Kathy Fazel had been contemplating a fitting tribute to her late father, Mohammad Ali Fazel, for a few years when a devastating event suddenly made the idea of a tribute to her Iranian-born father more emotional and more urgent.
“I always wanted to commemorate my Dad’s memory in a meaningful way and honour his passion for education,” says Kathy, BCom’91, a long-time member of McGill’s Board of Governors and now a Governor Emerita.
Then, just last year, a passenger airplane was shot down shortly after take-off from Tehran killing all 176 aboard people including 55 from Canada’s Iranian community, many of whom were young students with bright careers ahead of them. Two McGillians, School of Human Nutrition Master’s student Negar Borghei and School of Computer Science graduate Faraz Falsafi, were among those who perished. The tragedy hit especially close to home for Canadians like Kathy with strong familial ties to Iran.
“It was so heartbreaking and it became more important than ever to show some solidarity with the Iranian community and push something good out into the world,” she says.
As a result, Kathy and her husband, Guy Veillet, donated $24,000 to McGill to establish the M.A. Fazel Scholarship in support of Iranian-born students at the University – and it certainly fits the bill of something good. Starting this fall, the scholarship will support two undergraduate students per year with a value of $3,000 per student, awarded by the McGill Scholarships and Student Aid Office.
While Mohammad Fazel didn’t attend McGill himself, he was never far from the spirit of the University and shared a deep commitment to the value and potential of education, a commitment which made a powerful impact on his family.
“My Dad went to school in Iran and his high school education was interrupted because his mother was very sick so he had to take care of her and work,” recalls Kathy who came to Canada from Iran with her family at the age of ten. “He finished high school at night and never had a chance to go to university. It was something that he would have liked to have done but he didn't have the opportunity.”
However he did have the opportunity to encourage his younger siblings (all nine of them) to get a post-secondary education and helped many of them financially. That strong belief in the power of education was passed on to Kathy and her brother, both of whom attended McGill.
“He had so much respect for academics and students,” says Kathy. “He even co-founded the Iranian Literary Society back in the 80s and held monthly meetings for over 30 years to discuss Persian literature.”
Somewhat appropriately the meetings were originally held in a classroom at McGill.
Kathy herself has preserved her father’s deep respect for education and particularly for McGill. She began volunteering in her student years (at the McGill Nightline, a helpline for students). After graduation, as an accomplished investment professional, she was invited to serve on McGill’s Board of Governors Investment Committee and then became a member of the Board of Governors, a position she held for ten years. Now a Governor Emerita, she sits on the Board of Governors Committee on Sustainability. In addition, Kathy recently established a bequest to McGill through her estate plans, adding her support to the growing number of generous donors stepping up to McGill’s 200 for 200 Legacy Challenge – which seeks to achieve a goal of 200 legacy gifts to mark the University’s 200th anniversary.
Her commitment to her community extends beyond the University to the Foundation of Greater Montreal where she has served as a board member for the past five years and will become the next President of the Board in May 2021.
The announcement of the M.A. Fazel Scholarship coincides with the seventh anniversary of Mohammad Ali Fazel’s death which makes the occasion especially meaningful for Kathy and her family.
“It brings a light to my heart even though it’s a very dark anniversary for me,” she says. “My father was always so happy to be talking to students or professors. That’s why I'm so overjoyed about this scholarship. It really epitomizes so well his values and who he was.”
Donations to support the M.A. Fazel Scholarship can be made here.