Dar ul-Funun (Persia) Dar ul-Funun (Persia) Dar ul-Funun ( , meaning "Polytechnic"), established in 1851, was the first modern university and modern institution of higher learning in Iran (Persia). Founded by Amir Kabir, then the royal vizier to Nasereddin Shah, the Shah of Persia, Dar al-Funun originally was conceived as a polytechnic to train upper-class Persian youth in medicine, engineering, military science, and geology. It was similar in scope and purpose to American land grant colleges like Purdue and Texas A&M. Like them, it developed and expanded its mission over the next hundred years, eventually becoming the University of Tehran. The institute was
I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool ACM Awards organizations. "I Was Country When Country Wasn't Cool" was a song produced by Tom Collins. Mandrell recorded the song as a "live" performance; however the track was actually recorded in the studio with an audience applause track inserted over various sections of the song to fit into the context of the forthcoming live album. The song also featured an uncredited guest appearance on part of the chorus by country vocalist, George Jones. The song was released during a period of rapid growth in the popularity of country music related to a dance-focused form of the genre called neocountry