Through her research and outreach, Dr. Hira Khalid empowers young women, particularly from underprivileged backgrounds, to defy the norm and pursue careers in STEM. She is an example to all female students at Forman Christian College, illustrating that with determination and hard work, there are no limits to what they can achieve and the contributions they make to society.

FCCU has announced that Dr. Khalid, Associate Chemistry Professor has been selected as the only Pakistani to be included on the “Top 50 Talented and Inspirational Women” shortlisted for the Haagen-Daz’s Rose Project 2024-2025: https://iwd.haagen-dazs.global/en/iwd-top-50-nominees/

The citation for this achievement which recognizes 50 women from 17 countries “Who Don’t Hold Back” includes the following: “Dr. Hira Khalid is a pioneering researcher focused on advancing treatments for ovarian cancer, Hepatitis C and Alzheimer’s disease. As the first to gain a PhD in her family, Hira overcame significant cultural and financial challenges to become a leader in her field.  She represents Pakistan at international platforms such as the first Commonwealth Chemistry Congress and Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting”.

Dr. Khalid received her BSc and master’s from the University of the Punjab. Her PhD was granted by GC University (Government College) in collaboration with University of Washington. Her Post-Doc (US Fulbright Scholar) was done at University of Minnesota Twin Cities.

A huge shoutout also to Professor Dr. Samina Mehnaz from Forman’s Kausar Abdulla Malik School of Life Sciences for once again being included in the Stanford University annual list of the “top two percent” “top two percent” of researchers world-wide; this is the fourth consecutive year that Dr. Samina has received this honor, introduced by Stanford in 2019 to recognize notable researchers and based in part on publications.

Saadia Sumbal, Associate Professor of History, published articles in two international journals, “Voices from the Periphery: Punjabi Poetry, Resistance and Anti-Colonial Nationalism” (South Asian Studies Volume 40 Issue 2, 2023: https://doi.org/10.1080/02666030.2024.2396182) and “Parsi Identity and Community Legislation in Colonial Punjab” (Journal of Punjab Studies Volume 30 Number 2, 2023: http://giss.org/researchnew.html). Her book Islam and Religious Change in Pakistan: Sufis and Ulema in 20th Century South Asia (Routledge, Taylor & Francis, 2022) was also recently reviewed in two international publications, Journal of Religious History and Journal of Sufi Studies.

Dr, Firasat Jabeen from Forman’s Department of Mass Communication was invited to join the International Communication Association (ICA) task force on Global Representation and Engagement. In addition, Dr. Firasat received a $2,000 Fulbright grant to help support the ICA Regional Conference scheduled to be hosted by Forman in December.

Dr. Adeel Ahmad Aamir, Assistant Professor in our Department of Mass Communication, served as a communication expert in a panel discussion on urbanization and air pollution organized at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) in partnership with the British High Commission.

Irtiza Shafaat Bokharee, Lecturer in Forman’s Political Science Department, reports that his department recently partnered with the Strategic Vision Institute (SVI), an Islamabad-based think tank, to expose students to national security issues and the role that youth can play in helping to advance them. During their visit, SVI Executive Director Dr. Naeem A. Salik (a Forman graduate) joined with SVI Director of Research Dr. Nasir Hafeez to brief the students.

Maheen Zia from our English Department reports two notable achievements over the summer, starting with her selection as the only participant from Pakistan to attend this year’s Digital Humanities Summer School at Oxford University (only 11 out of the more than 80 teachers who applied were selected). In addition, Maheen was awarded second prize in the ELT Lesson Design Competition organized by Education University Hong Kong.

Syeda Khair-ul-Bariyah, Assistant Chemistry Professor (College), was invited to attend the Pakistani Writer’s Retreat, sharing her long journey as a writer that started at the age of four and has included publications in both English and Urdu, culminating most recently in her novel Peregrinations of the Soul which reflects the values and character-building that are so much a part of the Forman college experience.

Urdu Professor Dr. Shahida Dilawar Shah’s debut novel Zindagi Aik Naraaz Matan (“Life is an Anguish Text”), published in 2023, was recently selected as the subject of a post-doctorate research thesis at International Islamia University in Islamabad, having been singled out as a pioneering example of metafiction in Urdu literature.

Dr. Sulman Munir, Assistant Geography Professor (College), successfully defended his PhD (“Drought Monitoring and Hazard Assessment for Climate Resilience in the Punjab, Pakistan”), in this case from the University of Punjab’s Institute of Geography.

Forman’s Geography Department was officially certified under the UPG Sustainability Leadership Program, having completed a departmental “mini course” on promoting sustainability.

Forman’s Department of Sociology has issued a Call for Abstract Submissions for the Sixth Annual Conference on Marginalized Populations, scheduled to take place on December 11. The deadline for submissions is October 14.

FCCU Physics Professor Dr. Hamid Latif spoke to the “Forman Einsteins” (College Physics Club) as part of a lecture titled From the Mysteries of Quantum Mechanics to the Nobel Prize-Winning Quantum Dots and their Interdisciplinary Applications, encouraging students to explore the field of quantum physics while also offering a glimpse into the exciting possibilities available to those studying physics in the future.

Written by Friends of Forman Board Member, Heather Wright

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines pilgrim as “one who journeys in foreign lands, a wayfarer, but also as one who travels to a shrine or holy place as a devotee.”  On my trip, I knew I was traveling to a foreign land, but I was surprised to discover that I was also going to a holy place. 

“When you go on this trip, it will be life transforming.”  Another member of the board I am on told me this. At the time, I thought to myself, “how could that happen in 10 days?”  I recently returned from a trip to Pakistan. I was there with five others from the American board that supports a Christian university in Lahore, the capital of the Punjab region.  The Board is Friends of Forman and the school, Forman Christian College and University.  I’ve been on the board for 2 1/2 years. When I started, I was told that every board member goes to visit the school. Given my heart for educating persecuted women and the minority Christians in an Islamic country, I knew I could be a committed board member. But, I thought, “there was no way I’m go to Pakistan.”  Fear and a desire to avoid taking unnecessary risks were driving motives. However, as I heard more students’ stories, the impact of the school on the culture and even military in that country, I sensed a longing and desire to meet the people that I was serving.

In February, a week after a contested election and protests that led to loss of life, I flew alone to Qatar and waited 13 hours in the Dubai airport for the rest of the group to arrive. We flew into the airport in Lahore at 2:30 in the morning and it was a start of entering a whole New World and finding God there.

The music, food, modes of transportation, including tuk tuks, or whole families on motorcycles, carts pulled by water buffalo, pollution, traditional dance and clothing, the language, bazaar, architecture, were all so foreign to me.  I wondered what it must have been like for Charles Forman, a Presbyterian missionary from Kentucky 160 years ago, who got off a 5-month boat ride to serve the people of India (before the partition with Pakistan).  He realized the need for education so started teaching under a tree and now the University bearing his name has almost 9,000 students. 

As much as it was foreign, I was overwhelmed by the gracious and formal hospitality everyone showed us.  We were served tea and cookies at every meeting we attended and given many gifts.  They have a high value of family, faith, and traditional ways, evident in their dress, arranged marriages and members of the opposite sex not touching for a handshake or embrace.  The college and university students reflect the culture with a majority Sunni Muslim, but also some Ahmadi, Sikh, and a large percentage of Christians (10%) for a country that is only 1.5% Christians.  Beyond students, there are many Christian faculty and staff along with the Rector and Vice-Rector. Muslim students not only meet Christians and other religious students and staff but grow in tolerance and respect for those who believe as they do. 

Everyone’s kindness despite their economic and political challenges surprised me.  In Pakistan, having an education changes not only the life and prospects of a student, but it can also elevate their entire family and even their village. We spent a day in a remote village with one of the Christian college students and their family.  They took us to where the entire family worked in the nearby brick kiln.  They work 6 days a week from sunup to sundown, both parents and their children. Three of them demonstrated for us how the bricks are made.  They were all working to help their son get an education.  Our American board raises money to scholarship students like Shafiq.

We heard a great deal of pain about the persecution and difficulty being a persecuted minority with the ever-present fear of being falsely accused of the charge of blasphemy, for which the punishment is the death penalty.  But my greater takeaway was what I witnessed in the Presbyterian church service we attended in Urdu.  The words, “Jesu – Hushi” were repeated over and over.  Afterwards, I asked the Pakistani minister at our tea what they meant “Jesus – Joy.”  I had a sense in their music of celebration, despite what they were going through, they knew a lot about hushi – joy.  I was humbled by their joy and gratitude to God for all their blessings despite their challenges. 

I was humbled by the deep faith that I discovered there, the kindness of strangers, the interfaith respect and understanding on this campus in a region of war, violence, and intolerance, and the ability to flourish even under the harshest conditions.  I was grateful for Charles Forman who planted seeds 160 years ago that have grown and given generations, especially of minorities and women, hope and a future.  I am a grateful pilgrim for all those I met and grateful God gave me the courage to step out in faith and find him there.

I am a grateful pilgrim for all those I met and for the gift of courage to step out in faith and find God there.