Majlis Konvokesyen ke-22 USIM | 2024

Majlis Konvokesyen ke-22 USIM 40 apabila beliau dilantik sebagai Pengerusi International Rubber Research Development Board (IRRDB) pada tahun 1998 hingga tahun 1999 dan seterusnya sebagai Setiausaha Agung IRRDB dari tahun 1999 hingga kini. Kepimpinan dan kecemerlangan sumbangan Dato’ Seri Dr. Abdul Aziz terbukti dengan beberapa pingat pengiktirafan yang diterimanya di peringkat persekutuan dan negeri. Anugerah tertinggi di peringkat persekutuan yang diterima pada tahun 1996 iaitu Anugerah Panglima Jasa Negara (PJN) yang membawa gelaran Dato’. Selain itu, kepakaran dan kecemerlangan beliau turut mendapat pengiktirafan antarabangsa apabila turut menerima anugerah Henry Ridley Centennial Award pada tahun 2014, iaitu anugerah ini mengiktiraf sumbangan individu dalam bidang pertanian atau botani. Terkini, beliau dianugerahkan Darjah Seri Setia Negeri Sembilan Yang Amat Cemerlang (SSNS) yang diterima pada tahun 2022 dan membawa gelaran Dato’ Seri. Setelah bersarawajib pada tahun 2002, Dato’ Seri Dr. AbdulAzizmencurah bakti dan khidmat kepakarannya di tanah kelahirannya sebagai Ahli Majlis Agama Islam Negeri Sembilan (MAINS) bermula pada tahun 2014. Pada tahun 2017, beliau diamanahkan sebagai Pengerusi Wakaf Muamalat Negeri Sembilan yang merupakan salah satu portfolio utama di bawah urusan hal ehwal agama MAINS. Dengan pengalaman dan kepakaran dalam pengurusan yang beliau miliki, beliau telah dilantik sebagai Timbalan Pengerusi MAINS pada tahun 2018 hingga tahun 2020 di samping turut bertanggungjawab sebagai Timbalan Pengerusi Perbadanan Baitul Mal Negeri Sembilan pada tahun 2019 hingga tahun 2020. Peranan beliau dalam merencana danmengurus tadbir MAINSmendapat perhatian DYMMTuankuYang di-Pertuan Besar Negeri Sembilan yang kemudiannya melantik beliau sebagai Pengerusi MAINS bermula Januari 2021 sehingga kini. Sepanjang tugas beliau sebagai Pengerusi MAINS, pelbagai kerjasama berjaya dilaksanakan antara MAINS dan USIM khususnya dalam aspek kebajikan pelajar USIM yang tergolong sebagai anak-anak asnaf Negeri Sembilan serta aspek pembangunan penyelidikan yang melibatkan beberapa fakulti seperti Fakulti Kepimpinan dan Pengurusan, USIM. D ato’ Seri Dr. Abdul Aziz bin Sheikh Abdul Kadir was born on November 17, 1942, and raised in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan. He received his primary education at Sekolah Kebangsaan Dato’ Bandar Rasah until standard six and then continued his secondary education at King George V Secondary School in Seremban, Negeri Sembilan, where he obtained the Malaysian Certificate of Education (SPM). He pursued higher studies in the College of Agriculture, Serdang from 1961 to 1964, where he obtained a Diploma in Agriculture. He then continued his studies from 1965 to 1969 at the University of Malaya and achieved Bachelor of Agriculture Science, followed by a Master of Science in 1971 and a Doctor of Philosophy at the University of Wisconsin, USA, in 1974. To enhance his expertise in agriculture, he was selected to participate in an attachment program in Research and Development (R&D) Management at the University of Colorado, Denver, USA, in 1983, and in the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School, Harvard University, in 1995. His expertise and passion in the field of agriculture, particularly regarding rubber, were evident through his 35 years of dedicated service at the Rubber Research Institute of Malaysia (RRIM), with his final position as Director General of the Malaysian Rubber Board in 1999. He began his career at RRIM as a District Rubber Advisory Officer in Seremban and a Research Officer in 1964. Due to his dedication and diligence in developing expertise in rubber, he was appointed as Head of the Plant Protection and Microbiology Division at RRIM for five years, from 1977 to 1981, and later as Assistant Director of the RRIM Biology Department for two years from 1981 to 1983. His leadership abilities at RRIM continued to be recognized, leading to his appointment as Director of RRIM for ten years from 1986 to 1997, followed by his role as Director General of the Malaysian Rubber Board from 1998 to 1999. His expertise and dedication in the rubber field gained international recognition when he was appointed Chairman of the International Rubber Research Development Board (IRRDB) from 1998 to 1999 and subsequently as Secretary General of IRRDB from 1999 to the present.