Dear UCI Jordan Center for Persian Studies’ friends and supporters,

The situation with the Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) is evolving rapidly across the United States. To date, there have been no confirmed cases of the virus at the UC Irvine campus. However, UC Irvine continues to take proactive measures to help protect the campus and the community. With that in mind, I have decided to cancel all events, including conferences, symposiums, lectures, movie screenings and all other activities at the Samuel M. Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture for the rest of the academic year (end of June 2020) or, if the situation persists, until further notice.

These decisions are made in support of the concept of “social distancing,” which is a public health concept to reduce the probability of contact between individuals who are or may be carrying a highly contagious disease. Social distancing – which can be effective with as little as a six-feet gap between individuals – helps to prevent infections that are transmitted by droplets (such as coughing, sneezing or touching a contaminated surface). More information and guidelines about steps to mitigate the risk, can be found on the CDC’s website here.

Should you be interested in the latest updates from UCI with regards to this matter, please visit the COVID-19 updates webpage.

I hope that our community and our friends and family members in the U.S., Iran and around the world persevere, and I hope to see better times ahead.

Thank you for your attention and support.

Touraj Daryaee
Director of the Dr. Samuel M. Jordan Center for Persian Studies and Culture
Maseeh Chair in Persian Studies & Culture
University of California, Irvine
1st Floor Humanities Gateway
Irvine, CA 92697-3370