the Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences.

“The scholars-at-risk initiative was initially proposed by our International and Area Studies faculty for one scholar,” explains CIS Dean Scott Fritzen. “It really took off and expanded several-fold when I was able to tap into great and generous co-funding by the Farzaneh family as well as co-sponsoring colleges, including our own. It has been tremendously gratifying to see the enthusiastic support that has been extended to the scholars from across our OU community, and we look forward to welcoming several more, who are in different stages in visa and refugee processing, in the coming months.”

Husnia Hazara holds a master's degree in urban planning and a bachelor's degree in urban development from Imam Khomeini International University, Iran. Before the August 2021 collapse of the government in Afghanistan, she served as dean of the faculty of basic sciences, engineering and technology at Payam Noor University (PNU) in Kabul. She also worked in quality assurance and as a professor at PNU. For fall 2022, Hazara has a full-time English class at CESL and is teaching Persian as an assistant supporting Marjan Seirafi-Pour. She also plans to conduct research on urban planning issues with John Harris in the Christopher C. Gibbs College of Architecture Regional and City Planning program.

Mehri Rezaee holds a doctorate in international law from Allameh Tabatabaei University and a master's degree in international law from Tehran University, Iran. She has taught international law and human rights at the undergraduate and graduate level for over eight years at universities in Afghanistan. During fall 2022, Rezaee is teaching Persian as an assistant with Marjan Seirafi-Pour. She will continue English courses with CESL as well, and hopes to prepare a lecture for students on the interaction of international law and Afghan law in the fight against human trafficking — the subject of her dissertation. She also plans to prepare a speech on the legal foundations of the Hazara genocide in Afghanistan.