The 263rd meeting of the Yazd University Council was held on Tuesday afternoon, attended by the university president, council members, and a group of faculty members. During the meeting, in addition to honoring the university's 16 research leaders, the university's key programs and priorities in the areas of education, research, student affairs, and infrastructure development were reviewed.
According to Yazd University's Public Relations Office, Dr. Seyed Heidar Mirfakhraddini, President of Yazd University, addressed the meeting by emphasizing that the university operates as a single unified organization and that its success depends on the solidarity and participation of all its members. He stated that branding the university is among its fundamental priorities, and that greater effort than before must be made to strengthen the university's standing.
He also asked faculty members to submit their suggestions and ideas for improving the university, emphasizing that, once approved, the necessary infrastructure would be provided to implement them.
Explaining the university's budget situation, the president said that developing dedicated revenue streams and creating sustainable income sources are among the university's serious plans. He also reported progress on the development of the university's research town as one of the most important future sources of sustainable revenue, and cited the expansion of international relations and the holding of virtual training courses as other avenues for revenue generation and raising the university's profile.
Dr. Mirfakhraddini stressed the readiness of all university departments for the start of the new academic year, underlining the need to pay attention to educational and welfare infrastructure, and identified the recruitment of capable faculty members interested in teaching as one of the university's top priorities.
Later in the meeting, Dr. Mohammadreza Sadeghian Shahi, Vice President for Student Affairs; Dr. Vahid Aboutalebi, Vice President for Education and Graduate Studies; and Dr. Mohammad Taghi Sadeghi, Vice President for Research and Technology, presented reports on the activities and plans within their respective areas of responsibility. Topics discussed included the implementation of a new student meal plan, planning for the registration of newly admitted students, the university's educational readiness for the start of the academic year, as well as the latest developments in research and technology.
In another part of the meeting, Dr. Zolfa Zeinalpour, Director of Research Affairs at Yazd University, explained the criteria and evaluation process used to select the university's research leaders and presented a report on the selection process. A number of the honored researchers also shared their views and suggestions on supporting research activities and elevating the status of research at the university.
At the end of the meeting, 16 research leaders of Yazd University were honored. They are: Dr. Saeed Alikhani (Faculty of Mathematical Sciences), Dr. Vahab Amiri (Department of Geology), Dr. Seyed Mohammad Mousavinejad (Faculty of Physics), Dr. Jamshid Abouei (Faculty of Electrical Engineering), Dr. Saeed Hassani (Faculty of Mining and Metallurgical Engineering), Dr. Mohammadreza Goodarzi (Faculty of Civil Engineering), Dr. Mehdi Entezam (Department of Chemical and Polymer Engineering), Dr. Mohammad Sefid (Faculty of Mechanical Engineering), Dr. Hossein Samadi (Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences), Dr. Faezeh al-Sadat Mirfakhraddini (Faculty of Economics, Management and Accounting), Dr. Mohammadreza Najjarian (Faculty of Language and Literature), Dr. Mohammad Ali Heidari (Faculty of Theology), Dr. Mohammad Kamali (Faculty of Law, Political Science and History), Dr. Iman Rousta (Department of Geography), Dr. Ali Talebi (Faculty of Natural Resources and Desert Studies), and Dr. Mohsen Rafieian (Faculty of Art and Architecture).
It is worth noting that a ceremony honoring outgoing council members and welcoming new ones was also held as part of the meeting. During the ceremony, the services of Dr. Saeed Alikhani, former Dean of the Faculty of Mathematical Sciences, and Dr. Mansour Rafieian, former Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, were recognized, while Dr. Isa Mahmoudi was introduced as the new Dean of the Faculty of Mathematical Sciences and Dr. Abbas Mazidi as the new Dean of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering. In addition, the services of Hojjat al-Islam Mohammad Hassan Tavallaei, former head of the Representative Office of the Supreme Leader at Yazd University, were commended, and Hojjat al-Islam Mohammad Mehdi Horzadeh was introduced as the new head of this office.