Ziaul H. Hashmi

Beloved husband, father, grandfather, brother, and uncle to numerous, cherished nieces and nephews, Dr. Zia H. Hashmi passed away peacefully on March 9, 2021, on Merritt Island, Florida, at age 87. He was born in Warangal, Hyderabad State, in what was then British India. Dr. Hashmi was the fifth of six brothers, all of whom had illustrious careers in various fields of education, and he also had a beloved older sister. He earned a BSc from Osmania University and an MA and LLB from Aligarh University, where he served two terms as Student Union President and received the university’s gold medal for Urdu elocution. After briefly teaching in the political science faculty of the University of Karachi, Pakistan, Dr. Hashmi received a fellowship in 1964 for doctoral studies in international relations at the University of South Carolina, where he was mentored by Dr. Richard L. Walker, who would later serve as U.S. ambassador to South Korea in the Reagan Administration. In 1968, Dr. Hashmi began a 32-year career on the faculty of Georgia Southern University. During 16 of those years, he served as Founding Director of the GSU Center for International Studies. In this capacity, he organized well over 50 workshops and seminars for faculty and obtained more than $450,000 in grants to support the integration of a global perspective to the curriculum. In collaboration with colleagues, he initiated an interdisciplinary minor in International Studies at the university. With his friend and colleague, Dr. Lane Van Tassell, he served frequently as faculty co-advisor for the university’s Model United Nations Program. He also regularly taught courses in the GSU Bell Honors Program. Dr. Hashmi established partnerships with colleagues throughout Georgia and other states. Notably, he collaborated with his good friend Dr. Harold Isaacs, Professor of History at Georgia Southwestern State University, to help found the Association of Third World Studies (now the Association of Global South Studies) and to edit the association’s journal. Dr. Hashmi inspired and trained hundreds of students, and his influence is felt throughout the region. From 2000 to 2013, he lived in Midlothian, Virginia, and was an active member of the Islamic Center of Virginia. He is survived by his wife of 59 years, Tanveer, his children, Sohail, Ghazala and her husband Azhar, Saira and her husband Mahboob, and grandchildren Yasmin, Noor, Manar, Firas, and Sofia; he also leaves behind to cherish his memory his younger brother Syed Mansoor Hashmi of Hyderabad.