Dear CID Community,
I am incredibly grateful and humbled to begin as the new Faculty Director of Harvard University’s Center for International Development.
As I take on this new role, I inevitably draw on my personal journey that guides my values, research, and teaching, and ultimately, also my vision for CID. Central to this journey is a sobering reminder about how much of a role luck has played in my life. This compels me in two ways. First, it makes me thankful for what I have and reminds us, especially those with privilege, of our responsibility to give back. Second, it offers a clear and unwavering goal: enabling individuals – no matter where they are born and what circumstances they are in – to have access to the resources and opportunities they need, when they need them, to reach their full potential.
This is an ambitious and perhaps aspirational goal, but one that I am reassured is shared by many others. We are indeed gifted with immense talent among our faculty, staff, and students and with Harvard’s truly unique power to convene the brightest minds in the world to work on the most pressing problems in the developing world today. I believe it is our responsibility to use these gifts to catalyze a positive impact in the world—especially where it is needed the most.
I invite you to join and support us at CID to help build a world where even those who are the least fortunate amongst us, can lead fulfilling and impactful lives.
- Asim Ijaz Khwaja