Center Announcement: 2024-2025 Will Be Our Final Year

Dear Center Friends and Supporters:
 
Since it was established in 2017, the Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies (CIDS) at San Francisco State University has provided rich and unique opportunities to study and explore the experiences, cultures, and impact of the global Iranian diaspora. 
 
In 2019, the Center hosted an inaugural sold-out, international conference on campus that gathered speakers, scholars, students and artists from several countries and more than 48 universities that shared new research and scholarship in the field of Iranian diaspora studies. In 2023, we partnered with UCLA and Oklahoma State University to host the second international conference, “In the Global Iranian Diaspora.” Over the period of seven years, we have worked with many incredible students and interns, both from SFSU and universities from the East Coast to Australia. These interns have contributed to the Center’s success and greater vision. We have also awarded several graduate fellowships that supported students engaged with research in Iranian Diaspora Studies. We have also supported several SFSU faculty research projects as well. And, in the past seven years, we have hosted countless programs, lectures, and symposia online and in person, many of which you can access on our YouTube channel.
 
These examples of the amazing work that the Center has instigated and supported represent a significant expansion of the field. Iranian Diaspora Studies is no longer emerging, but rather, is growing. I am proud of all that the Center has contributed and accomplished. We have helped seed and establish Iranian Diaspora Studies as a crucial area of scholarship, research and teaching, and served as a pivotal resource and inspiration across our communities. I could not have done this work without our incredible staff: Nazy Kaviani (Program Assistant), Ariana Damavandi (Social Media Coordinator) and Nick Nguyen (Office Assistant). 
 
Today I write to share news that the 2024 – 2025 academic year will be the Center’s final year of formal activity. The donor funds that have allowed the Center to operate will – at the donor’s request – be redirected toward direct scholarship support for SF State students. The work we began continues apace in the many projects, students, and scholars we have supported over the years.
 
We see this concluding year of activity as an opportunity to celebrate and promote several incredible capstone projects, including the recently-completed documentary film “The Dawn is Too Far: Stories of Iranian-American Life.” This film documents the history and impact of Iranian Americans in the San Francisco Bay Area and the unique community they have built. We will also work diligently to archive the full breadth of the Center’s endeavors over its seven-year history, to ensure that this body of work continues to inform, enrich and drive scholarship across all the communities it has so enthusiastically served. To that end, we encourage you to continue engaging with the Center in its final year.
 
Thank you for all your support over the years. It’s truly made a positive impact on our campus and throughout Iranian diaspora communities far and wide.
 
With respect and gratitude, 
 
Dr. Persis Karim
Director, Center for Iranian Diaspora Studies
San Francisco State University