Interim Vice Chancellor and Provost Liz Liddy announced today that she has appointed Mehrzad Boroujerdi, professor and chair of political science in the Maxwell School, to serve as a Provost’s Faculty Fellow with a focus on strengthening internationalization.
Mehrzad Boroujerdi
It is the second appointment of a faculty member to the newly created role of Provost’s Faculty Fellow. Last week, Shiu-Kai Chin, professor of electrical engineering and computer science, was named Faculty Fellow charged with guiding the implementation of the university’s academic strategic plan.
Boroujerdi, who serves on the Strategic Plan Steering Committee and co-chairs its Enhancing Internationalization Working Group, says he looks forward to the opportunity to focus on an area that he feels is critically important to the university’s academic mission.
“The major finding of our Enhancing Internationalization Working Group was that there is a robust roster of international activities and expertise at Syracuse and that we are now staged to develop a coherent globalization vision and strategy,” he says. “As the Provost’s Faculty Fellow in the area of internationalization, I look forward to helping the university’s leadership to articulate and implement such a vision. I have a passion for international activities and look forward to working with Provost Liddy to enhance the university’s international profile.”
Liddy says Boroujerdi brings outstanding qualifications to the role. “I am delighted that Mehrzad has agreed to serve in this capacity,” she says. “He not only has extensive expertise in the area of internationalization, but also a deep belief in the importance of global experience to the academic enterprise. I know he will be a tremendous asset in assuring that our students have the skills and knowledge they need to succeed in today’s global society.”
In addition to teaching, Boroujerdi served as the founding director of the university’s Middle Eastern Studies Program. He also is a past president and current member of the executive committee of the International Society for Iranian Studies.
The Provost’s Faculty Fellow positions were created with the goal of expanding channels of communication and opportunities for collaboration among the Provost’s Office, university leaders and the faculty. They are one-year appointments, renewable annually by mutual consent, and each fellow will have a designated focus area. During their appointment, they are charged with assessing needs and interests in those areas, developing opportunities and communicating with the campus community about those opportunities.
Additional appointments will be announced in the coming weeks.
