Biography
Dr. Hamid Shirvani has been in higher education for more than 27 years, with 19 years in senior executive leadership and management posts, managing budgets up to $135 million and more than 1200 people.
In these positions, Dr. Shirvani has successfully led the complete restructuring of several colleges and universities, producing substantially increased productivity, including increases in enrollments, the quality of student applicants, the quality of educational offerings, funded research activities and net revenue. 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 3400-acre Orange County Great Park.
His management focus is, first and foremost, on bringing a humanistic perspective to decision-making, with a focus on ethics and transparency in institutional behavior. He also gives primary attention to the importance of global thinking in both education and business. In addition, he believes that integrating technology into education is vital to the success of higher education today; he was instrumental in forging a partnership between Queens College and IBM that provided an innovative fiber optic backbone for the campus that has become a model for other campuses of the City College of New York.
As a university leader, Dr. Shirvani has dealt effectively with regulatory agencies and state and federal policies on a variety of issues, including evaluation, accreditation, zoning, environmental protection, loans, banking, finance, and human resource management. In addition, he has extensive knowledge and expertise in the building and development industries as well as in higher education and international risk management.
Currently, Dr. Shirvani is President of the California State University, Stanislaus. Prior to assuming his current position, he served as Provost and Executive Vice President at Chapman University; Vice President for Graduate Studies and Research at Queens College of the 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 at Denver. In addition, he has served on the faculties of the State University of New York at Syracuse and the Pennsylvania State University. He holds a Ph.D. and M.A. from Princeton University, an M.L.A. from Harvard University, and a M.S. from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.
Dr. Shirvani is internationally well known for his contributions to the fields of architecture and urban design and planning. He 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. His books have been used as major texts in classrooms throughout the United States and abroad. In particular, The Urban Design Process, which has been translated into four languages, is a major classic on the subject.
In addition, Dr. 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 of 2004, he was awarded the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem and was invested as a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre. Sir Hamid Shirvani is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, Fellow of the World Academy of Arts and Sciences, 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, 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 of Japan bestowed upon him the Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters in 2003. This year, the statewide student government body of the 23-campus California State University system recognized Dr. Shirvani as “President of the Year.”
Dr. Shirvani has served on the Board of Directors of Competition Inc., the United Way and is currently serving on the NCAA Division II Presidents Council, the American Council on Education (ACE) Commission on International Initiatives, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) Committee on Professional Development, the Stanislaus County Children’s Council, the Stanislaus Economic Development and Workforce Alliance (The Alliance), the Gallo Center for the Arts Board of Trustees, the Governing Board of the Stockton Site Authority, the Modesto Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, the Turlock Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, the City of Turlock Beautification Committee, the Higher Education Consortium of Central California (HECCC), and the Central Valley Higher Education Consortium (CVHEC).
