Esmail Koushanpour, Ph.D., D.H.L.

Esmail Koushanpour, , Ph.D., D.H.L., is Advisor to the President on Islamic Affairs and Distinguished Service Professor of American Muslim Relations at the Foundation from which he received the Doctor of Humane Letters honoris causa. He is also the Executive Director of the Islamic Cultural Center of Greater Chicago in Northbrook, Illinois (1992-present) and Emeritus Professor, having retired in 1999 after serving 36 years on the faculty of Northwestern University Medical School. While at Northwestern, he served as Chairman of numerous university and medical school committees dealing with educational and administrative issues, and served as President of the Medical School Faculty Senate. Dr. Koushanpour has traveled extensively within the United States and abroad to lecture, present papers, and chair scientific sessions at international scientific meetings. As a result of his scientific achievements, he served as a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Heidelberg in Germany. Active in interfaith programs and building bridges between Islam and other religions, Dr. Koushanpour has served as the Director of the Outreach Program at the Islamic Cultural Center of Greater Chicago and as co-Chairman of the Council of Islamic Organizations' Catholic-Muslim Dialogue Committee. He has served on the Board of Directors of the Gilead Outreach and Referral Center of Chicago and has been honored by the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation with the Faith in Community Award for building bridges between faiths. Recently, he was invited to become a member of the Rotary Club of Northbrook, Illinois, and now serves as the co-Chairman of the local polio eradication program which is part of an international, ongoing, three-year project of the Rotary Clubs around the world. Dr. Koushanpour also serves on the Board of Directors of the North Suburban YMCA and the Center for Deafness, both in Northbrook, Illinois. He has been appointed a MECCA Project consultant.