Hamid Shirvani

Hamid Shirvani is a scholar of architecture and urban design and Chancellor of North Dakota University System. Shirvani was appointed this position on March 13, 2012, and officially began his term on July 1st 2012.

Shirvani has been in higher education since 1979, and since 1986 in senior executive leadership and management posts, managing budgets up to $135 million and more than 1200 people. He has also served as architecture, urban design and land planning consultant to various public agencies and private development companies; most recently, as chief design consultant for the 3,400-acre (14 km2) Orange County Great Park.

He holds a BA in Architecture from the Polytechnic of Central London, a M.Arch from Pratt Institute, a M.S. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, an M.L.A. from Harvard University and both an M.A. and Ph.D. from Princeton University.

Shirvani is currently the Chancellor of the North Dakota University System. Prior to assuming his current position, he served as President of California State University Stanislaus,Provost and Executive Vice President at Chapman University; Vice President for Graduate Studies and Research at Queens College, City University of New York; Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Massachusetts Lowell; and Dean of the College of Architecture and Planning at the University of Colorado Denver. In addition, he has served on the faculties of the State University of New York at Syracuse and the Pennsylvania State University.

Shirvani has authored three books—Design Review Process (1981), The Urban Design Process (1985), Beyond Public Architecture (1990)—as well as several dozen papers in various refereed and professional journals and several dozen papers at national and international conferences.

In addition, Shirvani served as editor and/or on the editorial board of Journal of Architectural Education (1988–94); Avant Garde (1988–94); Journal of Planning Education and Research (1987–93); Urban Design and Presentation Quarterly (1987–89); Journal of the American Planning Association (1983–85); UD Review (1982–87); and Art and Architecture (1974–78). In October 2004, he was awarded the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem and was invested as a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre. He was invested as a Knight in the Sovereign Military Order of Malta in 2009. Sir Hamid Shirvani is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Fellow of the World Academy of Art and Science, Recipient of Special Commendation by the American Institute of Architects (2003) for his contributions in the fields of architecture and urban design, Recipient of the Seikyo Culture Award of Japan (1999) and is listed in the Who’s Who in the World. Sir Hamid Shirvani has lectured at 27 international and 48 U.S. universities, several dozen public and private agencies, and professional societies. He is also the recipient of grants from National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, United States Department of Education, DeWitt Wallace – Reader’s Digest Fund and Temple Hoyne Buell Foundation. For his distinguished service and significant scholarly and academic achievements, Soka University (Japan) bestowed upon him the Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters in 2003. In 2007 and again in 2009, the statewide student government body of the 23-campus California State University system recognized Shirvani as “President of the Year.”

Shirvani has served on the Board of Directors of Competition Inc., the United Way, ICMT, Inc., the American Council on Education (ACE) Commission on International Initiatives, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) Committee on Professional Development, and the Higher Education Consortium of Central California (HECCC) and is currently serving as a member of the Executive Committee of International Association of University Presidents (IAUP),the IAUP/UN Commission on Disarmament, Education, Conflict Resolution and Peace, the AASCU Committee on Economic and Workforce Development, the Governing Board of the Stockton Site Authority, the City of Turlock Beautification Committee, and the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC). He also serves as the Chairman of the Turlock Business Council.