With the goal of harnessing the untapped potential of Iranian-Americans, and to build the capacity of the Iranian diaspora in effecting positive change in the U.S. and around the world, the Iranian Americans’ Contributions Project (IACP) has launched a series of interviews that explore the personal and professional backgrounds of prominent Iranian-Americans who have made seminal contributions to their fields of endeavour. We examine lives and journeys that have led to significant achievements in the worlds of science, technology, finance, medicine, law, the arts and numerous other endeavors. Our latest interviewee is Ali Malekzadeh.
Ali Malekzadeh, the sixth president of Roosevelt University, is an expert in strategic management, an accomplished fundraiser, and a visionary academic leader who has been a business dean at private and public universities for 17 years. He currently serves as the president of Roosevelt University in Chicago, Illinois, and has done so since 2015.
Before Roosevelt University, Malekzadeh served as the Edgerley Family Dean of the College of Business Administration at Kansas State University, where he increased annual fundraising from an average of $2 million to more than $40 million in 2014, and also led the business college in raising the $60 million needed for a new advanced business education building. He helped start an executive mentoring program that has served hundreds of undergraduate students, and launched a professional development program through which thousands of students participated in events led by more than 130 companies in 2014.
Prior to becoming dean at Kansas State in 2011, Malekzadeh spent a combined 13 years as the dean of the business schools at Xavier University in Cincinnati and St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, Minnesota. At St. Cloud State, Malekzadeh also served for one year as interim vice president for academic affairs. He received the Outstanding Administrator Award that is given to only one administrator among those in the 32-campus system of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities.
He previously held key administrative positions at Arizona State University West in Phoenix, and taught strategic management at Northeastern University in Boston. He earned a bachelor of management and a Master’s of business administration from the University of Denver. In 1982, he earned his doctorate in business administration with an emphasis on strategic management from the University of Utah.
In 2015, Malekzadeh was honored, along with dozens of other US citizens, by the Carnegie Corporation of New York, with the title “Immigrants: The Pride of America.”Malekzadeh and his wife, Dr. Afsaneh Nahavandi, Professor of Leadership Studies at the University of San Diego, have co-authored two books, Organizational Behavior: The Person-Organization Fit and Organizational Culture in the Management of Mergers.
Tell us where you grew up and walk us through your background. How did you decide to study business?
I grew up in Tehran, in a professional family, where my father was an attorney and my mother was an entrepreneur who had her own business. I completed high school at Andisheh, and then in 1973 came to the United States to study business at the University of Denver, in Colorado. Five years later, after completing my undergraduate degree and an MBA, I went to the University of Utah for my doctorate in business. That is when the Iranian revolution happened, and my wife and I could not go back to Iran. We decided to stay in the United States, and become professors. Fast forward a few decades, and in 2015, I was appointed as the president of Roosevelt University.
What has been your personal key to success? What were the biggest inspirations for your career?
I have had wonderful role models in my life: my parents and my wife. My father, recently deceased, was known in his law career as a person of integrity, and who espoused moderation in all he did. My mother, still working as hard as ever, is relentless in pursuing goals and keeping the family together. And, my wife, Dr. Afsaneh Nahavandi, a renowned professor of leadership studies, makes sure that I practice what I preach.
What do you consider your biggest accomplishments at Xavier University, Kansas State University, and St. Cloud State University?
I was the dean of the Business colleges in those three universities. There are two accomplishments that made me proud of our team in all of the colleges: One, finding an executive mentor for each of our students so that they would have a role model for success in their business careers. For example, at Kansas State University, we had 560 executives mentoring our students. And two, raising millions of dollars from the alumni so that our students, faculty, and staff could have state-of-the-art facilities and programs that allowed everyone to succeed.
What would you like to focus on during your time as president of Roosevelt University? What is the strategic focus of the school now, and how has that evolved over time?
Holding the presidency is not much different than being the dean of a business school, except that my responsibilities are multiplied by a factor of five. As president, I try to make sure that in every decision, the long-term success of Roosevelt University is taken into account. I try to practice moderation in my decisions, and to also bring a positive attitude to work every single day. We do have some stormy days in Chicago, but still, my first statement to the security guard at the entrance of our University is always: “Isn’t this a beautiful day?!” Working as a team of experienced administrators, we are re-shaping the University to better reflect its legacy of serving the adult population of Chicago, and continuing its social justice mission.
What do you think are some of the leadership qualities a President at Roosevelt University should have?
Professor Afsaneh Nahavandi, whom I mentioned above, translated Saadi’s 13th Century works (Golestan, Bustan, and Advice to Rulers), in a book entitled Ancient leadership wisdom Nahavandi emphasizes nine of Saadi’s principles of leadership, which are as true today as they were hundreds of years ago. I try to abide by these principles: Integrity, kindness, humility, moderation, prudence, consultation, accountability, decisiveness, and astuteness.
Can you elaborate on your vision of the centrality of education in addressing social ailments?
Education is the cornerstone of a civilized and democratic society. The more educated everyone is, the more each person engages in civic life and attempts to impact it positively. Let’s look at poverty for example. We know from research, that the most effective way to lift a nation out of poverty is to educate its women. Once women are educated, their children, boys and girls, will aspire to be educated, and soon the whole nation’s standard-of-living improves. In the United States, to take another example, we are very proud of the productivity of the agriculture sector. Some even estimate that the U.S. can bury the rest of the world six-feet deep in grains. So, how did we become so successful in agriculture? The simple answer is because of the land-grant universities, where research on crops has made us such a powerful agriculture nation. In other words, education, education, education.
How would you describe the educational philosophy of Roosevelt University?
We are deeply committed to the principles of social justice, democracy, diversity, and inclusion. In 1945, when the board of the university attempted to discriminate again the African-American and Jewish students, the faculty, students, and the administration walked out, and formed their own university. They approached Eleanor Roosevelt, whose husband, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, had just passed away, and asked for her permission to name the new university after her family. From that day on, Roosevelt University continues to admit people of all races, religions, nationalities, genders, and sexual orientations.
Your book Organizational Behavior: The Person-Organization Fit helps students to understand the "big picture" of organizational behavior with cross-cultural issues and gives students the skills they need to manage in today's global environment. Could you share with us some of your insights in this regard?
Dr. Afsaneh Nahavandi and I wrote the book a few years ago to emphasize thenecessity of a balance in organizations between the needs of the individuals working there and the goals of the organization itself. It is very hard for an individual to go against the existing culture of an organization. Bringing cultural change requires many years of hard work and persistence. In this day, the task has become even harder, since many successful businesses operate globally, and their employees need to learn to respect the culture and values of multiple nations. The more our citizens travel and learn from other cultures, the more each person will become valuable to his/her organization. Dr. Nahavandi refers to it as gaining a cultural mindset, so that you can be successful across many cultures.
What is the biggest challenge that you face in your career?
Choosing to become an educator was relatively easy for me. Universities are special places. You work with smart people all the time. You see students who enter the college mostly unsure of their abilities, and in a few years, they turn into well-educated citizens ready for their careers and independent lives. We are fortunate to have the system of community colleges and universities in the United States. You can walk into any community college, and enroll in classes.You have such a variety of universities to choose from, and can major in hundreds of different disciplines. No other country has this level of access to higher education. I do not want to do anything else in life besides working in a university.
Can you share your thoughts on your Iranian-American identity? What does it mean to you to be an Iranian-American?
Once my wife and I knew that we were unable to return to Iran under this regime, we decided to rebuild our life in the United States. Fortunately, being in universities allowed us to be among educated people who welcomed us, and many of whom were, themselves, immigrants. Any time I hear some good news about Iran, it brings back the good memories of my childhood and teenage years. Any other news is painful. I do introduce myself as being from Iran. When someone insinuates something negative about my heritage, I do ask that person, “so where is your family from originally?” Then it becomes clear that we are all immigrants in the United States, with the exception of Native Americans, and we can have a conversation as equals. I am very proud of the educational success of the Iranian-American community in the United States. Education, education, education.