I’m so pleased to welcome scholars, students and our community partners to the Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali Institute of Iranian Studies, named after Dr. Elahé Omidyar Mir-Djalali, a renowned philanthropist, scholar and founder of the Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute. This is a tremendous development for the University of Toronto. The Institute will foster collaborative, transdisciplinary research by faculty and students working on all aspects of Iranian history, including literature, religion, languages, arts and more.
We also aim to be a beacon for global research efforts, and establish the University of Toronto as a leader in bringing together scholarship and community. We aim to connect researchers across this important discipline and foster conversation throughout the Iranian community.
We are grateful for the endowment made by the Roshan Cultural Heritage Institute. Their support will help establish the University of Toronto as an unrivalled site of scholarly excellence and transdisciplinary dialogue on Iran. This generosity combined with the critical support provided by the University of Toronto will help us build our vision of establishing the Institute within Canada.
I invite everyone to connect with us by attending our events, exploring our curated list of Iranian course offerings across the University, and by sharing your research interests. Help us build this network together.