Message From the Dean

As our new AIS Dean, I am excited to welcome new and continuing students and faculty. By way of introduction, let me say that I know the value of education and its potential to change lives because of its impact on my own life. 

I was born in what was then a small, remote Iranian village.  During my childhood, all three hundred or so of us were illiterate and poor. When I was about eight, my family moved to the city, hoping for a better life.  Things remained difficult: my father, a laborer for a long time, was often away for weeks while my mother cared for nine children. Despite these hardships, the city provided me with an opportunity to set goals and try to attain them. From high school through college, I worked six to seven days a week doing odd jobs.  I supported myself, paid for my education, and, after leaving home, sent money to my parents. I was the first from my family and from the village to go to school, to college, and to a foreign country.

While completing my undergraduate degree in Iran, I dreamt of pursuing graduate study in the United States. As you may imagine, the culture shock, language barrier, absence of family support, immigration issues, and economic hardship made my struggle here even harder. Through it all, my resolve became stronger. I attained my goals in the early 1970s, receiving my Ph.D. and starting my academic career as an assistant professor.

Shortly thereafter, I married my wife Behrokh, a wonderful human being with an outstanding intellect. She has helped and guided our family through much turbulence in our lives. We have two daughters, Bahareh, a doctor, and Leila, a television producer and documentarian.

Having this family has enriched my career, during which I have served at four universities here and abroad as a professor and academic administrator. In my teaching and scholarship, I have focused on a range of topics all related to international law, international relations, Middle East politics, and conflict resolution.

I am here at Ramapo for the same reasons that probably brought or will bring you here. These include strong commitments to the liberal arts, integration of theory and practice, cross-cultural learning, international education, interdisciplinary study, and participatory governance.  They also include Ramapo’s commitment to diversity, academic excellence, community service, and progressive social change. These are values that I have always embraced and promoted.  With the College’s high quality faculty and academic programs, we can put these beliefs into action.

The undergraduate programs and MALS (Master of Arts in Liberal Studies) graduate program in AIS help students acquire a significant understanding of the multicultural nature of American society and the world. Here, students build a strong foundation and enhance their knowledge of American and world literature, history, languages, civilizations, and political systems and international relations.  They gain the necessary theoretical, conceptual and practical skills to achieve success in their professional and educational endeavors.  Our programs utilize the established tools of research, reflection, writing, public discourse, articulation, and critical analysis. They provide study abroad programs and internship opportunities to further enhance these underpinnings.

With this educational background, AIS graduates are prepared for employment in government, transnational corporations, mass media, inter-governmental and non-governmental organizations, the teaching profession, and consulting and public relations firms. They also attend graduate programs and law schools.

Because our schools and jobs, indeed our lives, are part of a larger global picture, AIS programs are designed to help students become knowledgeable about and interested in the many challenges facing the United States and the world at large.  These challenges range from global inequality and poverty to environmental decay, human rights violation, terrorism, and ethno-religious conflicts. We hope that our students will find ways to help combat these challenges.

As Dean, I will be working closely with my AIS colleagues as well as our colleagues in other schools and programs, students, administrators, alumni, and community members to achieve the goals set forth in the College’s mission, the Strategic Plan, and programs of AIS. We will devote ourselves to effective advising and mentoring of students, improving student retention, enhancing the intellectual climate of our campus, and developing close relations with our alumni and the local communities.

I look forward to meeting students. Please stop by my office at B225 to help me serve you.  You will find the faculty and staff of AIS equally ready to assist you in meeting your educational goals.

Hassan M. Nejad, Ph.D.
Dean, School of American and International Studies
Professor of Political Science
And International Studies

School of American and International Studies Contact Information:
Office: B213
Hours: Mon. – Fri., 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Phone: (201) 684-7406
Fax: (201) 684-7973