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NORMAN – A $1 million gift from an Iranian family with strong University of Oklahoma ties will establish the Farzaneh Family Chair in Iranian Studies, OU President David L. Boren announced today at the OU Board of Regents meeting in Norman. The new endowed faculty position will focus on the culture and history of modern Iran. 

Brothers Jalal and Mohammad Farzaneh, founders of the Oklahoma-based company Home Creations and members of OU’s International Programs Board of Visitors, helped make the endowed chair possible. The brothers came to Oklahoma from Iran in 1978 to study at the University of Oklahoma, with both earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees in architecture from OU.
The endowed chair honors three generations of the Farzaneh family, including Jalal and Mohammad’s parents, Jafar and Shoakoh Javadian-Farzaneh, and continuing with the third generation of Farzanehs, many of whom have OU degrees.
“The University is grateful for the extraordinary commitment and generosity of the Farzaneh family,” said Boren.  “The Farzaneh Family Chairholder will strengthen our School of International and Area Studies, and I believe that, together, we will build understanding that contributes to a better world for us all.  It will deepen our course offerings in Middle Eastern Studies with particular focus on Iran.”
“We are proud of our Iranian heritage and our American story,” Jalal Farzaneh said on behalf of the Farzaneh Family. “... >>>