Randy Diehl, the new dean of the College of Liberal Arts at The University of Texas wants to create an endowed chair in Asian Studies Department named after Charlie Wilson:
The eventual scholar selected for the endowment will not be an expert in mind-altering pharmaceuticals or modern sexual mores, but rather a leader in the field of Pakistan studies. The Charlie Wilson Chair would dovetail with UT’s well-reputed South Asian language program teaching Urdu and Hindi, the dean said.
Never before has UT used an overseas call center to raise money for an endowed chair, Diehl said.
Colleyville-based Touchstone Communications has offered the services of its call center workers in Islamabad free of charge to contact potential benefactors around the United States, Diehl said.
If the fundraising efforts are successful, UT will have the only chair in Pakistan Studies.
To learn more about Charlie Wilson, read Charlie Wilson’s War: The Extraordinary Story of How the Wildest Man in Congress and a Rogue CIA Agent Changed the History of Our Times or watch History Channel’s The True Story of Charlie Wilson’s War or the delightful movie with Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, and Philip Seymour Hoffman.
- Justin Gillenwater
