Thanks to Sarah Suleman (Head of Quality Enhancement Cell) and her colleague Christopher Naeem (Data Analyst), the Fall 2024 Profile for Forman Christian College (A Chartered University) is now available, based on a September 30 “freeze date” which captured the number of faculty employed and students enrolled as of that date.

According to the demographic data provided in the Profile, 48 percent of our university students are female (for graduate programs, the percentage increases to 74 percent). Some 10 percent of our college students and 13 percent of our university students are from Pakistan’s minority Christian community, bringing the total number to 1,093 including 350 from the college and 743 enrolled in the university. Although small as a total percentage, 59 of our university students also come from the Hindu, Sikh or Kalash communities, further highlighting the diversity of our institution. While an overwhelming majority of our students are from Punjab, we have representation from each of Pakistan’s other provinces as well.

The figures are encouraging: Total enrollment at FCCU has now reached 9,324, exceeding 9,000 for the first time ever; of that number, 3,560 are studying at the Intermediate (College) level while 5,764 are enrolled in the University.

The number of faculty at Forman is slightly more than 400, with 126 teaching at the College level and 278 at the University level. Of the 404 members of faculty currently employed at Forman, 43 percent are female, and 57 percent are male. As regards to level of education, 172 of our 278 University faculty have PhDs, 69 of them from foreign countries. A further 21 of our college faculty also have PhDs.

On September 26th, 2024, the Department of Physics at FCCU organized a highly anticipated visit to SUPARCO, Pakistan’s space agency in Lahore. Around 40 students and faculty members took part in this exclusive opportunity.

The visit commenced with an engaging overview of SUPARCO, where students were introduced to the agency’s role in advancing Pakistan’s space program. The session highlighted exciting internship and project collaboration opportunities, offering insights into how aspiring physicists and engineers could launch their careers in space technology. Comprehensive instructions on pursuing a career at SUPARCO were provided, underscoring the agency’s dedication to nurturing the next generation of space experts.

A tour of SUPARCO’s various departments followed, where students gained valuable knowledge about the projects currently underway. This included a rundown of the launch of eight satellites to date, with some still in orbit. Students were captivated as they learned about the crucial functions these satellites perform, including data collection and satellite management from control rooms.

The highlight of the visit was the rare opportunity to witness satellites up close—an unforgettable experience. Walking through the satellite manufacturing facility, students were briefed by SUPARCO engineers on the intricate processes involved in designing, constructing, and launching these advanced technologies. Standing in the very room where satellites are manufactured provided an awe-inspiring glimpse into the cutting-edge field of space exploration.

The visit had a lasting impact, giving students a clear understanding of Pakistan’s space advancements and SUPARCO’s global role. Many left inspired to pursue space science, with some considering careers at SUPARCO. It also strengthened ties between SUPARCO and academia, paving the way for future collaborations. The hands-on experience, from satellite operations to direct interaction with engineers, highlighted Pakistan’s impressive space capabilities.

Student athletics is an important part of campus life at Forman Christian College. FCCU’s campus boasts a range of modern athletic facilities and fields, which allow students to participate in the sports of their choice.

A few student athletes’ achievements have earned them accolades and awards that the entire student body can be proud of. These competitors represent FCCU in several sports and tournaments throughout the year.

Cricket: Abraham

A business studies major, Abraham has represented the FCCU cricket team in two national HEC inter-varsity cricket tournaments and the FCCU athletics team in three annual athletics inter-varsity championships in 2021, 2022, and 2023. 

Throughout his four years at university, he has been an integral part of the cricket team, contributing to numerous inter-varsity championship victories for FCCU. His most significant achievement at FCCU was serving as the President of the Forman Sports Society during the tenure of 2023-24. Through this role, he developed crucial leadership and managerial skills.

Boxing: Adeen

As a boxer, Adeen has represented FCCU at many levels, including the 2024 Higher Education Commission (HEC) games. She is the recipient of a scholarship that adds an incentive to her hard work while studying psychology at Forman. Adeen greatly appreciates how FCCU always supports athletes like her.

Weightlifter: Eeman

Eeman’s success in receiving the Higher Education Commission (HEC) silver medal in 2024 as a weightlifter. Her athletic career has been shaped by unwavering commitment, countless training hours, and the invaluable support of mentors at FCCU. She is currently majoring in psychology and mass communications.

Swimming: Eesha

As a member of the FCCU swimming team, Eesha has showcased her talent in various prestigious events, including inter-university and inter-school competitions, securing several medals. In 2023, this applied psychology major won two gold, four silver, and three bronze medals.

Weightlifting: Wafia

Wafia is a key member of FCCU’s female weightlifting team and holds National Medalist and University Champion titles. An applied psychology major, she has secured gold and silver medals in inter-university championships and a bronze medal in nationals. 

She is also a recipient a scholarship at FCCU, which has played a pivotal role in balancing her academic and athletic pursuits.

Read About More High Achieving Formanites

Athletics is just one field where FCCU students are achieving. Other students stand out with their academics, research, writing, entrepreneurship, and more. 

To read more of these amazing student success stories, check out this year’s Formanite Achievers booklet created by FCCU’s marketing and outreach office.

Mr. Attiazaz “Bob” Din is the Founder and Chairman of Khazana Enterprise, Pakistan’s first hyperscale  FinTech Cloud service provider, contributing significantly to the country’s tech sector transformation and  leadership in digital transformation and AI. 

He commenced his academic journey at Forman Christian College, followed by pursuing Bachelor’s  and Master’s degrees in the United States. In 1993, he founded En Pointe Technologies, achieving  substantial growth to an annual revenue of $700 million. His achievement as one of the few Pakistani  Americans to secure a Nasdaq listing in 1996 elevated him to the ranks of the world’s elite 3000 CEO  of American listed companies, and made him one of the handful foreign born CEOs of Nasdaq listed  companies.  

Recognized as a leading entrepreneur by Ernst & Young in the United States and acknowledged in  Forbes for his contributions to job creation in California, Mr. Din has demonstrated continuous  commitment to Development in Literacy (DIL) since 1996, establishing numerous schools in Pakistan,  particularly for girls. He has generously donated cloud services to FCCU.  

In 1997, Mr. Din established Pakistan’s inaugural International Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)  center. He served on the board of the California Republic Bank for a decade and dedicated eighteen  years to the Los Angeles County Sheriff Advisory Council, including a three-year tenure as the  Chairman. Additionally, he served as the President of the Council of Pakistan American Affairs for four  years. 

Success magazine ranked Mr. Din as the #1 entrepreneur in 2000. In 2009, he founded dinCloud,  recognized as a top-five Gartner Magic Quadrant Cloud service provider for hosted desktops (DAAS).  He led Collab9 to secure the first-ever FedRAMP certification for UCaaS in 2010, significantly  enhancing government operations and security through technology. 

Through his initiatives, Mr. Din has facilitated over $100 million worth of IT services export from Pakistan  to the US, fostering the creation of several thousand jobs. His investments via Foreign Direct Investment  (FDI) have amounted to billions of rupees in tech startups.

Despite the lingering hot weather and humidity, the early Fall is a great time of year as we welcome a new class of incoming students, both to the college and the university. The number of applicants for some departments is reaching record levels, with some fields such as Computer Science, Business and Mass Communication proving to be especially popular. At the graduate level, Psychology and English have also attracted a lot of applications, making admissions in those areas even more competitive than usual.

More problematically, the Fall semester also highlights the reality that the demand for hostel space at Forman exceeds supply, a long term problem that will take time to resolve. That said, I am pleased to report that a newly renovated hostel with 85 beds on the nearby TSA/FCCU campus is opening this Fall, providing additional hostel space for female university students. Combined with a smaller hostel for female graduate students that opened its doors last year, we now have an additional 100 hostel beds available on the TSA/FCCU campus for female students. And, like our main campus, the TSA/FCCU facility is a very attractive “garden campus” with lots of green space.

Our entering classes are also as diverse as ever, including representation from many communities across the country. This year, that diversity also includes three new college students from Afghanistan and several Bachelor students from the remote Kalash valley in Chitral. In terms of numbers, the entering intermediate class exceeds 2,000 while the entering Bachelor’s class exceeds 1,000.

A summer academic enrichment program providing pre-test coaching for aspiring university students organized by our Financial Aid Office headed by Phool Shahzad has also worked hard to maintain and expand the diverse community that is so much a part of the Forman experience. This year, that program included male and female students from a wide range of areas, from the deserts of Tharparkar in the far south of Pakistan to Chitral in the far north.

This outreach program was especially intriguing and involved support from many directions including students and faculty from Chitral, Gilgit and Baltistan who reached out to members of the Kalash community in amazing ways, inviting students from that area to the Forman campus. Once on campus, a number of people including Ayesha Anwar (Guardian) and Rimesha Farooq (Assistant Guardian) along with Eileen Dass and Sheeza James from the Rector’s Office did their best to welcome the students and make them comfortable. Dr. Shahid from the Mass Communication Department who is from the Northern Areas also did much to facilitiate this program and make it possible.

I appreciated the opportunity to meet three visiting officials from the Quetta-based Balochistan Education Endowment Fund (BEEF) which provides scholarships for students from Balochistan to attend Forman. Last year, two dozen of our students from Balochistan received BEEF scholarships; this year the number is expected to increase to more than thirty.

We received welcome news from the Higher Education Commission’s Quality Assurance Agency that the provisional score of Forman’s Quality Enhancement Cell (QEC) has increased from 38.16 during 2018-2019 to 75.80 during 2022-2023. This is a major accomplishment, thanks largely to the leadership, dedication and work of Sarah Suleman and her QEC team.

Thanks to our Advancement and Alumni Office for hosting another in the continuing series of “Formanite Talkies,” this one held on August 8 and focused on Forman graduates working in the media. Several graduates cited specific members of Forman’s faculty including Dean of Humanities Dr. Altaf Ullah Khan and Mass Communication Chairperson Dr. Firasat Jabeen for playing an important role in shaping their careers. Given that my first degree was from Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, I especially appreciated this opportunity to learn more about what our graduates are doing in this vital area.

The late summer monsoons brought flooding to Lahore including to our campus, briefly turning Main Field into a small lake that attracted many water birds seeking relief from the summer heat and prompting a visit by the Director of WASA to explore potential ways to mitigate water accumulation during the monsoon season. Against that backdrop, the seminar hosted by Forman on August 23 titled “Climate Change, Mega Cities and Urban Floods” seemed especially timely.

Dr. Vaqas and his team at Forman’s Population Research Center (PRC) played an essential role in organizing this event which also involved several external partners including the UN Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) and the Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI), the latter represented by Abid Qaiyum Suleri who introduced himself as an Old Formanite; other attendees included Punjab Provincial Assembly Member Ahmed Iqbal. The importance of data and information emerged as a recurring theme throughout the seminar, along with a recognition that policy frameworks are vital and all sections of society need to become involved.

On August 8, 2024, the Advancement and Alumni Office hosted another series of Formanite Talkies, #Journalist Edition, celebrating the accomplishments of Formanite journalists. The evening began with a welcome address from Mrs. Badia Raza, Chief Marketing and Outreach Officer.

The Chief Guest, Dr. Jonathan S. Addleton, Rector FCCU, delivered insightful remarks on the profound impact of journalism and the significant contributions of Formanite journalists in the field. The event continued with a special introduction session where alumni guests shared memorable experiences, expressing their gratitude towards the Department of Mass Communication, Dr. Altaf Ullah Khan, Dean of Social Sciences, and Dr. Firasat Jabeen, Chairperson of the Department of Mass Communication, for significantly shaping their careers.

Following that, an interactive quiz session tested participants’ knowledge about FCCU adding a fun and competitive element to the event. The evening also featured a segment of entertainment, adding a lively and enjoyable element to the proceedings. The event concluded with a networking session over tea and refreshments, offering attendees an opportunity to connect and continue their conversations.

The event received high praise from participants and was a testament to the enduring bond between FCCU and its alumni.

Written by FCCU Rector Dr. Jonathan Addleton.

Forman’s efforts to strengthen outreach this summer included a program involving approximately 45 students from underprivileged communities from across Pakistan, preparing them to take the admissions test for the Bachelor program. A variety of students participated as boarders including six from Sindh’s Hindu community; a Christian student from Balochistan; six students from Jaranwala, and five students from southern Punjab; another 20 students from Lahore are participating as day scholars.

In other sponsored by The News on July 6-7 at the Lahore Expo Center in Johar Town, providing an opportunity to showcase opportunities available on our campus for aspiring university students.

Joined by several student volunteers, staff members Nasir Gill, Fakhar Edina, Rohama Waseem, Angel Safdar and Sofia Shahzad were available to answer questions posed by the more than 120 people who visited the Forman stall to express interest in studying at our university. Speaker of the Punjab outreach, Forman participated in the Education Expo exp Assembly Malik Muhammad Ahmad Khan also visited the Forman stall, lending his support.

As potential students look forward to the Fall 2024 semester, Forman’s extensive financial aid programs were featured in sixteen different English and Urdu newspapers across the country including Dawn, The News, Express Tribune, The Nation, Jang and Nawaiwaqt. Drawing on the headline “Empowering Education with Financial Aid and Scholarships,” the articles noted that during the 2022-2023 academic year Forman awarded 338 million rupees in grant assistance to more than 2,300 students; for 2023-2024, the figure exceeded 430 million rupees.

Many individuals have been involved in these outreach programs, making it difficult to list names without inadvertently leaving some out. However, I do want to recognize Suleman Khairullah (Admissions), Phool Shahzad (Financial Aid), Haroon Christy Munir (MarCom) and Badia Raza (Marketing and Outreach), among others, for their vital work in this area, especially as we look toward the Fall semester and the hoped-for attainment of our enrollment targets.

About Lahore Pakistan

Forman College was established in 1864 in one of Pakistan’s most prominent cities, Lahore. Lahore captivates the hearts of those who come here to achieve their goals. Its rich culture is manifested in its festivals, literature, language, cuisine, and culture. 

The true Lahari life is visible in the city’s heart, where narrow alleys, old architecture, mosques, temples, churches, forts, museums, and centuries-old traditions prevail and speak for themselves.

About the FCCU Campus

FCCU’s campus has a parking area reserved for the FCCU community and other visitors. Three main entrances connect to this field leading up to the main campus. 

Inside the college’s walled campus is one of the greenest and most vibrant campuses in the whole city. In fact, because of its lush floral estate, many call it a garden campus.

FCCU is among the oldest educational institutions in the subcontinent with a rich history spanning over 157 years. Dr. Charles Forman founded FCCU as a college with just a handful of students. Today, it’s a chartered university. Along the way, FCCU has been a pioneer of academic breakthroughs.

The campus provides a safe space for religious and ethnic minorities. FCCU has a robust scholarship fund to help students meet their financial needs. Through the years, we have developed a foundation for providing quality education with innovative and revolutionary ideas.  

Academics at FCCU

FCCU’s four-year baccalaureate honors program offers an American-style world-class liberal arts education system with affordable tuition. Our faculty are some of the most qualified people in their respective fields. The university offers PhD programs, Masters, and executive education courses in various disciplines. 

FCCU boasts a very diverse student body with students coming from all corners of the country. Alumni are prominent in arts, literature, business, and politics.

Campus Amenities

The main ground is a common space for everyone to hang out in the sun or play the sport they choose. The newly completed campus center is dedicated to university students. There is no other center of this kind anywhere in Pakistan. It offers much-needed spaces for dining, leisure, and entertainment— all of which will foster a sense of community and student engagement.  

Many campus buildings are equipped with smart classrooms, which are fully equipped with the latest technology to offer an immersive and engaging learning experience. Smart classrooms are used to teach a variety of courses. Executive lounges offer students a separate place to study and socialize. The campus also boasts a writing center established to help students with their academic and creative writing. 

FCCU’s campus provides free wi-fi access to all students. Coupled with computer labs, students are fully equipped to study, do research, and work on their assignments across the campus. 

Extracurricular Activities

There are over 35 clubs and societies so each student can find an extracurricular activity to find their interests. This includes:

• Debate society 
• Earth watch 
• Track clubs 
• The leadership forum
• Young entrepreneurial platform
• The photography society 
• Music society 
• Foreign language clubs
• Dramatics and performing arts

FCCU also has an active sports department featuring intramural sports competitions in: 

• Basketball
• Badminton
• Table tennis
• Football
• Handball
• Cricket
• Hockey
• Tennis

Athletes can use various campus facilities, including an eight-lane grass track, a football field, cricket field, handball court, hockey field, six tennis courts, a basketball court, four badminton courts, a table tennis hall, and a community wellness gym.

Other Campus Features

As a university, FCCU is concerned with teaching values and building strong positive character traits and discipline in its students. For Christian students, a weekly chapel service is offered on Friday. For Muslim students, there are two mosques on campus, and Friday prayers are offered at the main mosque. No classes are scheduled during Friday prayer or chapel times. 

The university operates emergency first response services through the Mercy Health Center, an on-campus facility equipped for the routine medical needs of the campus community. The campus counseling center is situated on the top floor of the Mercy Health Center. Its core functions are to build therapeutic relationships and provide a physical and emotional space to the community.

The Light of Hope School is an on-campus facility designed to provide quality education to about 200 underprivileged children whose parents are working as support staff. The school has state-of-the-art classrooms and activity grounds 

The campus’ botanical garden features various plants and trees, which the Department of Environmental Sciences and Biological Sciences uses for research. 

I am Simon, and I am doing a Baccalaureate in Education, with Psychology as a minor at FCCU.

I have five siblings and all of them are studying at different levels in schools and colleges. My father is the earning head of my family, he had been serving in the PAK ARMY and recently retired.

After college I had to choose a university for me, seeing as FCCU is a Christian institution and has a rich history of excellence, I applied for admission here. I am the first person in my family to attend a university.

I applied for financial aid at FCCU because it was difficult for my family to bear all my educational and living expenses. The Financial Aid Office helped me to continue my studies despite the financial constraints by supporting me financially with my tuition fee.

Not only financial support but FCCU also provided me with a supportive and holistic campus environment which enabled me to thrive not only in academics but in extra-curricular activities as well.

I have been living in an on-campus hostel since the start of my university career and for me, FCCU is not an institution but my second home. It is a community of loving, supportive, and welcoming people who welcome students from diverse backgrounds irrespective of their religion, race, socioeconomic status, and ethnicity. FCCU helped me academically, financially, and socially, and made me continue my studies unhindered.

With this formidable environment, I was able to maintain an exceptional CGPA due to which my name was listed in the Vice Rector’s List three times in my four semesters. I rendered my services in different positions as a Media Manager, Workshop Coordinator, Director Management, and Host, in different FCCU societies. I am also a part of the Athletic team.

Moreover, the rising inflation has affected both my family and me, resulting in increased educational expenses and the rising costs of essential items. To cope with these challenges, we’ve had to tighten our budget and make sacrifices to meet our basic needs.

Being a student from an underprivileged background, I have witnessed several challenges that students face in the field of education. This experience led me to choose Education as the major of my degree so that I can contribute to the education system of Pakistan efficiently. I got to know about challenges in the educational curriculum, policies, and structural problems within the educational system of Pakistan and the potential solutions to them. The faculty of the department of education is highly qualified and expert in their field, the teachers always guide and assist students in every way possible. The most interesting part of my education program is the project-based learning experiences, collaborative activities, and hands-on practice of teaching techniques.

In addition to the subject knowledge, I learned the skills pertinent to my major and gained valuable opportunities for personal development and growth by reading books, participating in activities, and interacting with my instructors and peers. In the future I intend to work for the education system of Pakistan, bringing reforms to educational policies and making education accessible for everyone. I intend to work for the students’ facing challenges in their educational voyage, helping them at institutional, academic, and financial levels so that they excel in their careers and contribute towards making a literate, civilized society.

For our donors: You are the true embodiment of FCCU’s motto “By love serve one another”. Your support has made many dreams materialize. Because of your support, I have been able to pursue my education with dedication and focus. Your generosity has had a huge impact on my life, and I am truly thankful for the opportunities it has provided me with. It has relieved a significant financial burden, allowing me to fully engage in studies and extracurricular activities. As a result, I have made significant academic progress, achieving grades and accomplishments that would have been far more challenging without your help. I want you to know that your investment in education is not taken lightly and it motivates me to strive for excellence. I promise you to make the most of this opportunity and one day, pay it forward to help others achieve their educational dreams just as you have done for me.

Written by by Dr. Jonathan Addleton – FCCU Rector

Quality control and accreditation are both very much on my mind this summer. In this regard, Dr. Nayer as Registrar attended the annual International Network for Quality Assurance Agency in Higher Education (INQAAHE) conference, this year held in Romania. Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission (HEC) also presented at the conference, drawing in part on Forman’s external accreditation experience involving the New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE). 

Our international partnerships continue to bear fruit. In this case that included an opportunity to attend the AMICAL Annual Conference online, focused this year on Artificial Intelligence (AI) and covering such topics Designing Engaging Courses with Generative AI; The Future of Higher Education in the Age of AI; and Essential AI Tools for Academic Integrity and Success. 

On short notice I arranged an informal lunch in my residence for two Program Associates from the American Bar Association (ABA), visiting Pakistan as part of a Rule of Law Program. Given that the focus of their program is on issues related to human rights and gender, several members of our faculty were also invited to attend, providing our visitors with a variety of useful perspectives. 

Shermeen Bano, Lecturer in Forman’s Sociology Department, reports that she will be leaving for Canada later this summer, having been offered a fully funded PhD fellowship in the Sociology Department at the University of British Columbia. According to Shermeen, “I am genuinely grateful for the opportunities and experiences I had during my time at Forman Christian College”.

As most readers of the Rector’s Update know, our US-based support group Friends of Forman plays a vital role in supporting scholarships and contributing to special projects such as the Jim Tebbe Campus Center. From time to time, Friends also provides important links to our past, with the children and grandchildren of those connected to Forman continuing to contribute in various ways. 

This month, those contributions included a gift via Friends from the grandson of Dr. F. Mowbray Velte who was an English professor at Forman nearly a century ago. His mother Marguerite Velte Hasbrouck — born in Lahore in 1933 and the daughter of Dr. Velte — was also a long-time Forman supporter, contributing to Friends until she passed away last year at the age of 90; his Aunt Lois, another of Dr. Velte’s daughters who died only last month at the age of 95, was also a long-time supporter of Forman Christian College (A Chartered University). 

Forman’s Admissions Office organized an Open House for  prospective graduate students in the Jim Tebbe Campus Center,  showcasing offerings, facilities, financial aid, and admissions criteria  at the graduate level. Most academic departments were represented as well as various support offices such as Admissions, Careers  Services, Financial Aid, and Church Relations. More than 500 students  attended from Forman and other Lahore-area universities. 

A delegation from the Pak Mission Society that numbered more than  twenty and included representatives from various churches and NGOs visited Forman, mostly to see our campus and become more  familiar with some of the support programs offered to Christian  students including admissions, financial aid, coaching classes, and the Christian Life program. 

I was privileged to attend the closing ceremony of the Khushali  (“Prosperity”) Program, a pioneering partnership involving Forman and the Center for Law and Justice (CLJ), along with the French Embassy, British Council, and University of Lancaster, among others. The Speaker of the Punjab Assembly also attended. The 30 female graduates, all daughters of sanitation workers, wore “caps and gowns” to the ceremony, providing a graduation experience that most probably never thought that they would have.

One Khushali graduate was missing from the graduation ceremony, a young seventeen- year-old selected as one of three Pakistanis to attend an annual summer youth gathering in Moscow; she had already departed for Russia from Pakistan the day before. However, her proud family were present to collect her graduation certificate. Forman graduate Mary Gill from CLJ and her team played a key role in organizing this inspiring program. 

We were once again pleased to provide a venue for the Pakistan Bible Society’s annual Summer Sports Festival. This year, the program started on May 31 and continued through June 15, involving hundreds of young people participating in several sports including cricket, football, basketball, and athletics.