Photo Courtesy of Lewis & Clark
SPRING 2021 WILL be the last semester that beloved Senior Lecturer Emeritus in Social Sciences Cyrus Partovi ’67 teaches at Lewis & Clark. Though he formally retired following the 2019-20 academic year, Partovi continued teaching courses during Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 through an arrangement with the dean and international affairs (IA) department. He started his career at LC as a student and returned many years later to teach.
“Those three years at Lewis & Clark were the best years of my life,” Partovi said. “I majored in political science, because at that time the IA department had only one teacher … it was just a one-man show. But of course, all the courses I took were international affairs oriented.”
Following his education at LC, Partovi attended graduate school at The Fletcher School at Tufts University and then returned to his home country of Iran to work in politics.
“After Fletcher, I went back to Iran and worked at the Ministry of the Imperial Court, which is like the Shah’s private secretariat, and I reached the position of director general,” Partovi said. “I worked there for eight years and then the revolution came along, and I left Iran six weeks before the Shah left. I stayed until the end, clearly knowing that things were not going well in Iran.”
In the years after the revolution, Partovi followed and worked with the former crown prince and last heir apparent in Imperial Iran, Reza Pahlavi.
“The former crown prince asked me to come and work for him for a while, for a number of years, in exile,” Partovi said. “I was in Rabat, Morocco, as well as in Washington, D.C. and then I was realizing that the chances of going back to Iran were not likely. I knew that I had to look for something else, and so I came to Oregon, where I had settled my family.”
Upon returning to Oregon, Partovi began looking for more permanent work as he rebuilt his life in the United States. He found himself once again on LC’s campus when he was offered a short-term position as a lecturer of IA by Joseph Ha, former chair of the IA department.
“There was an opening at Lewis & Clark College, at that time Joe Ha was the chair of the department, and my former colleague Richard Peck, who has since retired, hired me,” Partovi said. “That was in 1992, and then one thing led to another and, you know, the students really liked the way I was teaching and so by the grace of the student body at Lewis & Clark, I remained a senior lecturer for 29 years.”
After several years of teaching, Partovi was let go from the college in 1999. However, the student body protested this decision which resulted in Partovi receiving the title of senior lecturer, according to a September 1999 article in The Pioneer Log.
“At a certain juncture you either get tenured, or not, and it was time for me to move on as far as the administration was concerned, but the students really felt that I should stay around … so, here I am,” Partovi said.
Generations of LC students have gained insight, direction and lessons from Partovi, and he has become a sort of living legend on campus.
Professor of International Affairs and Department Chair Bob Mandel shared his thoughts on Partovi’s extensive teaching career and the impact it has had on students.
“Cyrus has been an absolutely irreplaceable and invaluable asset since he first joined the Lewis & Clark faculty,” Mandel said via email. “Through his incredible passion and expertise, he has inspired innumerable students to go on to pursue stellar careers in international affairs. He has brought to the classroom a uniquely perceptive combination of extensive real-world experience and deep academic insight that enthralls students in a way nobody else could. We will all sorely miss his sage presence here.”
Associated Students of Lewis & Clark President Mikah Bertelmann ’21 credits Partovi with inspiring him to pursue a career in the foreign service.
“Cyrus has been one of the most influential professors I have had at LC,” Bertelmann said via email. “From the anecdotes about his time in the Imperial Court of Iran, to the quotes about Portland, every moment with Cyrus is a life lesson that I undoubtedly will keep with me. Going into a career in the foreign service, I know I am well prepared after learning from our favorite diplomat!”
Sandenna McMaster ’21, the co-chair of the 2021 International Affairs Symposium, shared how Partovi’s personal experience has motivated her to learn in his classes.
“Cyrus Partovi has represented, for me, the embodiment of what motivates most students to attend a liberal arts education,” McMaster said via email. “Beyond his knowledge that seems infinite and his impressive past experiences, Cyrus brings his heart to the classroom each day and true care to every conversation he takes part in. I have been honored to be taught by a man of his stature and to carry with me everything that he taught me, both in knowledge of international relations and otherwise.”
During his impactful 29-year-long term as a lecturer, Partovi earned the recognition of Teacher of the Year in 1994 and 1998, and received the 2008 Donald G. Balmer Citation for rendering outstanding voluntary service to the college.
Partovi is unsure about what comes next, but he is excited for his retirement in Oregon, the state that he loves so dearly.
“I am looking forward to a new chapter, but I have nothing fixed,” Partovi said. “I am looking forward to keeping fit and staying alive. And using this beautiful state of ours and taking advantage of everything it has; skiing and backpacking and just enjoying Oregon. Oregon is really the end of the line for me. And, of course, I am looking forward to Argentine tango.”
Partovi has become an integral part of the international affairs experience at LC, and, needless to say, he will be sorely missed as a lecturer, colleague, mentor, friend and ally.
“It was an honor and privilege to be a member of the international affairs department and during my 29 years at the college, able to teach 4,657 students,” Partovi said. “Do not ask me to name them all but I continue my friendship with many.”
About the Author
Congratulations on a long and meaningful career, cultivating a global awareness in an American society that really needs it.
May you enjoy your personal life!
Perhaps we will meet again on the dance floor at some future time?
I have greatly missed seeing Cyrus at the various Tango Parties (Milongas) in the last year and half since COVID has changed the world. I have always enjoyed our conversations and his insites and understanding he posseses about the nature of political and social issues. Hope to see him soon out and about as we emerge from the the dark days of the pandemic.