Fayyaz Vellani serves as a Lecturer in Critical Writing at the University of Pennsylvania, a Hill College House Fellow, and Faculty Director for the College House Research Fellows program. His previous roles include Head of the Department of Graduate Studies at the Institute of Ismaili Studies in London, Associate Director of Penn’s Critical Writing Program, and Associate Registrar of Yale Law School. Fayyaz’s research specializations include disability studies, geopolitics, and sustainable development. Fayyaz’s article, “Engagement with Place: Cairo as Classroom” won the International Journal of Diversity’s International Award for Excellence in 2016, and his novel Tea With Ms. Tanzania was published by Africa World Press in 2022. As a novelist and musician, Fayyaz has learned the art of weaving stories into his work—academic, administrative, or creative—whatever the context.
