science educators for equity, diversity, & Social justice

Dr. Rouhollah Aghasaleh has been at the forefront of efforts to put theory into practice in higher education through their unwavering commitment to students, courageous activism, and teaching grounded in critical educational scholarship. Last year, Dr. Aghasaleh was honored with the prestigious McCrone Promising Scholar Award for their research, presenting “Silence Breaking: A Story of Forgotten Bodies in the Classroom.” The talk concluded with the observation: “Schools as state institutions are particularly successful at producing docile bodies—or punishing the bodies that resist.” Months later, that line would resonate with new meaning, as Dr. Aghasaleh’s own actions on campus vividly embodied the principles of resistance and ethical engagement that have long animated their scholarship and teaching.

During the April 2024 campus encampment at Cal Poly Humboldt, Dr. Aghasaleh stood as the sole faculty member physically present in solidarity with students occupying campus buildings in support of Palestinian liberation. Their role was a mentor, de-escalator, and protector, a scholar-educator committed to ensuring that the student-led action remained safe, peaceful, and grounded in the values of justice and nonviolence. Drawing from personal experience with protest movements in Iran, Dr. Aghasaleh guided students through the complexities of civil resistance and potential police response, emphasizing preparation, collective care, and safety. When law enforcement moved to clear the occupied buildings, they stayed with students to stay calmly and regroup, preventing panic or escalation. In the tense hours that followed, Dr. Aghasaleh’s presence helped to sustain the peaceful integrity of the demonstration even as police resorted to force. Their subsequent arrest, alongside students, and later hunger strike in jail as a refusal to “accept the label of criminal for standing up for an ethical reason”, further underscored their commitment to aligning lived practice with moral conviction. Upon release, they symbolically ended the strike by inviting students and colleagues to a shared dinner, transforming pain into community as a gesture as pedagogical as it was human.

In an era of intensifying threats to academic freedom and student activism across the nation, acts of integrity and courage like Dr. Aghasaleh’s take on profound significance. At a time when institutions of higher learning face growing pressure to suppress dissent and depoliticize education, their actions exemplify the essential role of educators in defending universities as spaces for critical thought, free inquiry, and collective conscience. By standing with students intellectually, ethically, and physically. Dr. Aghasaleh demonstrated that scholarship is not only what we publish, but how we live our principles in public. Their work reminds us that the university’s highest calling lies in nurturing informed, compassionate, and active citizens.

The SEEDs Leadership Council is proud to stand in solidarity with Dr. Rouhollah Aghasaleh and to celebrate their extraordinary contributions as a scholar, educator, and public intellectual whose courage continues to inspire. 

[Photos by Ryan Hutson]