A marble statue of Omar Khayyam, the 11th century Persian polymath, was unveiled in Oklahoma University (OU), US, on March 30.
Carved by the famed sculptor Hossein Fakhimi, the sculpture is placed in front of the College of International Studies, IRNA reported.
President of the OU David Boren appreciated the work and said that Iran’s culture and civilization has inspired the entire world for centuries.
“This statue will stand on our campus for years and decades and hopefully centuries to come as a reminder to us of the role that a university is to play in society,” he said. “The role that a university should play in broadening our horizons and in deepening our understanding of other people and in building bridges between people of different countries and different societies”.
In the two-meter tall sculpture, Khayyam is depicted with a globe that contains constellations, representing his contributions to astronomy; numbers, representing his developments in binomial theorems and algebra; and a book representing his famous poetry.
Omar Khayyam (1048-1031) was born in Nishabur, in northeastern Iran. He was a Persian poet, astronomer, philosopher, scientist, and mathematician.
Scholars believe he wrote about 1,000 four-line verses of poetry known as Rubaiyat, which have been translated into dozens of languages.
Fakhimi, 71, holds a PhD in drawing from Complutense University of Madrid. He also got a license in sculpture from the Spanish master sculptor Juan de Avalos. He has made several sculptures so far and earned awards in the country.
Boren also appreciated the Farzaneh brothers, Jalal and Mohammad, Iranians residing in the US, for their financial supports for the event as well as development of the Persian Language and Iranology studies in OU.
He expressed hope that more American students would learn the Persian language and literature.
Center for Iranian Studies
According to a statement from OU, the University of Oklahoma will establish a Center for Iranian and Persian Gulf Studies thanks to a $4 million grant from the Farzaneh Family Foundation.
“It is believed to be the largest gift in the university’s history from those who came to OU as international students,” Boren said.
The center will provide opportunities for students to develop a better cultural understanding, appreciation and awareness of the US, Iran and the Middle East. It will include an academic major in Iranian and Persian Gulf studies.
The grant will help fund scholarships for Iranian students and for students studying Persian language, three endowed professorships, an endowed lectureship, and a prize for Iranian literature. It will also establish a Persian artwork fund and an endowed Persian book collection.
