Adil Najam

He was the founding Dean of the Pardee School from its creation in 2014 until 2022, when he was awarded the status of Dean Emeritus by Boston University. Previously he had served as vice-chancellor of the LUMS ın Lahore, Pakıstan.

Adil Najam
عادل نجم
11th President of WWF
In office 2023 – to date
Preceded by	Neville Isdell
1st (Founding) Dean of Pardee School, Boston University
In office 2014–2022
Succeeded by	Scott Taylor
3rd Vice Chancellor of Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS)
In office 2011–2014
Preceded by	Ahmad Durrani
Succeeded by	Sohail H. Naqvi
Personal details
Born	Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan
Alma mater	University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore, Pakistan Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), U.S.
Known for	HigherEd Leadership Environmental Leadership
Awards	Sitara-i-Imtiaz, 2008 Hilal-i-Imtiaz, 2023
Scientific career
Fields	International Relations Climate Change Environmental Policy Development Policy South Asia Politics
Institutions	MIT Pardee School, Boston University Tufts University LUMS IPCC
Doctoral advisor	Larry Susskind

Since 2023, Dr. Adil Najam serves as the global President of WWF International. In 2022, Adil Najam stepped down after eight years as the founding Dean of the Boston University Frederick S. Pardee School of Global Studies. In recognition of his services the University conferred on his the status of Dean Emeritus and also established the "Adil Najam Prize and Fellowship for Advancing the Public Understanding of Global Affairs".

In 2011, Najam returned to Pakistan to head the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) as its third vice-chancellor. During his tenure at LUMS, he oversaw the launch of a major student financial aid program and brought in major philanthropic gifts to enable an expansion of the university. However, he faced criticism for not intervening over the controversial termination of Pervez Hoodbhoy by the university's School of Science and Engineering. Najam left LUMS in June 2013, and returned to Boston University. A year later he was appointed the inaugural dean of Pardee School.

In 2008, the President of Pakistan conferred on him the award of the Sitara-i-Imtiaz, and in 2023, he was awarded the Hilal-i-Imtiaz by the Government of Pakistan. In February 2009, he was appointed to the Committee for Development Policy by the United Nations Secretary General. He is a senior fellow of the International Institute for Sustainable Development. He has also served as the Chair of the Boards of the South Asian Network for Development and Environmental Economics (SANDEE), of LEAD-Pakistan, and of the Luc Hoffmann Institute. He also serves as a Trustee on the International Board of the World Wide Fund for Nature and on the Board of The Asia Foundation. Adil Najam was awarded an honorary doctorate degree by the Information Technology University (ITU) in Lahore, Pakistan, in 2017, for his contributions in science, climate change, and sustainable development.

Scholarly work

Adil Najam promotes the idea of living in the "Age of Adaptation" and conceptualizing water as being as important to climate adaptation as carbon was to mitigation.

"Water is to adaptation what carbon is to mitigation."

— Prof. Adil Najamr

Najam served as a lead author for the third and fourth assessment reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC was awarded the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for its contributions to advancing the understanding of global climate change.

His books include How Immigrants Impact their Homelands (co-editor, 2013), "The Future of South-South Economic Relations" (co-editor, 2012), "Envisioning a Sustainable Development Agenda for Trade and Environment" (co-editor, 2007), "Portrait of a Giving Community" (2007), "Environment, Development and Human Security" (editor, 2003), and "Civic Entrepreneurship" (co-author, 2002).

He was the lead author for the 2018 Pakistan National Human Development Report, which focused on the topic of youth and included a first comprehensive district-by-district ranking in a national Human Development Index for Pakistan. The report and the district HDI index became a matter of much election campaign discussion during the 2018 Pakistani general election.

Media

Early in his career, Najam worked as a journalist (sports reporter and columnist) for various newspapers and magazines in Pakistan. He has contributed to newspapers in Pakistan and in the international press. In 2007, Najam launched the blog "All Things Pakistan (Pakistaniat)" which won the Brass Crescent Award for the best South Asian blog in 2010 and was judged the best current affairs blog by the Pakistan Blog Awards 2010.