Sacramento State University Honors Two Community Builders

By Ras H. Siddiqui

It is not possible to forget how valuable our public universities are and the kind of positive impact that they have had on our lives. One is in California’s capital as we are blessed to have CSU Sacramento or Sacramento State University (both names are accurate plus it is called “Sac State” locally). Many from our community are amongst its distinguished alumni, and some have also been teaching or working on its campus in various capacities over several decades. And when one popular individual from the area Muslim community is also recognized and conferred its rare award, it is worthy of attention.

In this regard, a gala reception was hosted by the university on Friday, April 24, 2026, at the CapRadio LIVE facility in the heart of downtown Sacramento, where not one but two prominent area personalities were conferred separate honors. And even though we could have concentrated on one, the other just could not be ignored or overlooked. Northern California’s now famous Attorney, Founder and CEO of the Phoong Law firm, Anh Phoong, a graduate of Sac State, was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) at this gathering. Let us note that one does not get an honorary PhD without showing major achievement! And the second honoree here was Professor Ayad Al-Qazzaz, who was conferred the President’s Medal for Distinguished Service for his many years of teaching and more. The awardees were introduced and honors presented by Sacramento State’s President Luke Wood. In case some may have missed it this time, both the awards will also be replicated at Sac State’s much larger commencement ceremonies to be held on May 23.

Attorney Anh Phoong during her speech after accepting the honor, shared some of her life’s journey including the challenges that she faced during her time attending Sac State many years ago. She asked for a round of applause for her mom and dad (both proudly present at the event), hard-working immigrants who arrived in America with hopes and dreams and  not much else. She thanked them for all their support during her own upbringing and path to success. She attributed all that she is today to them and their sacrifices and added that they remained key role models for her.

Anh also expressed gratitude to the good people, some even complete strangers, who assisted her parents as they settled in and raised a family in their new country. She said that if her parents could come to America with nothing but shirts on their backs and succeed through hard work, then there was nothing that she (who was born in the US) could not accomplish here. She also thanked her husband for accompanying her on their collective journey and for supporting her in her effort to give back and recognize her kids’ present. And she especially thanked one person, a stranger, who helped her family and did not know what a huge positive impact he had on their lives. Anh shared that such examples have motivated her to give back to the community after her own career and business success.

Recipient of the President’s Medal for Distinguished Service,  Dr Ayad Al-Qazzaz, needs little in terms of introductions. Till recently, he was a Professor of Sociology at California Sacramento State University for over five decades. Born in Iraq, his educational background includes degrees from the University of Baghdad and the University of California, Berkeley. A legendary academic (Middle East expert) he has also been a regional leader in the Arab American and Muslim community. The professor also happens to be the only person this writer has ever met in Sacramento who hosted and is familiar with the work of Dr Eqbal Ahmad, a progressive Pakistani thinker and activist. In addition to these, Ayad has supported many local community projects, including interfaith gatherings, a medical clinic, and established the Ayad Al-Qazzaz Endowment at Sac State, which have all positively impacted the Sacramento area.

Professor Al-Qazzaz is not a man of just few words and liberally shares his views. After accepting his recognition from university President Luke Wood, he delivered a half an hour speech which included wit, humor, and wisdom. Dipping into the work of 14th century Arab social scientist, Ibn Khaldun, considered one of the fathers of many subjects including sociology, the professor said that Khaldun’s work had guided his own life, and Khaldun is hardly recognized by American social scientists even today because they tend to be Eurocentric. 

Professor Al-Qazzaz also shared his own journey into academia, coming from a large family where his own parents lacked formal education, yet they valued education and all except one of his siblings were well educated. He also shared that his father, a small business owner, had a good memory which had rubbed off on him too as far as keeping appointments. He said that he had always wanted to be a professor (Ustad) and shared why he became a sociologist specializing in the Middle East, and how he came from Baghdad and ended up at UC Berkeley during the radical days of the late 1960s and then took advantage of a teaching opportunity at Sacramento State starting in 1969. He also shared the reason he stayed at his teaching position for 55 years. The professor ended his speech with a line or two from Jalaluddin Rumi.

Now to some concluding thoughts. We skipped over the humor and the foreign policy critique that the professor shared here. But as they say, the rest is history, a subject which he also taught under the umbrella of sociology. And we would be remiss without mentioning how well the event was planned and executed (great food too). Kudos to the people in charge. And finally, our thanks to Sacramento State’s President Luke Wood who honored these two community contributors with both his words and his presence.