It was a rare sight at the Aligarh Muslim University Alumni Association reunion. The beautiful Urdu poetry presented by all the speakers from the podium which always is a highlight of these events was missing. Why? Because lo and behold! The guest of honor, Dr. Abdul Aziz, the current Vice Chancellor of the University does not understand Urdu. 

In a radical move, for the first time ever the Vice Chancellor for AMU is a South Indian.  When one listens to Dr. Abdul Aziz speak, one can understand why this bold move was undertaken. One felt secure that this great University created by Sir Syed Ahmad Khan which had for years been plagued with politics with disastrous consequences was once again ready to rise to great heights.

The event was held on August 15th at the Doubletree Hotel in Westboro. Being independence day it appropriately opened with the singing of the Indian National Anthem.  The event began with the recognition of the signing of a MOU (memorandum of understanding) between Aligarh Muslim University and the University of Massachusetts, Lowell, MA  for faculty and student exchanges. Dr. Krishna Vedula, Dean of Engineering, gave a presentation on the value of the MOU for both universities.

The highlight of the evening was the inspirational talk by Dr. Abdul Aziz. He opened his talk describing the history of the university and the trials and tribulations that it had undergone during the recent years. He described the original vision of the University which was focused on academic excellence, a goal which was lost sight of in the past few years. “My first task was to bring the focus back to education.  I was able to move out the illegal residents from the campus.  I have tried to bring accountability to both teachers and students and I am proud to say that now we are doing quite well. Morale is high. There is excitement amongst the professors. I feel we are on the mend now,” said Dr. Aziz

“My goal to come to America is simple. I want to study how the Universities here function and I would like to take ideas back to AMU and implement what I can. I would like to establish relationships with universities so as to facilitate exchange of ideas and collaboration in research,” said Aziz. Aziz also emphasized that his focus at AMU to make it an inclusive place where diversity is celebrated. 

He made a plea to Alumni for their support. “AMU senior boys are famous for taking care of their juniors. It is a culture that has been built over time where seniors would even provide financial support to their juniors.  I am so impressed to see this feeling exist even now among the Alumni.  To do many of the changes at AMU we need funds and support from the Alumni. I thank Ali Rizvi and other alumni in the Boston area who have worked so hard to make my trip a success and I look forward to further support,” said Aziz.

Listening to Dr. Abdul Aziz, Vice Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University one felt a sense of pride and inspiration that in the recent times had been reserved for his namesake President Abdul Kalam. The Alumni gathered at the event were inspired by his speech and were hopeful that he will be successful in his mission of returning AMU to great heights.

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