Neda Nobari, the benefactor who established the Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies, has committed additional funds to support student
and faculty research. In the fall of 2019, she established the Azar Hatefi Graduate Fellowship, named in honor of her mother,. Azar Hatefi. Each year, the Center selects one or two incoming SF State graduate students who will receive a fellowship of $10,000 a year to support projects and research on Iranian diaspora topics. The
graduate fellow is expected to work with Dr. Karim and other SF State faculty to develop a topic for a thesis that involves some subject of the Iranian diaspora. The fellowship is renewable for a second year.