Al-Qadi Executive Officer Distinguished Leadership Award speech

Dear Family and colleagues

Thank you all for being here today and for bestowing upon me this honor. I am humbled to be here and accept the 2024 Executive Officer Distinguished Leadership Award. When I heard about this honor, I had a strong feeling of gratitude. That feeling persists, but as this moment approached, a new feeling emerged — one of reflection.  

For the past several weeks, we have watched students across the nation engage in acts of solidarity with Palestine on their campuses. Perhaps most touching of all has been watching these students walk out of their own graduation ceremonies, singular moments in their lives that they have worked so hard for, in sacrifice for their perceptions of moral clarity. 

I found myself wondering whether I can even in good conscience accept an award at a university when there is not a single university left standing in Gaza. However, Palestinians, who have been recognized as one of the most educated and literate populations in the world by the United Nations, are still learning in makeshift tents amidst the rubble. As a Palestinian-born, I ask myself as I am honored with a distinguished leadership award, what does it mean to be a distinguished leader in this moment? 

There are two roles that I cherish most in my life — one is being a father and husband and one is being a teacher. So let me express my gratitude to my family — my three children and my wife — a partner and friend who has taken every moment of this journey with me with strength and grace.

For my family at ICT, it is because of you that I proudly accept this award today. It is a distinct privilege to be acknowledged by some of the hardest working and bright individuals that I know — without whom none of the tremendous success that we have seen at ICT would be possible — and I would like them to know how grateful I am to them for their acknowledgment and for their devotion to our mission at ICT and creating a cohesive, committed, and engaging team.

At ICT we believe that leadership is guided by both intellect and empathy. Our ICT vision embodies collaboration, transparency, inclusion, empowerment, communication, and shared governance in our endeavors, reflecting our unwavering commitment to ethical and effective practice, while fostering a sense of ownership and belonging within the organization.

We created a culture of empowerment and succession, such that if I am not there tomorrow, ICT will still run, and we recently created the same for the second level of leadership within ICT. This approach is designed to ensure that our work is reliant on values and thought, rather than people and positions.

The university has been incredibly supportive of our work every step of the way. I want to extend special recognition to Dean Bashir for his unwavering support and steadfast belief in ICT. Thank you for your dedication to advancing mobility and for being a shining example of distinguished leadership. Additionally, I want to express gratitude to IDOT with whom we have cultivated a remarkable and dependable relationship through our close collaboration.

As a teacher — in the past 35+ years, I have had the great honor of mentoring and learning from some of the greatest minds from all around the world. Just like many of the teachers in this room, my students have come from Philippines, Costa Rica, Kenya, and yes, Palestine. As teachers, particularly of graduate international students, we guide our students as they embark on research but also often comfort them as their parents are diagnosed with illnesses and as their home countries experience disasters while physically distant here in Champaign-Urbana. Because of these moments, our teaching profession is not only bound by a commitment to technical excellence but is often one of deep humanity and compassion. The resilience of our students inspires many of us and certainly me.

In this moment, I am deeply appreciative of our students who are enthusiastically advocating for human dignity, underscoring the significance of upholding true human values and demonstrating their own form of distinguished leadership. Their dedication brings me back to my own youth as a student leader, where I was inspired by the moral leadership of a historical great, Nelson Mandela.

As we educate our students on equity, inclusion, and the importance of standing against oppression while rectifying historical injustices — we also watch as they endeavor to put the teachings instilled into them by our own institution into practice. For that, I salute them and the leadership they are showing all of us in their courage.

Allow me to finish by the following:

I was only five years old when my town was occupied by the military. My childhood was marked by frequent disruptions in water and electricity supply, and enforced curfews imposed by the military. As I look at the arc of my life, in this moment of immense personal honor, it is only fitting for me, and all of us, to remember those in need of our prayers for peace in my homeland. The tens of thousands of innocent people who are killed — mostly women and children. Among them, I see the dreams unfulfilled — the students who will never graduate, the children who will never become students, and the five-year-olds like me — who might have grown up to become students, scholars, engineers, or just humble individuals accepting honors in their cherished schools. Yet, they were deprived of that opportunity. It is to them that we owe a duty, a responsibility to be distinguished leaders in every aspect of our lives — constantly guided by our values and our aspiration to make the world better. Thank you!