President Richard L. McCormick
Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
Old Queens College Ave. Campus
83 Somerset Street
New Brunswick, NJ 08901
Phone: 732-932-7454
Fax: 732-932-8060
Email Address: president@rutgers.edu

Dear President McCormick:

We have recently learned that Professor Amir Djabini's contract will be terminated at the Center for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES) apparently due to the lack of funds. We as the representatives and active members of Rutgers community, parents of Rutgers' students, alumni, donors, and students are very concerned to hear this especially at the time that a grant from the D.O.E has been received by the University for the Iranian Studies.

We are kindly requesting your direct intervention in this important matter to renew Dr. Djabinis contract so he can continue his outstanding research and teaching activities at Rutgers.Dr. Amir Djabini has been a great asset to Rutgers. He is a very knowledgeable and resourceful professor at CMES, an evidence of which is the testimony of his students. Most of us have known him for a long time and have witnessed his full dedication in research, teaching, public events and outreach at CMES, advancing knowledge of students about the Middle East. Furthermore, Professor Djabini is highly respected and influential in our community and has led various fundraising efforts and organized different events on behalf of Rutgers and CMES. Also, he has been very instrumental in bringing funds from individuals as well as organizations. We are aware that he has spent a significant amount of time and effort to initiate and write the original grant proposal to the U.S. Department of Ed. (Title VI), something never attempted before in CMES. His efforts along with other faculty members recently resulted in a two-year grant approval from the D.O.E for the Iranian Studies at Rutgers.

We look forward to hearing from you on what steps will be taken to keep professor Djabini at Rutgers.