Drs. Waheed and Raana Akbar

Dr. Waheed Akbar, an orthopedic surgeon, established The Waheed and Raana Akbar Endowed Scholarship in Health Science in memory of his wife, Dr. Raana Akbar, an allergist, who passed away in 2009 after a long battle with cancer. Raana cherished all of her roles – doctor, wife, mother, editor, advocate, leader, volunteer and fund raiser. Raana managed to combine all of her activities with a full family life, raising three children while managing a busy allergy practice in Saginaw.

She was born in 1951 in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, graduated from King Edward Medical College in 1975 and married Waheed Akbar in 1976. She held various positions in the Association of Physicians of Pakistani Descent of North America and King Edward Medical College Alumni Association of North America. In her local community, Raana served on SVSU’s Board of Control (2002-03), was an elected director of Saginaw County Medical Society and a trustee of the Saginaw Community Foundation.

In 2002, Raana organized an interfaith rally at SVSU to encourage unity, and the Akbars worked together to promote understanding of the Muslim faith in the wake of the terrorist attacks on the U.S. in 2001. Additionally, Raana was instrumental in the early efforts to create the Islamic Center in Saginaw.