Dr Syed Babar Ali Visits Northern California to Strengthen Academic Ties
By Ras H. Siddiqui
The Sacramento, California region including the (nearby) renowned University of California at Davis has hosted some of the top leaders of Pakistan’s political, social, diplomatic and business community over many decades. Added to the list now is Syed Babar Ali who recently visited the region to see old friends and also to continue his private bid to expand on the already existing cooperation between Pakistan and the United States in the field of education.
As the visionary founder of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Ali at the age of 93 (as of this writing, born on June 30, 1926) has to be our senior most visiting dignitary ever. But he is no stranger in America and was even married here to his wife Perwin Ali. The ceremony was held at the Pakistan Embassy in Washington DC in the mid-1950’s at a ceremony attended by then US Vice President Richard Milhous Nixon.
Syed Babar Ali came on a bicoastal visit of the United States this time and we are lucky to have him stop off in Northern California beyond the usual San Francisco Bay Area. This writer last covered his visit at OPEN Forum in Silicon Valley several years ago. In the eastern US he has a close relationship with Harvard Business School and it has been reported that his idea for LUMS was incubated there. But old friends from Chico, Davis and Sacramento were all the encouragement that he needed to visit us here this time. This also gave him an opportunity to actively pitch for a closer educational relationship with the University of California Davis which has had cooperative ties with the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad (UAF) Pakistan’s top agricultural university. Syed Babar Ali is interested in possibly setting up an Agribusiness program at LUMS. Agricultural ties between California and Pakistan go way back ever since the Kinnow citrus variety was introduced in the Punjab many decades ago. Granted that the Kinnow variety was developed at UC Riverside, but UC Davis is today one of the leading agricultural and veterinary research universities and till recently has hosted the US-Pakistan Center for Advanced Studies in Agriculture and Food Security (USPCAS-AFS) which cooperated extensively with UAF.
This June 25, 2019 event, a hurriedly arranged meeting announced by area luminary Rashid Ahmad, drew about 40 guests at the Darna Mediterranean Kitchen in downtown Sacramento. Dinner was served first while attendees from the area Arab American, Iranian and Pakistani business community along with UC Davis officials, local representatives and some of their friends got a chance to interact with the chief guest. It has to be noted that Syed Babar Ali retains energy way beyond his years and his sharp intellect appears to have been only enhanced by age. No wonder, his company Packages did so well.
The evening proceedings began with the presentation of Certificates of Recognition to the chief guest from the offices of Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg, Assembly member Kevin McCarty, State Senator Dr Richard Pan, and California State Controller Betty Yee. Besides being an educationist, Syed Babar Ali also happens to be a leading philanthropist, and environmentalist which have made such recognition valid. He has been the head of the World Wildlife Fund during his illustrious past when he was not setting up a business empire and founding a leading educational institution (LUMS).
After an amazing introduction of all the people present by Rashid Ahmad (from memory), Jim Hill of UC Davis was invited to say a few words as the official area host. He said that it had been a great pleasure to meet Syed Babar Ali earlier that day and to discuss with him what could be done to link efforts in human nutrition and agribusiness between LUMS University and UC Davis. He added that he had an opportunity to visit LUMS earlier this year along with Namal University (which Prime Minister Imran Khan has promoted) where he ended up being a keynote speaker at a small graduation. Hill added that Namal too wanted to add an Agribusiness major.
During his short speech Syed Babar Ali thanked everyone and said that he felt humbled and overwhelmed.by the kindness and generosity shown to him. He said that the visit to UC Davis earlier in the day was very encouraging and rewarding and he expressed his thanks to them. Besides Jim Hill he also recognized Nancy Allen who had visited them in Lahore and with whom he also had a Harvard Business School connection in common. He also strongly suggested that some of us in the Pakistani-American community take an interest in what they are doing at LUMS and that help is needed to supplement their efforts in assisting the institution in awarding scholarships (almost 6 million dollars has been spent in helping almost 30% of the students attending LUMS). He said that we could help via the Friends of LUMS organization registered here in the US. Babar also said that he was looking for ideas on how to take LUMS forward. Like everywhere else, education is the key that can open the door to underprivileged people in Pakistan, he said. He pointed out that resource-poor countries like Singapore have done so well economically and it is education that has brought such countries to the top of the ladder and this is what we need in Pakistan. In closing Syed Babar Ali thanked Rashid Ahmad for all of his efforts, for his time and hospitality, and that he could not thank him enough.
In closing, Syed Babar Ali has also an autobiography “Learning From Others” out which is certainly worth reading and is both informational and inspiring. There is often skepticism about people succeeding in doing business in Pakistan. One reason why this book is recommended reading is to learn how the author succeeded against the odds and gave something substantial back to his community and country in the process.
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