Ardeshir Zahedi receiving an honorary degree from Utah State University. Zahedi served as Iranian ambassador to the U.S. from 1959 to 1963, and again in 1973. Having graduated from USU in 1950, Zahedi developed a close personal relationship with USU’s tenth president, Daryl Chase, and was responsible for recommending hundreds of Iranian students who attended USU. (P0131 Box 5, Item 1)

Iran and Utah State University, Half a Century of Friendship and a Decade of Contracts [click to enlarge; click again to browse all pages] (University Archives 10.2:63 No. 2)

The Improvement of the College of Agriculture of the University of Tehran, progress report, April 26, 1958–December 31, 1959 [click to enlarge; click again to browse all pages] (University Archives 23.5:36a Box 1)

As the drought abated, USU’s reputation expanded. In 1941, the U.S. Foreign Agricultural Relations Office selected L. M. Winsor to advise the government of Iran on matters of irrigation. He spent the balance of WWII in the Middle East, not returning until 1946.

This initial foyer launched a long relationship between Iran and USU and firmly established USU’s international standing as a leader in irrigation and drainage. Beginning in 1952, many water and agricultural specialists served temporary assignments in Iran where, among other ventures, they started the country’s first agricultural college at Karadj. USU’s water specialists would also work extensively in Egypt, Bolivia, the Dominican Republic, and throughout Latin America.