Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute is delighted to announce its first endowment to the University of California, Irvine (UCI) for the establishment −with additional funding from the UC Regents’ Presidential Matching Chairs Fund− of a new Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Presidential Chair in Art History and Archaeology of Ancient Iran at the School of Humanities.
The new Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Presidential Chair in Art History and Archaeology of Ancient Iran will have expertise in the three dynasties of the ancient Persian world: Achaemenid, Arsacid and Sasanian (550 BCE-650 CE). The new Chair will enhance the robust study of the ancient world pursued by a number of departments in the School of Humanities, including History, Classics, and Persian and Iranian Studies. In addition to teaching, the new scholar will conduct extensive research, author publications, and hold or participate in scholarly conferences and related events.
The new faculty member will report to both the Dean of School of Humanities and the Chair of the Department of Art History, and will collaborate with the UCI Samuel M. Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture. Founded in 2009, the UCI Jordan Center is a hub for interdisciplinary research projects that bridge the arts, humanities, engineering, medicine, and the sciences with Persian studies. Students can minor in Persian Studies and take courses in both ancient and modern Iran.
Recruitment for the inaugural chair holder is planned for the coming 2017-2018 academic year. Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute is proud to partner with UCI, relying on its excellence in academic strength and knowing that this endowment will benefit generations of faculty and students pursuing Persian and Iranian Studies.