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Professor Dr. Muhammad Samad

Pro-Vice Chancellor (Administration)

University of Dhaka

Muhammad Samad was born in a remote village in 1956 in the Jamalpur District of Bangladesh. He earned his Bachelor of Social Science (BSS) with honors and master’s degrees in Social Welfare, mostly known as Social Work, from the Institute of Social Welfare and Research (ISWR), University of Dhaka, Bangladesh. He completed his PhD on the participation of the rural poor in development programs of government and NGOs in Bangladesh.

Dr. Muhammad Samad has worked as a visiting professor at Winona State University (WSU), Minnesota, USA twice in 2005 and 2009 respectively. He has worked as a Fellow of Katherine A. Kendall Institute of International Social Work Education, CSWE, USA in 2009. He has been serving as the President of Bangladesh Council for Social Work Education (BCSWE) since 2012. He has been elected as Board Member of Asian and Pacific Social Work Education (APASWE) for the term of 2013-17.

Dr. Muhammad Samad served as the Vice Chancellor, University of Information Technology & Sciences (UITS), Bangladesh. He is a renowned professor and teaching for thirty-seven years and also former Director at the Institute of Social Welfare & Research, University of Dhaka. He has done extensive research on the rural poor, indigenous peoples and the underprivileged classes in Bangladesh. He has thirty articles published in national and international journals. A well-known social scientist Dr. Muhammad Samad has authored and edited more than ten books in the field of social science and development. Highlights include Social Service Activities of Religious Institutions in Bangladesh: The Perspective of Social Work Education and Practice, The Invisible People: Poverty and Resiliency in the Dhaka Slums (2008; Jointly with Dr. Cathleen Jo Faruque), Publish from Baltimore, USA, Participation of the Rural Poor in Government and NGO Programs: A Comparative Study (2002), Awareness About the Role of UN in Bangladesh: An Opinion Survey (2000), The Santal Community in Bangladesh: Problems and Prospects (2003; Jointly), Human Rights: 50 Years of Advancement 1999, (Ed. in Bengali), The Fourth World Conference on Women: Beijing Declaration and Platform of Action (Ed. 1997 in Bengali), Role of NGOs in Rural Poverty Alleviation of Bangladesh (1984, in Bengali) and The Struggle of Poets and Poems (A collection essays ed. in Bengali, 1994).

Dr. Muhammad Samad is an accomplished and distinguished/celebrated and popular poet of Bengali language. He has been writing poems since his school days. The first book of his verses Ekjan Rajnaitik Netar Menifesto (Manifesto of a Political Leader) was published in 1983. His other published books of verses are Ami Tomader Kabi (I am Your Poet), Selected Poems (bi-lingual), Premer Kabita (Love Poems), Kabitasangraha (Selected Collection of Poems), Aaj Sharater Akashe Purnima  (The Full Moon in the Autumn Sky), Cholo, Tumul Bristite Bhiji (Let Us Be Drenched in Torrential Rain), Podabe Chandan Kaath (Will Burn Sandal Wood) Ami Noi Indrajit Megher Adale (I am not Indrajit Behind the Clouds) and  Utsaber Kabita (Poems From Festival ed. Bengali poems rendered in the National Poetry Festival).

His works have been translated in Swedish, Greek, Chinese, Serbian, Hindi, Sinholi etc. languages and published from several countries. Dr. Muhammad Samad is serving as the President of National Poetry Council of Bangladesh.

He has received number of awards for his contribution to Bengali poetry and literature that made him widely known and honored. Among those, Trivuj Literary Award, Poet Jasimuddin Literary Award, Poet Jibanananda Das Award, Poet Sukanta Literary Award, City-Ananda Alo Literary Award, Syed Mujtaba Ali Sahitya Award, Poet Vishnu De Award, Kabitalap Award, Prizes 2018: International Best Poet (China) and Bangla Academy Sahitya Purashkar 2020 (Bangla Academy Literary Award) are remarkable..

He has visited China, Denmark, Greece, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Norway, South Korea, Thailand, Sweden, Vietnam, United Kingdom and United State of America on invitation as academic and poet.