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Emad Rahim          

Award-Winning Author, Distinguished Entrepreneur, Endowed Professor, Fulbright Scholar, TEDx Speaker and Forbes Contributor

Veteran academic leader and business consultant, Dr. Emad Rahim is an award-winning author, educator, entrepreneur, MLE Harvard Fellow, Fulbright Fellow and TEDx Speaker, and serving as the Kotouc Endowed Chair and Professor at Bellevue University, Cornell Consultant, and Partner at Ztudium and IntelligentHQ.

He founded the Project Management Center of Excellence at Bellevue University and Venture Connect at Morrisville State College, where he was a Kaufmann Foundation eProfessor in the School of business and entrepreneurship. Rahim was appointed as the Distinguished Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Oklahoma State University and Visiting Scholar at Rutgers University and Syracuse University.

A former University Dean for the College of Business at Colorado Technical University, he helped led the school through ACBSP accreditation and achieved SHRM alignment, MBA rankings from CEO Magazine and listings in the Financial Times, and awarded additional accreditation from GAC-PMI. Rahim also served as a Curriculum Dean at Strayer University and Co-founded and served as the Chief Learning Officer at Global i365 LLC, Co-founded and served as President of the Human Service Association of Central New York, Co-founded the CNY Inclusion Conference and served as Associate Partner of Innovative Development Inc of CNY.

His genocide story was turned into the short documentary Against The Odds (F.A.M.E.'US International Film Festival’s 2016 Bronze Award Winner), included in The Digital Archive of Cambodia Holocaust Survivors and was adapted into the Syracuse Stage Theatre production titled Tales from the Salt City, which is an extension of the acclaimed Undesirable Elements series written by celebrated playwright and Presidential National Medals of Arts Award recipient, Ping Chong. He was recently invited to participate in the award-winning documentary series On The Spot, and will be working with celebrated filmmakers Eszter Cseke and András S. Takács.

Rahim was honored with an Award of Distinction by Southwest University in El Paso TX, the John H. Mulroy Founder's Award, SUNY Onondaga Community College and recipient of the prestigious Outstanding Alumni Award issued by the American Association of Community Colleges during the 97th AACC Annual Convention in New Orleans LA. He was recognized by the United Nations as an Empact100 Honoree, received a Congressional Award for Civic Engagement, Riata Entrepreneur Teaching Excellence Award from Oklahoma State University, Teaching Innovation Award from Bellevue University and named Certified Manager of the Year by ICPM at James Madison University and 40 Under-Forty Business Leader by Whitman School of Management and the CNY Business Journal. He was also a finalist for The John Robert Gregg Award, CEC Educator of the Year Award, and the LGS Syracuse Distinguished Community Leader Award.

Despite barely graduating from high school, Rahim has earned several influential academic accolades, including advanced post-doctoral credentials from Harvard University, Tulane University, and the University of Maryland/UC. He was awarded a Post-Doctorate Diploma from Freeman School of Business and deemed Academically Quality (AQ) from AACSB in marketing and management. He received a Doctorate of Management and two graduate degrees in business from Colorado Technical University, and completed his undergraduate education at SUNY Empire State College. He was awarded an honorary PhD from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology and an Associate degree from SUNY Onondaga Community College for his academic achievements.

Former Fellow at The Saylor Foundation, Beyster Institute, MLE at Harvard Graduate School of Education, MFP Booth School of Business, The Refractive Thinker and Intellectbase International Consortium, and distinguished membership at Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation and Coleman Foundation (awarded grants), served on the Board of Directors Contact Community Services, Good Life Youth Foundation, Syracuse First, Alliance of Community Transforming Syracuse (ACTS) and the South Side Innovation Center.

News

CLO Magazine - The Future of the Project Management Role
At the university level, project management courses tend to focus on the technical skills, said Emad Rahim, chair of the Project Management Center of Excellence and an associate professor and program director at Bellevue University. While the technical skills are important, “graduates end up lacking the necessary people skills that are needed to work effectively with their teams and clients. These graduates are proficient in developing and managing the project plan, but struggle in executing their strategy, communicating their vision, delegating responsibilities and working with clients directly.”
Supporting Players
Rahim is the university dean for business and management at Colorado Technical University, but as a young man growing up on Syracuse’s West Side, he considered himself the “suspension king” of both Grant Middle School and Fowler High School. A very energetic young man with a keen eye for trouble, Rahim was repeatedly suspended before a school administrator changed his life with one simple question.
Huffington Post - How One Former Refugee Uses His Story To Empower Change
By sharing his story of resilience and over overcoming challenges to high schools and college students throughout the country, he wants to help inspire people everywhere to turn their tragedies into their triumphs. He was recently awarded a Fulbright to conduct research on entrepreneurship and business education in Indonesia at the Universitas Ciputra. And, he is currently touring the U.S., observing business owners, meeting with government officials, participating in panels, and conduct presentations and lecturers on campus. I asked Emad to share some of his work here today.
Overcoming Obstacles – Dr. Emad Rahim
His life story could be a movie. Dr. Emad Rahim has overcome an unthinkable amount of turbulence and tragedy along with a significant learning disability. Today he’s a true success story thanks in large part to the role education played in his life. Rahim was born in Cambodia where his family was forced into concentration camps. While there, his father was executed and his older brother died of starvation before family members were able to flee to a refugee camp in Thailand. They were granted asylum and found a new home in Brooklyn but violence remained a constant in their lives. While walking down the street Rahim suffered a gunshot wound to the leg. “It was like going from war zone to war zone.
AACC National “Outstanding Alumni Award”
Former OCC student Dr. Emad Rahim will be recognized in April by a national education association, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC). Rahim will receive the 2017 Outstanding Alumni Award at the AACC’s National Convention in New Orleans, LA. Rahim is one of only five honorees nationwide this year.
Project Eye Magazine Interview with Emad Rahim
Why Pursue A Project Management Education? Featured in Project Management Magazine. Interview with Dr. Emad Rahim, Endowed Chair for the Project Management Center of Excellence at Bellevue University. Discussing the benefits of having a project management education and skills.
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Rutgers The Humanist - issue Gender 3rd with Emad Rahim
Rutgers University's The Humanist - issue gender 3rd Dr. Emad Rahim, Cambodian Survivor of Khmer Rouge Advocates for Alternative Education. Born under Khmer Rouge rule in Cambodia, during which an estimated 1.7-million Cambodians lost their lives, Emad Rahim escaped the country as a boy with his mother, fleeing to the United States.
Worldclass Magazine Feature on Emad Rahim
Emad Rahim’s story is that of survival against incredible odds. He had to overcome numerous challenges to achieve the success he is enjoying today. Emad Rahim was born in a concentration camp in the killing fields of Cambodia. On the day when he was born, his father was being tortured. Rahim’s father was later executed. His older brother died of starvation and illness. He is the last of his father’s bloodline.
CEO Magazine Interview with Emad Rahim
Interview with Dr. Emad Rahim, University Dean of Business at Colorado Technical University discusses trends in online education and describes the uniqueness of his MBA program and LMS platform. The CTU MBA is offered in both on-campus and online formats and is designed for working adults who are looking to advance their career or make a career change. The main objective of CTU’s MBA programme is to train, equip and prepare business leaders for the global economy.
SUNY Empire State College - Connect Magazine with Emad Rahim
Despite such an inauspicious beginning, or perhaps because of it, Rahim’s perseverance and initiative have consistently helped him transform adverse circumstances such as a learning disability, failing grades and an abusive step-parent into triumph and success.
Georgetown University - Thought Leadership Interview with Dr. Emad Rahim
Emad Rahim is a speaker, educator, and entrepreneur. He was born in the killing fields of Cambodia, and was brought to America by his mother. Raised in the poorest neighborhoods of Brooklyn and Upstate New York, he faced economic hardship, abuse, and a learning disability, eventually overcoming these hurdles to convert to Islam and become an entrepreneur. The shadow of the Cambodian genocide loomed large over Rahim’s upbringing, and he discovered only as a teenager that his birth father had been killed by the Khmer Rouge. Despite academic difficulties, Rahim eventually went on to work as a social worker, earn a doctorate, and start a consulting firm for non-profits and small businesses.
SUNY OCC Spotlight - Overcoming Obstacles with Emad Rahim
His life story could be a movie. Dr. Emad Rahim has overcome an unthinkable amount of turbulence and tragedy along with a significant learning disability. Today he’s a true success story thanks in large part to the role education played in his life.
Post Standard - An inspiring journey to leadership with Emad Rahim
Emad Rahim has not been afraid of change, holding a variety of leadership roles in business and higher education over the years. Perhaps his fearlessness started as an infant, when he escaped from a concentration camp. Syracuse Stage's 2008 production of "Tales From the Salt City" by Ping Chong told part of Rahim's story.
#TYBspotlight - Genocide Survivor To Entrepreneur with Emad Rahim
For an introduction to Dr. Emad Rahim I’m not sure where to start – the Killing Fields of Cambodia, the dangers of growing up in Brooklyn, abusive step-father and dyslexia to name a few. Then on to the good times – overcoming the past, surpassing the learning difficulties that came with dyslexia, becoming a Doctorate and now a mentor himself. I dare you to watch the Youtube video below – Against All Odds – and not feel inspired. In this #TYBspotlight I try to find out the whole story of Dr Emad Rahim but I’m sure it’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Huffington Post - Survival and Entrepreneurship with Emad Rahim
Emad started life on a concentration camp, where he witnessed countless murders, including most of his family, before he, his mother, and remaining sister escaped by foot to Thailand. He is the epitome of a survivor; fighting his way to the U.S., through gangs and ghettos of New York, through dyslexia to earn his doctorate, and ending as an award-winning entrepreneur and educator.
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