Honoring a transformative act of trust and commitment to free education
The Hague, Netherlands – September 2, 2024
The Institute for Social Sciences and Humanities (ISSH), proudly announced a landmark founding gift from Professor Nayereh Tohidi (Professor of Gender and Women’s Studies) and Professor Kazem Alamdari (Professor Emeritus of Sociology), both from California State University, Northridge.
The couple’s extraordinary $1.5 million pledge establishes the cornerstone of ISSH’s newly created Endowment for Free Education and Research, ensuring the long-term sustainability of its mission to deliver independent, high-quality, and uncensored education to learners around the world.
A Defining Moment
The announcement was made during “Shaping Tomorrow: Unveiling Our Future Initiatives”, a special session of the 3rd International Conference 2024 held at Goethe University Frankfurt.
The conference gathered over 120 speakers across 50 panels, alongside five plenaries, art exhibitions, a book fair, and historical displays—reflecting ISSH’s unique role as a nexus for critical scholarship and creative exchange.
During the ceremony, Professor Roja Fazaeli, representing ISSH’s Board of Trustees, expressed deep gratitude to Professors Tohidi and Alamdari for their enduring contributions as both educators and benefactors. In recognition, they were presented with “Butterfly”, a painting by acclaimed artist Parastou Forouhar, who shared its symbolism of freedom, resilience, and transformation.
A Vision for Sustainability
For over a decade, ISSH has provided free, academically rigorous education in the social sciences, reaching thousands of students who would otherwise be denied access to independent higher learning.
This founding gift empowers the institution to:
- Safeguard the continuity of its tuition-free graduate programs and MOOCs;
- Strengthen its research and innovation capacity, especially in digital humanities and interdisciplinary studies;
- Expand its publishing and knowledge-exchange ecosystem, including IA University Press, Agora, and AcademiX;
- Ensure institutional independence from political and market pressures.
An Invitation to Join
The Tohidi-Alamdari Founding Gift represents more than generosity—it is a statement of conviction that education must remain a public good, accessible to all regardless of geography or circumstance.
ISSH invites corporations, foundations, and individuals who share this belief to join the circle of supporters sustaining the Endowment. Every contribution—large or small—helps preserve academic freedom and extend the reach of free, critical, multilingual education.