We often forget how valuable our public universities are and the kind of positive impact that they have had on our lives. One is in California’s capital, as we are blessed to have CSU Sacramento or Sacramento State University (both names are accurate, plus it is called “Sac State” locally). Many from our community are amongst its distinguished alumni, and some have also been teaching or working on its campus in various capacities over several decades. And when a popular individual from the area Muslim community is also recognised and conferred the rare award, it is worthy of attention.
In this regard, a gala reception was hosted by the university on Friday, April 24, 2026, at the CapRadio LIVE facility in the heart of downtown Sacramento, where not one but two prominent area personalities were conferred separate honours. And even though we could have concentrated on one, the other just could not be ignored or overlooked. Northern California’s now famous Attorney, Founder and CEO of the Phoong Law firm, Anh Phoong, a graduate of Sac State, was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws (L.L.D.) at this gathering. And the second honoree here was Professor Ayad Al-Qazzaz, who was conferred the President’s Medal for Distinguished Service for his many years of teaching and more. The awardees were introduced and honors presented here by Sacramento State’s President Luke Wood.
Attorney Anh Phoong, during her speech after accepting the honour, shared some of her life’s journey, including the challenges that she faced during her time attending Sac State many years ago. She asked for a round of applause for her mom and dad (both proudly present here), hard-working immigrants who arrived in America with hopes and dreams and not much else. Anh also expressed gratitude to the good people, some even complete strangers, who assisted her parents as they settled in and raised a family in their new country.
Recipient of the President’s Medal for Distinguished Service, Dr Ayad Al-Qazzaz needs little in terms of introductions. Till recently, he was a Professor of Sociology at California State University, Sacramento. Born in Iraq, his educational background includes degrees from the University of Baghdad and the University of California, Berkeley. A legendary academic (Middle East expert), he has also been a regional leader in the Arab American and Muslim community. He also happens to be the only person this writer has ever met in Sacramento who hosted and knew the late Dr. Eqbal Ahmad, a progressive Pakistani thinker and activist.
Professor Al-Qazzaz is not a man of few words and liberally shares his views. After accepting his recognition from the university President Wood, he delivered a half-hour speech which included wit, humour, and wisdom. Dipping into the work of 14th-century Arab social scientist Ibn Khaldun, considered one of the fathers of many subjects, including sociology, the professor said that Khaldun’s work had guided his own life, and that Khaldun is hardly recognised by American social scientists even today because they choose to be Eurocentric.
Professor Al-Qazzaz detailed his own life, coming from a large family and that his parents lacked formal education. He said that he had always wanted to be a professor (Ustad) and shared why he became a sociologist specialising in the Middle East, and how he came from Baghdad and ended up at UC Berkeley during the late 1960s and then took advantage of a teaching opportunity at Sacramento State starting in 1969. He also stated the reasons why he stayed at his teaching position for 55 years. The professor ended his speech with lines of wisdom from the poet philosopher Jalaluddin Rumi.
We have skipped over the humour and the American foreign policy critique that the professor shared here. But as they say, the rest is history, a subject which he also taught under the umbrella of sociology. And we would be remiss without mentioning how well the event was planned and executed (great food, too). Kudos to the people in charge. And finally, our thanks to Sacramento State’s President Luke Wood, who honoured these two community contributors with both his words and his presence.