Under the right circumstances, strong friendships can grow between people from very different backgrounds. That was the case for Michael E. Bleier (BA ’62, History) and Hafizullah Nawabi (BS ’63, MS ’64, Petroleum Engineering) at The University of Tulsa. When they became roommates in John Mabee Hall in the early 1960s, Bleier and Nawabi bonded immediately, in spite of their religious and cultural differences, and they remained lifelong friends.

After graduating from TU, Bleier and Nawabi launched successful careers in their fields and raised families, eventually renewing their friendship when Nawabi returned to the United States from his native Afghanistan after the Soviet invasion of his country.

In acknowledgment of the extraordinary friendship Bleier shared with his TU roommate, and in an effort to show others that background is not nearly as important as character to the strength of a friendship, he chose to honor Nawabi while fostering opportunity at their alma mater. Bleier and his wife, Carol, established the Michael Bleier & Hafizullah Nawabi Endowed Scholarship Fund in 2011. This need-based scholarship program has a preference for students who are either Jewish or Muslim, reflecting the religions of Mr. Bleier and Mr. Hafizullah, and preference is also given to students who enroll in a comparative religion class.

Michael Bleier hopes that this namesake scholarship program will promote religious and cultural tolerance while paying tribute to his dear friend, Hafizullah Nawabi, who passed away in 2017.