UCSB alumni and staff member establish fellowship in honor of Mahsa Amini

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Mahsa Amini's death in September of 2022 sparked women-led protests in Iran and around the world, but her life was an inspiration for the Mahsa Amini Graduate Fellowship for Iranian women studying non-STEM graduate programs at UC Santa Barbara.

UC Santa Barbara is believed to be the first university in North America to establish a graduate fellowship in Mahsa Amini's name.

After Amini's death from severe head trauma while in the custody of the Islamic Republic's morality police, UC Santa Barbara alumni Salva Salmani-Rezaie, Mohamad Nasr-Azadani and another Ph.D. recipient who asked to remain anonymous alongside retired staff member Venus Nasri secured initial funding for the scholarship from UCSB's alumni community and a GoFundMe.

“I grew up in Iran with all the gender apartheid that the Islamic Republic is forcing on women,” said Salva Salmani-Rezaie, who completed her doctoral studies in material science at UC Santa Barbara in 2021. “And still, I always thought that the only way out for women in countries like Iran is through education.”

The initial fundraising pulled in $13,000 from global-spanning donors and today, donations are accepted here.

“The Mahsa Amini Fellowship is world-changing in so many ways,” said Interim Graduate Dean Leila Rupp. “It honors not just the death of one woman, but the courage of all the Iranian women and others who take to the streets in protest."

“As a father of a bright and motivated 11-year-old girl, I cannot imagine a society where she is prevented from basic rights such as the freedom to dress as she wants or to pursue higher education in the subject of her choosing,” said UCSB Assistant Dean John Lofthus.

While visiting Irvine Valley Community College in October 2022, President Biden spoke about Amini's death and its lasting impact saying, "It’s awakened something that I don’t think will be quieted in a long, long time."

This fellowship will carry the hope of Amini's pursuit of an education during her life for UC Santa Barbara students into the future.