Bill Text: VA SR37 | 2022 | Regular Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: Celebrating the life of Zia Hasan Hashmi, Ph.D.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2022-03-09 - Bill text as passed Senate (SR37ER) [SR37 Detail]
Download: Virginia-2022-SR37-Enrolled.html
WHEREAS, Zia Hasan Hashmi, Ph.D., esteemed professor emeritus of international relations at Georgia Southern University and a beloved member of the Midlothian community, died on March 9, 2021; and
WHEREAS, born in Warangal, Hyderabad State, in the former British India, Zia H. Hashmi earned a bachelor's degree from Osmania University and later a master's degree and bachelor of laws degree from Aligarh Muslim University, where he served two terms as president of the student union and received the university's gold medal for Urdu elocution; and
WHEREAS, Zia H. Hashmi was briefly a member of the political science faculty of the University of Karachi before receiving a fellowship in 1964 to pursue doctoral studies in international relations at the University of South Carolina; and
WHEREAS, after completing his doctoral fellowship, Zia H. Hashmi joined the faculty of Georgia Southern University (GSU) in 1968, embarking upon an illustrious 32-year career with the institution, including 16 years as the founding director of its Center for International Studies; and
WHEREAS, during his tenure with the GSU Center for International Studies, Zia H. Hashmi organized more than 50 workshops and seminars and obtained more than $450,000 in grants to advance the center's mission, facilitating opportunities for students and faculty alike to engage with diverse global perspectives; and
WHEREAS, Zia H. Hashmi developed many productive collaborations with colleagues over the years, co-founding an interdisciplinary minor in international studies at GSU and establishing academic partnerships throughout Georgia and other states; and
WHEREAS, Zia H. Hashmi's contributions to student life at GSU also included serving often as faculty co-advisor to the university's Model United Nations program and regularly teaching courses in its Bell Honors Program; and
WHEREAS, Zia H. Hashmi notably collaborated with Dr. Harold Isaacs, professor of history at Georgia Southwestern State University, to help found the Association of Third World Studies, now the Association of Global South Studies, and to edit the association's journal, aiding in the advancement of a highly consequential and underserved area of scholarship; and
WHEREAS, Zia H. Hashmi's legacy as a professor is carried on by the hundreds of students he inspired and trained and the institutions he helped build, as his efforts to foster the study of international relations at GSU will continue to resonate for years to come; and
WHEREAS, from 2000 to 2013, Zia H. Hashmi lived in Midlothian and supported the lifelong learning goals of countless students by teaching at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at the University of Richmond; and
WHEREAS, guided through life by his faith, Zia H. Hashmi was an active member of the Islamic Center of Virginia in Bon Air and gave generously of his time by participating in chaplaincy programs that served incarcerated individuals in Central Virginia; and
WHEREAS, Zia H. Hashmi will be fondly remembered and dearly missed by his loving wife of 59 years, Tanveer; his children, Sohail, Ghazala, and Saira, and their families, including grandchildren Yasmin, Noor, Manar, Firas, and Sofia; and numerous other family members and friends; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate of Virginia hereby note with great sadness the loss of Zia Hasan Hashmi, Ph.D., a respected professor of international relations at Georgia Southern University whose dedication to education and scholarly discourse was an inspiration to all who knew him; and, be it
RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Zia Hasan Hashmi, Ph.D., as an expression of the Senate of Virginia's respect for his memory.
