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Reza Saadein

Nineteen years ago, I chose to join Oxford College over several offers from different respected universities. I was primarily interested in Oxford because of its dual nature that is not found in any other academic institution in the nation. I thought this was an ideal fit for what I have always desired: to place teaching at the center of my professional activities, yet to also be able to pursue my scholarly interests as a faculty member of a major research university. As I started my career here, I found myself among a group of scholar teachers whose main goal was to provide the best education for their students as opposed to constantly worrying about grant proposals and professional survival. I was also quite surprised by the generosity and cooperation of colleagues on the Atlanta campus in making their research equipment available, and welcoming collaborative scholarly activities with us. My only hesitation was that, being from a different cultural background, I might become subject to discrimination and prejudice, whether directly or indirectly. But, on the contrary, I was embraced and integrated among the faculty and the entire community to the point that I felt absolutely comfortable sharing my cultural and religious views in several lectures and discussion groups. In a conversation I had a few days ago, one of my students said, “People don’t look forward to going to work; they usually get stressed, frustrated and tired.” In response, I said that in the last eighteen years, I never felt as if I “went to work.” Indeed, it’s been such a pleasure to teach and be a member of this educational community and I’ve enjoyed every day of my career here.