GSAS mourns the sudden death of master’s student, Falak Sufi

Falak Sufi

Students, faculty and administrators at the Graduate School of Arts and Science are mourning the sudden and unexpected death of Falak Sufi. Falak was completing her first year of master’s studies at the Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies. Falak passed away on Wednesday, March 19, 2008.

GSAS Dean Catharine R. Stimpson has expressed her deepest sympathies to Falak’s friends, teachers and family, stating, “We are all immensely saddened by Falak Sufi’s sudden death. She was a very promising and committed scholar of Near Eastern Studies who was thoroughly engaged in her master’s program and working with great dedication.” Falak was beloved by the faculty, students and administrators of the Kevorkian Center. She was passionate about her studies, gracious and friendly. Dean Stimpson said, “The death of someone so young and so gifted a scholar is jarring, discordant and deeply tragic especially within a community in which that person was, as Falak was, so loved and respected.”

Shiva Balaghi, Associate Director of the Kevorkian Center, said “Falak Sufi was one of our very best students. She was a recipient of the FLAS [Foreign Language and Area Studies Fellowship] and had just been awarded a FLAS for her second year as well. Falak was a rare combination--admired and liked, intense and sweet, serious and funny.”

A quiet space and private counseling services in the Kevorkian Center Library have been arranged for Monday, March 24, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. for members of the greater GSAS community wishing to make use of these resources. With the help of Falak’s friends and fellow students, the Hagop Kevorkian Center for Near Eastern Studies has planned a memorial service at the Center for Thursday, March 27, in celebration of her life. The memorial service, which begins at 12:30 p.m., will be open to members of the GSAS and NYU community.

As arranged by her family, Falak’s funeral will be held in Pakistan.