Adel Mozip
By ZEINAB NAJM
Times-Herald Newspapers
DEARBORN — Adel Mozip was appointed to the Henry Ford College Board of Trustees and Dearborn Public Schools Board of Education during a special meeting April 8 at the Administrative Service Center.
Mozip, a senior software developer for Beaumont Health, will fill the term until the next general election on Nov. 3, 2020. Following the election, the winner will serve the remainder of the current six-year term which ends on Dec. 31, 2022.
“Public education and higher education have always been very important to me,” Mozip said in a HFC press release. “My involvement within the community has vastly shaped my leadership skills and as a highly qualified individual, I am prepared to serve on the board while valuing the relationships with students, teachers, staff, as well as parents and community stakeholders that I have built over the years.”
Mozip is scheduled to be sworn in April 15 during the board’s HFC meeting. A trustee seat became available when Michigan Solicitor General Fadwa Hammoud resigned from the board last month following her appointment to the position in January.
Mozip was one of seven candidates interviewed by the board on April 4, and a total of 10 candidates were considered for the vacant seat after one withdrew from the application process.
He ran for school board in 2016 and 2018, third third for two open positions in both elections. In 2017, Mozip also interviewed with five other candidates when a seat opened up.
“I’m truly humbled and honored to earn the appointment to our Dearborn Public Schools Board,” Mozip said in a DPS press release. “Thanks to God almighty for granting me the opportunity to serve you all. Thanks to all those who have supported me all the past years in this journey. Special thanks to my family for giving me the support, and special thanks to the trustees for entrusting me with this honor.”
Mozip graduated from Fordson High School in 2004 where he founded the Arabic Cultural Club and was awarded the Bilingual Department Medallion. He was involved in the National Honor Society, the Key Club and the Fordson Robotics Team. Within his first two years at Fordson, he applied to what is now the Dearborn Center for Mathematics, Science, & Technology.
He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in computer engineering with a minor in computer science from the University of Michigan-Dearborn in 2008 and a master’s degree from the Mike Ilitch School of Business at Wayne State University in 2016.
During his final year at UM-D, he founded what is now called the American Association of Yemeni Students and Professionals. He was elected to the student government, where he became a senator and chaired the Student Academic Affairs Committee.
“While in office, Mozip worked collaboratively with the UM-Dearborn administration to address and resolve various issues in the student body,” a HFC press release said. “Under his leadership, the student government reached a major milestone in extending library hours during final exams to 24 hours, as well as extending computer lab hours.”
In his final year at UM-D, Mozip co-founded what is now the Michigan Chapter of the American Association of Yemeni Students and Professionals. AAYSP Michigan’s mission is to promote innovation in advancing the educational success of Yemeni-Americans by fostering research, networking, mentoring, academic support, community-based initiatives, and elimination of barriers to education. Mozip served as AAYSP Michigan’s president from 2010-11.
“AAYSP Michigan collaborated with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metropolitan Detroit to bring BBBSMD to Salina Intermediate School in Dearborn in 2013,” the HFC press release read. “Mozip himself served as a Big Brother and saw first-hand the benefits of this organization. He was instrumental in establishing the AAYSP Mentoring program at Edsel Ford High School.”
Mozip has held various roles in the community, including serving on the DPS 2015 Strategic Plan Committee and the Governor’s Commission on Middle Eastern American Affairs. He also has been involved with the Rotary Club of Dearborn, the League of Women Voters Dearborn/Dearborn Heights and the Eastborn Neighborhood Association.
(Zeinab Najm can be reached at [email protected].)