Online news – Seyed Sadruddin Shariati, the former president of Allameh Tabatabai University and one of the well-known directors of higher education in Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s government, died on Thursday, November 21, 1405. He was the head of one of the most important universities of humanities in the country from March 2004 to September 2013. However, his eight-year term as president was accompanied by a series of controversies about the status of professors, student limits, gender segregation of classes, and the way faculty members were recruited; The issues that remained important discussions about his career even after the end of his responsibility.
From Qahan to the administration of Allameh University
Seyyed Sadruddin Shariati was born in 1327 in Qahan. The published information about his personal life and the first years of his education is not very extensive, but what can be seen in his professional and managerial records shows that an important part of his activities was spent in the field of higher education and cultural and educational management.
In February 1367, he became a member of the faculty of Allameh Tabatabai University. Shariati’s attendance at this university gradually came with executive responsibilities. The headship of the faculty of psychology and educational sciences and the student vice president of Allameh University were among the responsibilities he held before becoming the head of the university.
Shariati also had a history of working in the executive branch of the country. Parliamentary Deputy Minister of Interior and Deputy Minister of Political Ideological Education of the Army are among the other responsibilities mentioned in his published records. These experiences had introduced him to various managerial and executive fields before becoming the university president.
Appointment in the government of Ahmadinejad
With the beginning of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s government, the change of university administrators and the redefinition of cultural and educational policies of universities became one of the important axes of the Ministry of Science. In the same atmosphere, in October 2004, Shariati received the decree of president of Allameh Tabatabai University from the Minister of Science at the time, and officially assumed the presidency of this university on March 16 of the same year.
His appointment was made in a situation where Allameh Tabatabai University, as one of the most important humanities education centers in the country, had a special place in political and cultural issues. Ahmadinejad’s government emphasized the necessity of transformation in human sciences, Islamization of universities and changing the cultural atmosphere of higher education centers, and Allameh University became one of the centers of implementation of these policies in the following years.
During his tenure, Shariati was one of the serious defenders of this approach and tried to follow the cultural and educational policies of the government in the university under his management. This orientation, along with his executive decisions, gradually created serious supporters and opponents for him.
management record; University development and structural changes
In evaluating Shariati’s performance, there are two different narratives. His supporters believed that during his presidency, Allameh University developed in terms of facilities, number of courses and educational capacities. In the report that Tasnim news agency published in September 2013 in response to his dismissal, it was mentioned that more than 100 faculty members were recruited, the number of doctoral programs increased from 17 in 2004 to 80, and the establishment of several new faculties.
According to the same report, the faculties of foreign languages, theology, mathematics and computers, finance and financial sciences, communication and sports were among the structures that were created or developed during his administration. Shariati’s supporters considered these actions as part of the university’s development plan and strengthening its position in the field of humanities.
On the other hand, the critics believed that the quantitative development of the university cannot be the only criterion for evaluating its management, and the quality of the scientific environment, the independence of professors, and the freedom of student activities should also be considered in this evaluation.
One of the most important issues in dispute was the implementation of gender segregation policy in university classes. Shariati was one of the defenders of this policy, and during his presidency, some classes and disciplines were administered with gender segregation. In defense of this approach, he cited the regulations and cultural policies of higher education and believed that such changes can help improve the educational and cultural environment of the university.
But critics saw this decision as limiting the social atmosphere of the university. In a report in April 1391, Radio Farda, while pointing out the appreciation of the then Minister of Science to Shariati for what was called the Islamization of universities, examined his policies from the perspective of limiting the social freedoms of students.
Radio Farda
Differences with professors and the margins of recruiting faculty members
Another part of the criticism of Shariati’s administration was related to the situation of Allameh University professors. During his presidency, a number of long-standing university professors were faced with retirement orders, termination of cooperation, or restrictions on continuing their academic activities. Among the names mentioned in the reports of that period, figures such as Hadi Khaniki, Morteza Mardiha, Shahla Azazi, Parviz Piran, Mohammad Sharif and Mohammad Reza Ziaei Bigdali were seen.
Critics evaluated these events as a form of removing critical professors and changing the intellectual composition of the university. On the other hand, Shariati and his supporters defended their management decisions in some cases and explained them in the framework of administrative regulations, the necessity of restructuring the university structure and cultural considerations.
Another important controversy was the issue of recruiting faculty members in the final months of Ahmadinejad’s administration. Reports were published about the employment of more than 100 people in Allameh University, among the names mentioned, the name of Mehrdad Bazarpash is also visible. Critics raised questions about the criteria and process of these recruitments. In response, Shariati denied the allegation of employment outside the rules and explained that the process of recruiting faculty members is a two-year process. Therefore, this issue also became one of the controversial cases about his management.
The end of the presidency with a change of government
With the end of the government of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the beginning of the government of Hassan Rouhani, the change of university administrators was also on the agenda of the Ministry of Science. On the 10th of Shahrivar 1392, Jafar Tawfighi, the acting head of the Ministry of Science, appointed Hossein Salimi as the head of Allameh Tabatabai University, and thus the term of Shariati’s presidency ended after about eight years.
His dismissal was accompanied by reactions among fundamentalist political and academic figures. Some media and activists close to the fundamentalist trend defended his performance and considered the change of university management as an action influenced by the pressure of critics. On the other hand, some professors and students welcomed the end of his management period.
At the same time, Tasnim news agency published a report in defense of Shariati’s record and emphasized the scientific and educational development of the university during his tenure. At the same time, this report also pointed to the three main axes of the protests, i.e. gender segregation, retirement of professors and the way to attract faculty members.
Reactions to Shariati’s death; From messages of condolence to harsh criticism
Shariati’s death once again brought the case of his presidency of Allameh Tabatabai University back to the media. The reactions to his death were not uniform and revealed the difference of views on his management record once again.
Among the notable reactions, note Ahmad ZaidabadiHe was a journalist and political analyst. In response to the news of Shariati’s death, he chose the title “The Darkest Experience!” He wrote that what happened to the students and faculty members of Allameh University during Shariati’s presidency was one of the darkest and most ridiculous experiences of the modern era.
Zeidabadi further blamed Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for the selection of such a director and, referring to the justice-seeking and freedom-loving slogans of the former president, raised the question that directors with such a track record based on which criteria of justice and freedom dominated the fate of professors and students. This reaction showed that the criticism of Shariati was not only limited to his administrative decisions, but also gained political dimensions.
On the other hand, official reactions and messages of condolence were also published. In his condolence message, Mustafa Rostami, the head of the Supreme Leader’s Representation in Universities, mentioned Shariati as a committed professor and a dedicated manager and emphasized his efforts in the field of connecting the field and the university, developing Allameh University and supporting committed forces.
Shuja Ahmadvand, president of Allameh Tabatabai University, in his message, mentioned Shariati’s efforts to establish the independent identity of the university, provide resources and facilities, and develop this scientific complex.
In this way, the death of the former president of Allameh University once again presented two different images of his administration to the public opinion; The image that his supporters present of a religious and developmentalist administrator and the image that his critics paint by recalling the limitations of the university, the retirement of professors and the treatment of students.
Shariati can be considered one of the administrators whose name is tied to the higher education policies of the Ahmadinejad government; The director who was president of Allameh Tabatabaei University for eight years brought him both a record of structural and educational development and a series of political and academic controversies that continued even after the end of his tenure.
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