“ I had heard great stories of Ali’s leadership at the University of Lethbridge 16 years ago when I was in Calgary. I wrote to Ali back in 2008, when he was the Dean at UVIC, asking him about the opportunities to relocate to B.C. Even though he did not know me personally, he spent time writing a long email helping me with my career choices. Ali started leading Beedie School of Business in 2016. I met him for the first time in 2016 and was quite impressed with how he remembered the earlier emails.
Ali had so many positive impacts on me and was a role model in our university. His visionary thinking was inspiring, and he demonstrated leadership by example. He was a compassionate, kind, and thoughtful leader and was available when you needed his support.
Ali was always proud of being Persian and was a great ambassador that the Persian community in Vancouver and worldwide were proud of. Every single year after 2016, he sent me and my other Persian colleagues a kind message wishing us Happy Nowruz. His busy schedule did not make him forget about the traditions. It was impressive how he kept reaching out to every staff and faculty at Beedie. Ali set a great example of how much impact one could have at the workplace and other communities. I am grateful for the opportunity I had to work under Ali’s leadership, and I will always cherish his memory.
My sincere condolences go out to Ali's family, friends, and colleagues. ”