April 26, 2022
Dr. Claudia Yaghoobi, Roshan Associate Professor and Inaugural Director of Persian studies here in DAMES, has been appointed to serve in the role of Director at the UNC Center for Middle East and Islamic Studies (CMEIS). Those of us who know her as a colleague are proud (if unsurprised!) to see her continuing and tireless endeavors for our Carolina community, especially our students, paying off!
The Center is part of the North Carolina Consortium for Middle East Studies, supporting a variety of undergraduate and graduate programs on various aspects of the Middle East and Islamic studies. CMEIS also provides event funding and small grants for faculty, guides to library resources, and maintains pages with current job postings in the field of Middle East Studies. Students can always count on CMEIS for connections to career and internship opportunities both locally and abroad. Perhaps most familiarly, CMEIS’s listserv offers a weekly comprehensive calendar of local events related to the Middle East or other parts of the Muslim world, wherein events sponsored by the Center are featured, and others at UNC, Duke, and elsewhere in the Triangle are given a space to shine.
Dr. Yaghoobi thanked her colleagues across campus for providing her the environment in which to succeed: “I owe huge gratitude to a whole tribe at UNC including my wonderful colleagues in my department and beyond, my chair, my dean, my Middle East studies colleagues, and the founders of the Center,” she said on Twitter. (The mentioned founders of CMEIS are Dr. Carl Ernst and Dr. Charles Kurzman.)
Dr. Yaghoobi went on to say, “As we say in Persian, UNC, these colleagues, have given me wings and feathers. I am ready to fly, serve, and pay it forward!”
As always, Dr. Yaghoobi, we can only wait, watch, and be amazed at everything you’re going to do! Best of luck, and again, we here in DAMES are so proud of you!