Alireza Afzalipour

Alireza Afzalipour (26 March 1909 - 7 April 1993) (PerB| علیرضا افضلی‌پور ) was an Iranian engineer, businessman and philanthropist who is known as the founder of Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman because of his financial support and outstanding donation to Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman as well as Kerman Medical University.

Education

He was born in Tafresh and attended schools in Tehran. Having been granted a scholarship by the Iranian government, he then went to France to study. In 1937 he graduated with a BSc in general chemistry and an MSc in agricultural chemistry. He returned to Iran after finishing his studies in France.

Career

He established his business in electronic products which made him a wealthy man. He planned to build a university and started his research by closely visiting 11 universities in Europe and almost all of universities in Iran. He finally chose Kerman for the location of the university he intended to build. After preliminary studies, about 50 hectares was allocated to the construction in December 25, 1974 and the work began with his 600,000,000 Rials donation at the time. The university was officially opened on September 15 1985. The Medical School of the Kerman Medical University and a 350-bed hospital in Kerman now bear his name.

Personal life

His wife was "Fakhereh Saba", an Opera singer and university lecturer, who died on July 14 2007 at age 82.

References

* [http://www.uk.ac.ir/Afzalipour.jsp University of Kerman, About Mr. Afzallipour]