Malaysian scholar connects nations
Razak chair shares expertise, experience

By Heather Farr

Thirty years ago, Professor Dato’ Mohammad Salleh Din came to the United States to pursue his bachelor's degree at Miami University.

Now, being back in the United States as Ohio University’s newest Tun Abdul Razak chair — named after the second prime minister of Malaysia — is "a great honor," he says.

"The Razak chair is considered a very distinguished chair, by his name and by many other characteristics, in Malaysia," Salleh says. "In my country, if you are a distinguished professor, you are no ordinary professor."

Without a doubt, Salleh is "no ordinary professor." The director of the Entrepreneurship Development Institute at Universiti Utara Malaysia, Salleh specializes in business and advanced management.

Using his experience in Malaysia and his knowledge of the field of business, Salleh goes above and beyond by engaging in conversations and reaching out to colleges, students and communities all over the United States.

"In my two years here, I have been engaged with everything from academic communities and the U.S.-Asian business council, to local communities and Malaysian students," Salleh says. "The Razak chair comes to Ohio University not only to give lectures, supervise theses and do his own research, but also to perform regional and national outreach activities."

One such initiative involved traveling with nearly 20 faculty members from Ohio University and experts on Southeast Asia from around the world to Malaysia. The trip gave faculty the opportunity to learn more about Southeast Asia and discuss the future direction of the university’s Southeast Asian studies program, which has been designated a National Resource Center by the U.S. Department of Education and attracts scholars from around the world. "It really opened staff members' eyes to learn about the development of this country," Salleh says.

The first position of its kind established by any American university with support from a foreign government, the Tun Razak chair is the intellectual ambassador of Malaysia to the United States.

The collaboration represents the efforts of Ohio University and the government of Malaysia, on behalf of more than 20 universities in Malaysia and more than 100 universities in Southeast Asia, Salleh says.

Every two years, the Ministry of Higher Education in Malaysia, with aid from the Razak Council and Ohio University, selects a Malaysian scholar to serve in this esteemed endowed faculty position.

The Tun Razak chair was originally funded by the Malaysian government, Ohio University and 38 corporations in 1979. In 2008, the Malaysian government donated an additional $1 million to support the chair, bringing total charitable gifts to the chair to $1.8 million.

"To Malaysia, (the Razak chair) is so important because this is the first time something like this has been established and has been established abroad, and out of thousands of universities, Ohio University was the choice,” Salleh says.

Heather Farr, BSJ '12, was a student writer for the Ohio University division of advancement this year.

Posted 06-15-10