Wilmette Institute celebrates first graduate from new academic partnership

By Chitra Golestani

The Wilmette Institute is an educational institution that draws upon the principles of the Bahá’í Faith to inspire sustained social change for the common good. Its courses and initiatives are designed to explore individual and collective transformation by empowering participants to foster a more just and peaceful society. Since 1995, the Wilmette Institute has offered courses in Bahá’í history, texts and the Bahá’í approach to social transformation. 

Over the last decade, a few Bahá’ís studying chaplaincy and religion in seminaries sought the possibility of taking additional Wilmette Institute courses for credit with their certificate and degree programs. In response, the Institute achieved the distinction of obtaining two such academic agreements with the United Theological Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, and the Graduate Theological Union (GTU) in Berkeley, California.

On May 9, the Wilmette Institute celebrated a milestone–the graduation of the first Baha’i student resulting from this academic collaboration. Raya Hazini, of Folsom, California, received her Master of Arts in Interreligious Studies from GTU.

Hazini says she contemplated attending GTU for years. “My aunt sent me news that the Wilmette Institute would be collaborating with them [and] I instantly applied,” she says.  “I quickly realized I was the only Bahá’í student on campus but didn’t know I would be the first Bahá’í to graduate from GTU and the first to complete the Wilmette Institute certificate program.”

“I am the first of many more to come, Inshallah (God willing),” Hazini says.  She points out the bigger significance of her achievement: “I had the privilege of introducing the Faith and the teachings of Bahá’u’llah to my peers and professors. The partnership between the Wilmette Institute and GTU educates future professors, religious clergy, and lay educators, giving them opportunities to learn about the Bahá’í Faith in a graduate school setting.”

The graduation ceremony, held at the Flora Lamson Hewlett Library in Berkeley, opened with an invocation from Hazini, who shared a prayer from the Bahá’í Writings. Wilmette Institute Associate Director, Chitra Golestani, attended the commencement.

“These speeches highlighted the dedication, perseverance, and achievements of the graduates, emphasizing the transformative impact of their educational journey,” says Golestani. 

She tells the story one doctoral student shared that he had an epiphany when his school-aged son asked, “Now that you are a doctor, how many people have you helped?” This new Ph.D. graduate emphasized that his dissertation was not limited to exploring a topic he had dedicated years to studying, but the purpose of his scholarship is service to others, adds Golestani. 

Following the formal ceremony, a reception was held where Hazini shared her thesis, “A Historical Examination of 19th Century Persia: Women’s Role in the Emergence of the Bábi and Baháʼí Faith, The Life and Leadership of Fatima Baraghani (Tahirih)” with numerous attendees. 

Hazini says the Center for Islamic Studies and its students at GTU warmly welcomed her. She credits two professors, Mahjabeen Dhala and Robert Stockman [of the Wilmette Institute], who played significant roles in her journey. “I am profoundly grateful to them for their support and mentorship,” she adds.

More recently, the Wilmette Institute has increasingly focused its work on offering academic programs and extension courses to upper-division college students, master’s degree students, and those interested in continuing education to foster scholarship on social transformation both in its online Social Transformation certificate program and in partnership with other institutions of higher education. The Wilmette Institute invites both Bahá’ís and friends of the Faith, from high school seniors to adult learners, to enroll in its current academic program and extension course calendar. Please visit wilmetteinstitute.org for more information.