Northeastern Illinois University appointed Dr. Mateo Mohammad Farzaneh as the Principal of the Mossadegh Initiative on June 7, 2017. Dr. Farzaneh is an associate professor of Iranian and Middle Eastern history. Winner of multiple awards for his first book, research and teaching, he has been an active member of the History Department since 2010.
Dr. Farzaneh was born in 1967 in Ahvaz into a family from Esfahan. In 1984 he emigrated to the United States and settled in southern California. After completing his high school education and college he earned his nursing degree and worked in the industry for seven years. In 2010 he earned his doctoral degree in history from University of California Santa Barbara and taught at Santa Barbara City College and Cal State Fullerton before relocating to Chicago.
Dr. Farzaneh travels to Iran periodically with his wife and daughter to visit family and friends, conduct research and further learn about the diverse and deep historical roots of his birth culture. His current book project, due to be published in 2020, is about the role of Iranian women during the Iran-Iraq War.