Renowned Scholar, Philanthropist, Humanitarian focuses on
The Importance of Arts, Music in Visit to Cal Poly
SAN LUIS OBISPO – Assad Meymandi, renowned psychiatrist, philanthropist and humanitarian, presented his work linking science and technology with music, the arts and the brain in an appearance in early May at Cal Poly.
Meymandi, a Distinguished Life Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association, presented a free lecture titled, “Philosopher Citizens: The Importance of a Liberal Education in a Time of Specialization” in Spanos Theatre. The event was the second in the University’s “Great Conversations” series.
“In our era of super-specialization, one learns more and more about less and less,” Meymandi said. “I want to help graduates of American colleges and universities, while specializing and knowing more about less, also consider knowing more about more.”
Meymandi also discussed the extraordinary relationship between the arts and human mind, focusing on research in biochemistry that reinforces what many have long suspected: the powerful healing effect of music.
According to Cal Poly President Warren Baker: "With today’s ever-increasing focus on technology, it is easy to ignore the important role that the arts play in our lives. This renowned scientist’s important work has proven that music and the visual arts play an even greater role than previously thought."
Meymandi and his wife, Emily Meymandi, spent three days meeting with faculty and students from disciplines across campus, discussing the importance of the Jeffersonian approach to a liberal arts education.
Meymandi was born and raised in Iran, where he traces his family origin back to 960 AD. He earned a medical degree from The George Washington University School of Medicine. In addition, he earned doctorates in biochemistry and philosophy and was awarded an honorary doctorate in humanities.
Meymandi frequently speaks and writes on diverse topics that relate to his interests in medicine, art, religion, and philanthropy. The longtime Raleigh, N.C., resident has written over 2,000 articles in peer reviewed scientific journals, editorials, syndicated columns, articles, essays and poems. He is the founding editor-in-chief of the Wake County Physician magazine, now in its 13th year of publication.
The Raleigh News and Observer described Meymandi as "aristocratic in breeding, intellectual in temperament, and philanthropic in lifestyle. His hunger for knowledge is surpassed only by his generosity. His philanthropic activities in medicine, the arts and humanities have made his name synonymous with enlightenment."
He is the 2007 nominee of the State of North Carolina for the National Medal of Arts, awarded in December each year by the President of United States at the Kennedy Center. The city of Raleigh recognized him with the Raleigh Medal of Art in 2000, and in the fall of 2002, Governor Easley appointed him to the Board of the North Carolina Arts Council.
Longtime philanthropists, the Meymandi family launched a $10-million foundation in 1996 to support programs for children, the arts and humanities, and health care in the United States and Iran. In honor of the ancient Meymandi family patriarch, Hassan Meymandi, Assad Meymandi and the Family Philanthropy Program established the Meymandi Elementary School in Meymand, Iran. The program continues to fund its maintenance.
They established the Andre Malraux Chair of French Literature at the Sorbonne, the Meymandi Public Library in Kerman, Iran, and helped fund the construction of the Rudaki Symphony Hall in Tehran, Iran.
Meymandi’s presentation is the second in Cal Poly's Great Conversations Series, which entrepreneur Sidney Harman and U.S. Rep. Jane Harman kicked off last year. For more information on that presentation, visit http://www.calpolynews.calpoly.edu/cpreport/06reports/feb_8.htm.
Meymandi's visit to Cal Poly was sponsored by the Office of the President and the colleges of Liberal Arts and Engineering.
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