Category: Education

Five Indian American high school students have been named 2018 Dell Scholars by the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. Sita Bhandari of Richland Collegiate High School of Math Science in Dallas, Texas; Amrit Chauhan and Manjot Singh, both from River Valley High School in Yuba City, California; Harleen Kaur of Sunnyside High School in Fresno, California and Pooja Patel from Dr. Phillips High School in Orlando, Florida, were among 500 high school students who have demonstrated the drive to succeed and persist toward achieving a bachelor’s degree.

Dell Scholars has supported more than 4,300 students from across the country over the last 14 years and announced its largest scholars class of 500 this year.

“Our success – 75 percent of our scholars obtain a degree within six years – is primarily attributable to our students’ hard work, perseverance and ability to overcome the substantial obstacles that often derail low-income, first-generation college goers,” Todd Penner wrote on the foundation’s blog.

“As we welcome this new class, we are humbled by working with such amazing students and proud of all they have achieved so far. It’s our mission to provide them with the support they need to complete college and earn their degrees,” he added.

The Dell Scholars program offers $20,000, a laptop and textbook credits along with services and solutions for students and their families, addressing individual and systemic issues that can create major barriers to student success.

The program is looking for students who showed grit “by overcoming personal challenges in your life related to your family, school or community,” potential by participating in college readiness programs, and “seeking out academic rigor” and ambition by “dreaming of obtaining a college degree,” and it will work with students to ensure they have the tools needed to complete college with a degree in hand.

Dr. Nana Banerjee has been appointed as president and chief executive officer of McGraw-Hill Education. Dr. Banerjee, 47, will be based in New York and succeeds Lloyd G. “Buzz” Waterhouse, who became interim president and CEO in October of 2017 having previously served as president and CEO from June 2012 through April 2014.

“After a thoughtful and thorough search, we chose Nana for his outstanding leadership and stellar management skills. Nana’s deep knowledge of analytics and artificial intelligence, his lifelong passion for education and his demonstrated ability to deliver value for global employees, customers and investors will be instrumental in growing our businesses. He will continue our journey as a learning science company focused on helping students achieve better outcomes,” Larry Berg, senior partner with Apollo Global Management and chairman of the Board of McGraw-Hill Education, said in a press release.

Prior to his appointment Dr. Banerjee was the group president of Verisk Analytics where he had a proven track record of driving global growth and exceptional performance in both public and private companies.

“Nana is a great choice to lead McGraw-Hill Education. His strengths dovetail with exactly what we need as we look ahead – a seasoned leader who understands the critical role that data and technology can play in education. As a learning science company, we are at the forefront of innovation in K-20 and professional education, and Nana’s extensive experience will be invaluable in deepening our relationships with educators,” Waterhouse said in a press release

Dr. Banerjee has also served as the head of Citibank’s credit card business in the United Kingdom as well as the vice president of marketing at GE Capital. He began his career forecasting housing starts at The McGraw-Hill Companies’ FW Dodge unit.

Dr. Banerjee has a Ph.D. in applied mathematics from the State University of New York; a master of science degree in mathematics from the Indian Institutes of Technology, Delhi; and a bachelor of science degree with honors in mathematics from St. Stephens College, Delhi.

“I am honored and excited to be a part of McGraw-Hill Education. This iconic brand is founded on the reputation of its people, its content, and its tools, as the finest in the industry. I am looking forward to teaming up with our colleagues and fulfilling the promise of our vision to unlock the full potential of each learner with enhanced access and better quality learning solutions, enabled with scaled technologies and advanced analytics,” Dr. Banerjee said.

Carnegie Mellon University  has appointed Srinivasan Seshan as head of the Computer Science Department, effective July 1.

Andrew Moore, Dean of the School of Computer Science, selected Mr. Seshan to succeed Frank Pfenning, who will return to teaching and researching full-time.

“…we are all excited about Srini Seshan’s new role as head of CSD,” Mr. Moore said in a release. “He is an outstanding researcher and teacher, and I’m confident that his expanded role in leadership will help the department reach even greater heights.”

Seshan joined the Computer Science Department in 2000. His research is centered on improving the “design, performance and security of computer networks, including wireless and mobile networks,” per the release.

In essence, that means he and his research group have developed ways to more efficiently transfer video content over the internet and have created new architectures to ensure the internet is more trustworthy.

The Computer Science Department is the school’s oldest and largest department.

The School of Computer Science was recognized this month by the U.S. News and World Report’s latest rankings on the “Best Graduate Computer Science Programs,” as the top-rated program in artificial intelligence.

 Seshan has been honored for his work a number of times. Among his honors include the three-year Finmeccanica Career Development Professorship in computer science, which supports outstanding young SCS faculty members; two IBM Faculty Partnership awards; and the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development, or CAREER, Award.

A vital pre-requisite in all companies and educational institutions is proof of English language proficiency. Therefore, all aspirants should take a language test to learn the right kind of skills, says Vikas Singh, Managing Director, Pearson India.

Vikas Singh, Managing Director of Pearson India, a leading education company, discusses the importance of English language proficiency for all those planning to work or study abroad.

1. The decision to go abroad for study or work is generally a tough call. What is a key factor that one should consider?

A vital pre-requisite in all companies and educational institutions is proof of English language proficiency. English language skills are considered to be an essential requirement in addition to all other requirements to work or study abroad, as it strongly relates to people’s ability to integrate into the community and workplace. Therefore, by taking an English language test, the aspirant is able to learn the right kind of skills which demonstrate their true proficiency and help them succeed.

2. How should an aspirant approach the test?

The test should assess the aspirant’s English language proficiency based on their ability in four key areas—speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Classically, aspirants face challenges in terms of not having a truly conducive environment to take the test. Additionally, human interventions / biases can affect the score outcome, apart from the anxiety of taking the test.

3. How does PTE Academic address these challenges?

PTE Academic (Pearson Test of English Academic) is a computer-based language test that offers students and employment seekers a fast (results typically in five business days), fair (accurate computer marking with no potential for examiner bias), and flexible (test sessions 360 days of the year) way of proving their English language proficiency. Since there is no examiner or human intervention in the test-taking process, the accuracy is higher. Our state-of-the-art test centres are soundproof and enable test takers to perform to their best potential. Additionally, advanced security systems like digital biometrics incorporating palm-scanning, digital signatures, randomized test formats, and CCTV cameras ensure that aspirants can appear for the test in a controlled and secure environment

Critically acclaimed author Sir Salman Rushdie has been conferred with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters during his visit to the Indiana University Bloomington campus March 29. Rushdie was in Bloomington as part of the university’s semester-long “India Remixed: Global Arts and Humanities Festival.”

In his address, Rushdie compared eastern and western fiction, discussing how eastern fiction is less likely to have some kind of moral revelation at the end than western fiction and how kids have too much independence in western stories.

“They don’t guarantee the triumph of virtue,” he said of eastern tales as he recalled listening to many stories as a child and urged the audience of 1,000 in Indiana University’s auditorium, to write unrealistic stories as they have a more powerful meaning. “Write what you know, but only if what you know is really interesting. I’m in favor of continuing to make things up. We are all dreaming creatures, so dream on paper,” Rushdie said.

“For more than four decades, Sir Salman Rushdie has been a teller of truths. Through the conferral of an honorary degree upon Sir Salman Rushdie today, we acknowledge and recognize that the extraordinary works for which he is renowned constitute major contributions to world literature, advancements of our culture, and that they shed light on the truth of what it means to be human,” McRobbie said about Rushdie.

Rushdie has written 13 novels, including “Midnight’s Children” and “The Satanic Verses,” for which the Islamic Republic of Iran leader issued a fatwā against him, calling for Rushdie to be punished by death as the Islamic spiritual leader called the book “blasphemous and insulting toward Muslims.”

The fatwā ended up creating violence around the world and Rushdie had to live under police protection for a few years though he continued to write and publish his books during that time. Rushdie was born in India and his work primarily focuses on writing fictional stories that explain the difficulties of reality.

Meera Komarraju, dean of the College of Liberal Arts at Southern Illinois University Carbondale, will become the university’s interim provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs pending approval of the university’s Board of Trustees.

SIU Chancellor Carlo Montemagno said Komarraju’s appointment, which will be effective April 13 if approved, fills an important gap in the university’s leadership. The provost’s responsibilities have been divided among other members of the provost’s office since the retirement of previous interim provost Susan Ford in June 2017.

The university’s provost oversees the academic colleges, library affairs, the graduate school, off-campus programs, the honors program, information technology and the centers for international education and teaching excellence.

“Dr. Komarraju is well-qualified to move the revitalization of our academic programs forward,” Montemagno said. “She is highly respected across campus as an administrator, teacher and researcher who has displayed a strong commitment to SIU throughout her career. She possesses the experience and skills needed to succeed as interim provost.”

As dean of the College of Liberal Arts, Komarraju currently oversees the largest academic unit on campus. She came to SIU as a lecturer in 1986 and has served as director of the Department of Psychology’s undergraduate program, chair of the department, and associate dean for student and curricular affairs in the College of Liberal Arts before her 2015 appointment as dean.

She is a professor of psychology and holds a doctoral degree in applied social psychology from the University of Cincinnati and doctoral and master’s degree in industrial-organizational psychology from Osmania University in India. She also holds a master’s degree in sociology from Osmania University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology, philosophy and English literature from Nizam College in India.

Komarraju is widely published in her field and is a fellow of the American Psychological Association. She is a past recipient of the university’s Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award.

“If approved by the Board of Trustees, I would be deeply honored to serve SIU Carbondale and advance it in partnership with our students, staff, faculty, campus administrators, alumni and community members” Komarraju said.

“We have an extremely strong base with outstanding academic programs as well as talented faculty members and resourceful staff members who are devoted to our students,” she added. “We will continue to work towards raising our academic profile, recognizing that strong academic programs, high quality research and excellent teaching are at the heart of the university.”

The American Council on Education has named Renu Khator the recipient of the 2018 Council of Fellows/Fidelity Investments Mentor Award on March 11th. Khator, Indian American University of Houston System chancellor and University of Houston president, was honored with the award during the 100th annual ACE meeting.

The Council of Fellows/Fidelity Investments Mentor Award is bestowed annually to acknowledge the substantial role of mentors in the success of ACE Fellows Program participants, according to a council news release.

Since its inception in 1965, the ACE Fellows Program​ has strengthened institutions and leadership in American postsecondary education by identifying and preparing nearly 1,900 faculty and administrators for senior positions in higher education leadership, it said.

More than 80 percent of Fellows have gone on to serve as chief executive officers of colleges or universities, provosts, vice presidents and deans, the council noted. Between 2005 and 2018, Khator has mentored five Fellows. Her commitment to mentoring diverse professionals helps expand the pipeline to the presidency to include high-achievers from minority communities.

And her mentees all agree: She is authentic, attentive, thoughtful, transparent and personable, according to the news release. “Her stellar career aside, president Khator has proven an invaluable asset to the ACE Fellows Program,” said Sherri Lind Hughes, assistant vice president of ACE Leadership, in a statement. “As a mentor, she finds teaching moments in all aspects of her presidency and doesn’t shy away from hardships or obstacles as opportunities for her mentees to learn something new.”

The UH System’s first woman chancellor and the first Indian American to head a comprehensive research university in the United States, Khator assumed her current post in January 2008, according to her bio.

She now oversees a four-university system that serves nearly 71,000 students, has an annual budget that exceeds $1.7 billion, and has a $6 billion-plus impact on the Greater Houston area’s economy each year, the news release said.

During her tenure, UH has experienced record-breaking research funding, enrollment, and private support. As part of an ongoing $1.5-billion campus construction program, UH launched its 74-acre Energy Research Park, opened its 40,000-seat TDECU Stadium and increased student residence hall capacity to 8,000.

In 2015, UH was awarded a Phi Beta Kappa chapter, one of fewer than 300 schools to earn that designation from the prestigious national honor society. In 2011, UH earned Tier One status, the Carnegie Foundation’s top category of research universities, the release said.

Khator is a past chair of ACE’s Board of Directors and serves on numerous other boards, forums and councils. Prior to UH, Khator held various positions at the University of South Florida. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Kanpur University and her master of arts and doctorate from Purdue University.

Since 2008, Fidelity Investments has been a generous supporter of the ACE Fellows Program, enabling the council of Fellows to provide support for the discretionary fund of the Mentor Award winner’s institution as well as the Fellows Fund for the Future, which provides stipends to defray costs of sponsoring a Fellow for qualified institutions.

The Harvard South Asian Association celebrated 30 years of its annual cultural show, Ghungroo, with four performances in February. More than 300 students came together to direct, produce and perform a variety of dances, musical selections, dramatic pieces and poetry inspired by the traditions of South Asia. Billed as Harvard’s largest student- run production, Ghungroo brings both experienced and less experienced performers together into a large dance, whether or not they are part of the South Asian community.

Every spring, the South Asian Association produces a show called Ghungroo, which is an enormous celebration of South Asian culture through manifold acts of dance, music, and drama entirely directed, choreographed, and performed by undergraduate students. Ghungroo began in 1988, and is the largest student-run production at Harvard! Any undergrad at Harvard can participate, and students from so many different backgrounds and cultures come together to sing, dance, act, or help produce the show – no prior experience necessary!

This year’s production, directed by Menaka Narayanan, Aditi Sundaram, and Ivraj Seerha, focused on the creation of Ghungroo, tracing its trajectory since its inception. Performances highlighted what it means to be a part of the show and how it brings the community together.

Students from a variety of backgrounds and majors presented music and dance performances from a classical fusion orchestra to raas and a Bollywood dance featuring the latest South Asian hit songs. The half-hour grand finale was the combined effort of 117 members of the Harvard Class of 2018.

Harvard South Asian Association co-presidents and Ghungroo co-producers Simi Shah and Ayman Mohammad, the highlight of the performances was to have Harvard alumni — including some founding members — who returned to campus to see how the show has evolved.

“It was truly remarkable sharing this experience with alumni, be it the founding members of Ghungroo or the directors and producers who mentored us our first year as college students,” Shah said. “Having over 60 alumni come back over the course of the weekend speaks to the significance of Ghungroo and what it means to the broader community of South Asians who take this experience beyond Harvard.”

Indian actor Twinkle Khanna met Malala Yousafzai at Oxford University while promoting her husband Akshay Kumar’s upcoming movie ‘Pad Man’. The two ladies posed with other students and faculty members of the prestigious university while holding sanitary pads. (Above pic)

 During media interactions, the Pakistani women’s activist and Nobel Peace Prize winner praised the movie theme which revolves around menstrual awareness and women hygiene. Malala said that Pad Man has an inspiring message. She said, “I’m really excited to see the film Pad Man… because the message behind the film is truly inspiring.”

 Twinkle also spoke to the Oxford students in her speech. She complained that Indian school girls in villages have to sit with a rag cloth or a rolled-up sock or even wadded up newspaper between their legs. “Pads are still seen as a luxury item. It is odd that pads are taxed at 12 percent in India but brooms are tax free,” she resented.

 Pad Man is Twinkle’s maiden production. It stars Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor and Radhika Apte. Pad Man will now release on February 9, 2018. Pad Man is a fictionalized account of Padmashri Arunachalam Muruganatham, the man who revolutionized the manufacture of the low cost sanitary napkin in India. Lakshmi is a newly married, humble welder from a rural village in the heart of India. Lakshmi’s incredible journey starts when he is shocked to discover that his wife uses an unhygienic cloth during her periods. Unable to afford a branded pad, he decides to make a sanitary pad himself. After several attempts, his irate wife refuses to be a part of his experiments. Lakshmi’s love and concern for his wife, his determination to make the pad, leads him into situations that cause so much shock and embarrassment that it compels his wife to leave him and his village to banish him.

 Lakshmi doesn’t give up. His simplicity of thought, his resilience, his focus and his complete disregard for convention finally leads him to his destiny. A machine that can make a pad! The revolution that follows…from spreading menstrual hygiene, to empowering women, to starting mini cooperatives, to a vision of making India a 100% Pad using country, to accolades, to international glory and to a final resolution of his personal life, makes the rest of the feature “PAD MAN”. His journey to make India a 100% pad using country goes on…even today.

Pad Man aims to raise the curtain on all myths, taboos and beliefs around periods and menstrual hygiene, which have held women and girls back from empowerment for centuries. The curtain raiser gives us some of the exciting insights into what Pad Man has in store for us. It opens with an awestruck Sonam Kapoor trying to come to terms with the fact that how can a man be so obsessed with ‘chumming,’ as menstruation is commonly called. We are then taken to a festive scene in Akshay Kumar’s village where a celebration takes place in honor of a young girl getting her first period.

The video also gives us a glimpse of Akshay Kumar’s character Lakshmikanth at the United Nations who draws a comparison between pads used to protect the legs of cricketers and sanitary pads used by women, strongly making a point that there is a need for menstrual hygiene. Sharing the video on social media Akshay Kumar said, “#PadManCurtainRaiser from all the myths, taboos and beliefs. Here’s to unveiling the future with innovations together!”

Dubbed ‘Superhero hai yeh Pagla’, Pad Man is the world’s first feature film on menstrual hygiene inspired by the story of TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential entrants Arunachalam Muruganantham, a rural welder from India with a unique, eccentrically mad edge who turned incredible inventor by providing women with access to high-quality and affordable sanitary pads 20 years ago.

Produced by Mrs Funnybones Movies, SPE FIlms India, Kriarj Entertainment, Cape of Good Films and Hope Productions, Pad Man is written and directed by ad-man turned film-man R Balki (Paa). It is billed as the most progressive family entertainer yet, starring international megastar Akshay Kumar (Toilet: Ek Prem Katha) who assumes the titular role of Arunachalam Muruganantham to once again showcase his commitment to social entertainers. He is joined by critically acclaimed actresses Sonam Kapoor (Neerja) and Radhika Apte (Kabali). One for the mad ones, the ones who are crazy enough to change the world, Pad Man is the one-of-a-kind feature film, tackling the taboo and stigmas attached to menstrual hygiene through the art of entertainment.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/seqok8s9jimby54/AACo_R5n_QfinOvN-Xcjiu8Ha?dl=0

Prof. Bala and Prabha Swaminathan have created a Tamil professorship at Stony Brook University in honor of Bala’s parents, called the Anandavalli and Dr. G. Swaminathan Endowed Research Professorship. “Tamil language is more than something to speak. It harbors a culture’s history and traditions, and perpetuates identity and pride. Ultimately, when its wisdom is shared, Tamil language creates better cross-cultural understanding and cooperation,” said Bala.

The University also has a very successful India Studies Center, which recently celebrated its 20th year. The couple has established the Tamil professorship in the College of Arts and Sciences to leverage interdisciplinary, scholarly research collaborations with linguistics, anthropologists, musicians and sociologists.

“I have a very high regard for Stony Brook’s research capabilities. I expect the professor in Tamil will be an active contributor on campus, publishing many papers, offering Tamil language classes and creating the new knowledge that will perpetuate and celebrate the language that still has so much to teach us,” Bala added.

Bala said that one of Tamil’s oldest texts, the Kural, inspired him as his father “lived by” the text while he was growing up in the South Indian town of Madurai. The Kural is written by the 4th century BCE poet and philosopher Valluvar and is one of the highly acclaimed texts of secular ethics as well as the most widely translated works in the world.

“Whatever we earn is to provide for others who do not have the same opportunities,” Bala recalls his father saying to him as he used to follow the Kural to help him be generous before becoming a well-known doctor.

Bala founded the New York Tamil Academy for school children and he and Prabha have two sons, Isai Maran and Kavin Mathi. Bala and Prabha’s decided to create the professorship in Tamil at Stony Brook University to help sustain the language and culture that have served them so well.

“Offering an endowed faculty appointment, such as the Anandavalli and Dr. G. Swaminathan Endowed Research Professorship in Tamil, helps us attract the most talented teachers and researchers,” said Stony Brook University President Samuel L. Stanley Jr.

“We are grateful to Bala and Prabha for their incredible leadership in keeping Tamil and the ideas of the Kural alive for future generations,” he added.

Stony Brook University in New York Dec. 11 announced that Bala and Prabha Swaminathan have established a new endowed professorship which will offer Tamil language studies at the university’s College of Arts and Sciences.

The Tamil language is nearly as old as Hebrew, and stands next to Chinese as the most enduring classical language still spoken today, according to a university news release. Despite the language standing the test of time, only a handful of colleges and universities offer Tamil as a language study, it said.

In a quest to change that, the Swaminathans created the Anandavalli and Dr. G. Swaminathan Endowed Research Professorship in Tamil at Stony Brook University in honor of Bala’s mother and father.

“Tamil language is more than something to speak,” said Bala Swaminathan in a statement. “It harbors a culture’s history and traditions, and perpetuates identity and pride. Ultimately, when its wisdom is shared, Tamil language creates better cross-cultural understanding and cooperation.”

While the university is also home to a thriving India Studies Center, the Swaminathans deliberately established the Tamil professorship in the college of arts and sciences to leverage interdisciplinary, scholarly research collaborations with linguistics, anthropologists, musicians and sociologists, according to the university.

“I have a very high regard for Stony Brook’s research capabilities,” Swaminathan added. “I expect the professor in Tamil will be an active contributor on campus, publishing many papers, offering Tamil language classes and creating the new knowledge that will perpetuate and celebrate the language that still has so much to teach us.”

It was the wisdom of one of Tamil’s oldest texts, the Kural, that first captivated Swaminathan as he grew up in the southern Indian town of Madurai, Stony Brook said. His father “lived by” the Kural. Written by the 4th century BCE poet and philosopher Valluvar, the Kural is one of the most venerated texts of secular ethics and most widely translated works in the world. Coincidentally, Valluvar was also born in Madurai, preceding Swaminathan by more than 2,000 years, it said.

Before Swaminathan’s father became a prominent doctor, he had little to give to others. Still, his father followed the Kural precept to be charitable, once explaining to his son, “Whatever we earn is to provide for others who do not have the same opportunities,” the university noted.

While creating a successful career in the U.S. and founding the New York Tamil Academy for school children, Swaminathan says he’s most proud of the life of purpose and meaning he shares with Prabha and their two sons, Isai Maran and Kavin Mathi, according to the news release.

The Indian American couple hopes the professorship will help sustain the language and culture that have served them so well. “Offering endowed faculty appointments, such as the Anandavalli and Dr. G. Swaminathan Endowed Research Professorship in Tamil, helps us attract the most talented teachers and researchers,” said Stony Brook University president Samuel L. Stanley Jr. in a statement. “We are grateful to Bala and Prabha for their incredible leadership in keeping Tamil and the ideas of the Kural alive for future generations.”

The Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay, which witnessed a good placement season, also saw a 20 per cent hike in international offers this year compared to last year. In the first three days of placement, 47 offers were made to students for international postings. Including the pre-placement offers, 60 students have offers from offshore companies, which is 20 per cent higher than last year. For the same period last year, 50 students had offers for international positions.

The placement team claimed that the number of offers for US-based positions has increased. Last year, owing to uncertainty over visa laws in the US, fewer offers were rolled out. This year, however, US-based companies returned to the campus and made offers, but with caveats. In case the visa laws do not turn in favour of the students, parallel offers have been made for domestic positions. This year, the number of Japanese firms has also increased, said sources in the placement team. Japanese manufacturing company Murata, IT giant Yahoo Japan, and IT company NEC Japan were some of the recruiters that made the highest number of offers and offered high packages. At least 15 Japanese firms are expected to participate in campus placements at IIT-B. Last year, too, a Japanese firm – Works app – had made the highest offer of 60 lakh Japanese Yen (JPY) per annum, a repeat of the year before.

University of California San Diego celebrated the dedication of a new building for the divisions of Biological and Physical Sciences on Sept. 12with a special announcement. The cutting-edge science building will bear the name Tata Hall for the Sciences, or Tata Hall, in recognition of a $70 million gift from the Tata Trusts, which was committed last year to create the binational Tata Institute for Genetics and Society. Institute for Genetics and Society Advances with BThe Tata Institute for Genetics and Society was established as a collaborative partnership between the university and research operations in India and will occupy the fifth floor of Tata Hall.

The institute’s mission is to advance global science and technology through socially conscious means to develop solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges, such as public health and agriculture.

“It is my privilege to dedicate this building in recognition of the Tata Trusts’ leadership and collaboration with UC San Diego, and the Tata family’s pioneering philanthropy and singular impact to bring about societal change,” said UC San Diego Chancellor Pradeep K. Khosla.

“Tata Hall exemplifies UC San Diego’s tradition of non-tradition, inspiring cross-disciplinary collaboration among researchers and the next generation of innovators. This building will embody the spirit of the many shared values of UC San Diego and the Tata Trusts to benefit our global society,” he added.

Trustees of the Tata Trusts were present at the dedication of Tata Hall and participated in the ceremonial signing of a beam that will be incorporated into the construction of the building which is to be completed in 2018.

“I am very proud of being associated with this great institution. I realized that here in San Diego, I had seen a gold mine of intellectual capacity and enthusiasm. I kept feeling that there is something happening at UC San Diego that would make a difference in the years ahead. What we are doing is a big thing for mankind in our part of the world … and I look forward to this involvement as just a first part of what we can do together,” said Tata Trusts Chairman Ratan N. Tata.

Subra Suresh, Carnegie Mellon University president, will resign as president of Carnegie Mellon University on June 30, making his tenure the shortest in the school’s 117-year history and placing it in uncharted waters as it seeks a new leader for the second time in less than five years.

In a letter to the CMU community, he wrote, “My wife Mary and I have reflected on the long-term commitment needed to implement the university’s strategic plan, and we feel Carnegie Mellon would be best served now by a president who is ready to make that extended commitment to generating resources and guiding the university toward reaching these objectives.” Suresh has been at CMU for four years.

His brief statement to campus made no reference to a new position. Officials said they had no information about that, nor could they elaborate on any separation agreement between Mr. Suresh and the University.

Suresh, the ninth president of the renowned university, succeeded former president Jared Cohon, who served for 16 years. Suresh reflected on his achievements during his four-year tenure, including greater access for academically under-served populations through the creation of Presidential Scholarships and Fellowships, which provide financial aid to undergraduates and graduate students.

He also noted the expansion of the campus, including three new buildings and a quadrangle. “I am proud to see the growing commitment to excellence across the university’s fields and endeavors, led by our outstanding faculty, staff and students, and our renewed commitment to diversity and inclusion,” wrote Suresh, adding: “Mary and I have immensely enjoyed the time we have spent with students at all stages in their CMU education, in a variety of venues. We commend you for your outstanding work, and wish you all the best as you pursue your careers and lives.”

“I knew long before I came here that Carnegie Mellon is a special place, and it has been an unforgettable experience for Mary and me to join this community and work with so many of you,” said the president, acknowledging staff, faculty, and alumni at the university.

Jim Rohr, chairman of the Board of Trustees at CMU, responded to Suresh’s letter, stating: “Subra’s vision has left an indelible mark on CMU, and he has assembled a strong and diverse leadership team that is well-positioned to build on the momentum at Carnegie Mellon.” An interim president will be appointed as the university searches for a new president, said Rohr.

Prior to joining CMU, Suresh served as the director of the National Science Foundation, a $7-billion independent government science agency charged with advancing science, engineering research and education. He helmed the organization for almost six years.

Suresh has a B. Tech from the Indian Institute of Technology at Madras, a master’s degree from Iowa State University and a Ph.D. in science from MIT. After postdoctoral research at U.C.-Berkeley and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, he joined the engineering faculty at Brown University. He joined MIT in 1993 as the R.P. Simmons Professor of Materials Science and Engineering and headed MIT’s Department of Materials Science and Engineering.

In 2011, Suresh was awarded the Padma Shri by India’s president. In April 2014, he received the Benjamin Franklin medal for his research work in mechanical engineering and materials science.

Don’t stop when you are tired, stop when you are done!

By Asian Media USA ©

Chicago IL:  The Punjabi Cultural Society of Chicago (PCS) hosted its annual “Punjabi Youth Graduation and Scholarships Awards Night” on Sunday, June 11 at Viceroy of India Banquets in Lombard, Illinois. More than 250 people attended. Dr. Jasvinder Singh Chawla was the keynote speaker. Parwinder Singh Nanua introduced the program, setting the agenda for the evening and congratulated all the participants as well as the high school graduates.

It was a treat for the graduates and the “Rangla Punjab 2017” program participants. The celebration included keynote address, recognition awards, scholarship, cake-cutting ceremony, DJ music, dancing, socializing, networking, and sharing delicious dinner.

Vik Singh started the first segment and the trophies were awarded by Dhaliwal and Hardial Singh Deol, Amolak Singh, Sahota, Nandra, Amrit Mittal along with the PCS president Sukhmel Atwal. Rajinder Singh Mago hosted the second segment of the evening and asked PCS president Sukhmel Atwal and Chairman Hardial Singh Deol to interact with the Rangla Punjab participants and 2017 graduates.  Nimma Daliwal entertained the audience with renditions of beautiful Punjabi songs.

The evening continued by inviting all the high school graduates Gurpreet Singh, Harpal Singh, Simran Kaur Bhalla, Surpreet Kaur, Anmol Kaur Dhaliwal onto the stage and accompanied by their brief introductions and accomplishments.  The finalists were handpicked from the graduating Class of 2017 from within the Punjabi community. An independent panel of judges selected the winners from the applicants according to a grading criterion established by PCS, based on academic achievements, extracurricular activities, and volunteer community service. Surpreet Kaur and Harpal Singh were awarded with scholarships by the guest of honor. Simran Kaur Bhalla was recognized at the evening for being the recipient of the Youth of the Year award representing the entire state of Illinois. This in turn qualifies her for consideration for the Youth of the Year Award at the national level to represent the United States of America.

Student speaker Dilraj Singh Sekhon shared his experiences and advice with the graduates. A rousing speech by the Keynote speaker Dr. Jasvinder Singh Chawla resonated with the new graduates. Dr. Jasvinder Singh Chawla, Professor of Neurology at Loyola University Medical Center since 2002, and Chairman, Department of Neurology at Hines Veterans Affairs Hospital, Hines Illinois from last 8 years.

First, setting a goal, then having a backup plan, then having a second back up plan was his sure shot way to ensure success.  He stressed being part of the system to change the system from within. The bedrock to such success as outlined by him are focus, making plans, seeing through each plan, hard work and sacrifice. He strictly believed and conveyed what in his vision ‘No pain no gain’ meant in the realm of success in today’s world. Not only was the graduating class overwhelmed by his sharp intellect but the way he explained was a treat. Such a rousing and moving speech by Dr. Chawla earned him the title of one of the best guest speakers for PCS.

The Punjabi Cultural Society of Chicago is an all-volunteer, not-for-profit community organization devoted to promoting Punjabi culture, language, performing arts, healthy lifestyle and sports, education, and good citizenship in the metropolitan Chicago area.

India’s ambassador to the United Nations gave Castle Hill Middle School students in the Bronx, NY a lesson on diplomacy on Monday, June 5. Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin talked to seventh-grade students who are part of the NYC Junior Ambassadors program about the challenges he faces as diplomat, imparting the message that young people don’t have to wait until they’re adults to change the world.

His visit started with an exciting welcome, the like of which he said he has never gotten before, “I’ve been to many schools, public and private, and I’ve never had a welcome like this,” he said. Akbaruddin told the students about his role at the UN and said that he alone represents a “country of one billion people with both sides”, good and bad.

“One of the things I love to do is interact with young people,” Akbaruddin said. “We don’t really get the chance to do that.” Another perk of being in the Junior Ambassadors program is a chance to get a behind-the-scenes tour of the U.N headquarters in Manhattan.

The Indian envoy said he does not get much time at home because he can be working any day of the week, including weekends, and even though there may not be much room for personal life, he still enjoys his work as he is contributing to the world.

He told the class that he was happy to be there as he never gets to interact with young people and mentioned the fact that 65 percent of India’s population is under 30 years old, stating that it is a young country. He then went around the room asking students: “In one word, tell me what comes to your mind when I say India?”

Answers poured in, with words like: dance, tradition, prestigious, Bollywood, colors, music, Yoga, food, movies, jewelry, culture and clothes. Akbaruddin also addressed the fact that June 5th is World Environment Day and asked students what they, as individuals, wanted to do for the environment.

One student said he wanted to help out in the medical field to make it easier for people to get the care they needed at a more affordable cost. Another said that she wanted to spread the message and teach other people what the environment should be like while another wanted to plant more trees to provide more air. A few other students said that the world “should come together as one” and “tackle global warming otherwise there will be no future.”

When the ambassador asked the students what they didn’t like about India, they listed: high poverty rates, air pollution, child marriage and arranged marriage, to which one student showed concern that not enough attention is given to women’s rights as well as men’s rights regarding this topic. It prompted the Ambassador to say that today, both men and women are equal unlike what it was years ago.

“Every time you think of India, multiply the U.S. by three,” he said, also mentioning that India is like an elephant, “we are slow but we will get there eventually.” He added: “English is spoken by about say 400 million people in India so there are 800 million or so still who don’t speak English so there are very interesting combinations happening of our Indian languages and English. So naan pizza is one of those combinations where you try to mix a local culture with an international approach,” he said. “Soon you will have words in English which were originated in India and you had never heard of,” he added.

He explained how he got to where he is today and said that “joining the Foreign Service was unheard of” noting that he came from a small city in India and that he wanted to explain to the world what India is all about.

An Indian American teenager who holds two honorary associate degrees and is already Microsoft certified has created a community service organization to help students enhance their math skills. Pranav Kalyan, 13, created the Agoura Math Circle, which is a student-run nonprofit that aims to provide students the mathematical problem-solving skills and confidence needed to succeed academically and in real-world situations.

Kalyan founded the program in 2015 that now serves hundreds of students. The Agoura Math Circle is a student-run, nonprofit community service organization. Agoura Math Circle is a free educational program focusing on the problem-solving skills that lead students to success in both academics and the real world. More importantly, thought, Agoura Math Circle gives students confidence and the skills to tackle any type of problem, academic or otherwise. Our Goal is to create strong foundation for kids to increase critical thinking and motivate kids to aim for top universities in a fun full environment.

The Agoura Math Circle is started by Pranav Kalyan. He is a 7th grader at Lindero Canyon Middle school in Agoura Hills. He is Pursuing the “Associate Degree in Astrophysics, Mathematics, Natural Science, chemistry and physics” at Moorpark college.

The students are taught by volunteer tutors — typically high school students in advanced math courses — who create lesson plans and teach a class of up to 50 students. The tutors then create and administer an exam based on the lesson and score them to ultimately assist students in correcting their errors and improving test-taking skills for future examinations.

According to an AMC news release, the classes students embark on are typically far more advanced than the material they are taught in elementary and middle school. Due to the advanced level of the AMC class, the students regularly excel in school. Dozens of parents affirm the influence of the Agoura Math Circle on their children, with several testimonials proclaiming that they have noticed a significant increase in “student confidence” and a newfound “passion for higher level math,” AMC said.

May 21st 2017: Chicago: Professor S Ramachandram, Vice Chancellor of Osmania University called on Her Excellency Smt. Neeta Bhushan, IFS, Consul General of India in Chicago in her chambers at NBC Tower Building, Chicago, Illinois State.

Professor S Ramachandram had wide-ranging discussions with the Consul General on a number of subjects relating to professional education in India and the US and the wide scope of learning from each other’s core competencies and competitive advantages. “Though USA has been a hot destination for Indian students for their professional studies, there is a need to multiply the possibilities of the US students undertaking short term visits to India to understand it’s fascinating culture under their International Immersion Programs”, Professor Ramachandram suggested.

Professor S Ramachandram further discussed with the Consul General the ambitious plans of Osmania University in the domains of student and faculty exchange, lectures through video conferencing, joint degree programs, and a number of other initiatives of mutual benefit to the universities in India and the USA.

The Consul General underlined the need to further diversify and enrich the collaboration among the Universities in India and the USA considering the surging tide of globalization. She said that the Office of the Consulate General of India in Chicago will be pleased to help Osmania University in its campaign aimed at making the content of its educational programs both local and global in terms of their relevance. She advised Professor Ramachandram to submit a concept paper indicating the ways and means in which the office of the Consulate General of India in Chicago may be of help to Osmania University in its endeavours.

Recently, Professor Ramachandram participated in a high-profile Centenary Celebrations of Osmania University as the Chief Guest, organised by Glory of Hyderabad in Chicago.

Giving an example of his self-defeating personality disorder,” she said. “He’s going to ruin his family financially — if it’s contested, it’s going to cost over $100,000, easily.” It’s been a long road to splitsville for Abedin. She had stood by the much-mocked former congressman since 2011, when, a year into their marriage, he tearfully admitted Tweeting out an underwear selfie.

She stood at his side literally in 2013, at a press conference after Weiner self-scuttled his mayoral candidacy by getting caught continuing to sext with multiple women. “I love him, I’ve forgiven him, I believe in him,” she told reporters.

Two students of Indian origin have been named as Gates Cambridge Scholars, the University of Cambridge announced recently in a statement. The 90 new Scholars were selected from a total pool of around 6,000 applicants on the basis of their intellectual ability, commitment to improving the lives of others, leadership potential and academic fit with Cambridge.

The dozens of new scholars join nearly three dozen U.S. Scholars who were chosen earlier in the year — a list that included Indian Americans Sarita Deshpande and Angela Madira — to complete the full 90-scholar Gates Cambridge class. Among the international scholars named included Saloni Atal and Akhila Denduluri.

The Gates Cambridge Scholarship aims to identify and select applicants who are academically outstanding and are likely to be transformative leaders across all fields of endeavor, the university said in its news release.

Departments in Cambridge nominated 424 candidates for the scholarships and, of these, 202 were interviewed in the U.S. and Cambridge by four panels of interviewers drawn from across the university.

“Gates Cambridge Scholars come from all over the world, but they have some important things in common: great leadership potential, a commitment to improving the lives of others and an unparalleled passion for learning,” Bill Gates, co-chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, said in a statement. “Melinda and I are pleased to welcome the class of 2017. We have no doubt they will have an incredible impact on topics of global importance.”

Following a national search, Kansas State University has named Amit Chakrabarti as its new dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. Since February 2016, Chakrabarti has served as interim dean of the university’s largest college with 24 departments, and a broad array of majors, secondary majors and minors spanning many disciplines. He succeeds Peter Dorhout, who is now vice president for research at K-State. Prior to the interim position, Chakrabarti was the head of the department of physics and the William and Joan Porter chair in physics. He will report directly to the university’s provost and senior vice president and serve on the Academic Council of Deans.

“I am excited to welcome Dr. Chakrabarti as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences,” said April Mason, provost and senior vice president. “He has shown remarkable leadership and valuable collaborative skills during his tenure at Kansas State University. Those skills will continue to benefit students, faculty, staff and alumni as the university progresses with its goal to become a Top 50 public research university by 2025.”

As dean, Chakrabarti will be the college’s chief academic and administrative officer. He will provide leadership and support to all undergraduate and graduate academic degree programs in the college; oversee its continued excellence and growth in research; and work with faculty, department heads, deans and administrators on interdisciplinary and collaborative projects. Other duties include maintaining alumni and donor relations.

“The College of Arts and Sciences is built on a solid foundation,” Chakrabarti said. “With the college’s talented faculty and amazing students, we can make more opportunities available to K-Staters in research and education in the arts and sciences. I am honored to serve in this role to continue the college’s success in research, scholarship and diversity.”

Chakrabarti became head of the physics department in 2011, where he led a 30-faculty member team, many who are nationally recognized for teaching and research excellence. Chakrabarti was the recipient of the Presidential Award for Outstanding Department Head in 2016 and the Presidential Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching in 2002. He also received K-State’s 2009 Commerce Bank Distinguished Graduate Faculty Award, which recognizes quality research and advising of graduate students, and is a two-time winner of the Stamey Award for Teaching Excellence from the College of Arts and Sciences. He has published more than 150 peer-reviewed papers and mentored eight doctoral students and several postdoctoral fellows.

A theoretical physicist with interests in soft matter and statistical physics, Chakrabarti has worked on diverse soft-matter systems, including liquid mixtures, polymers, liquid crystals, aerosols, colloids, nanoparticles and most recently, self-assembly of proteins. His individual and collaborative research projects have received extramural funding from agencies such as NASA and the National Science Foundation.

Chakrabarti has a doctorate in physics from the University of Minnesota, and master’s and bachelor’s degrees in physics from the University of Calcutta, India. He joined K-State in 1990 and was named a full professor in 2000.

Recognizing the great contributions of Ratan Tata in India and around the world by leading Indian industry beyond its national borders to create a global brand, emphasizing innovation as the hallmark of commercial success, contributing to U.S.-India ties, and undertaking philanthropy empathetic to people across societies, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace is establishing the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs in recognition of Ratan N. Tata’s leadership on Carnegie’s Board of Trustees.

Senior Fellow Ashley J. Tellis, one of the most renowned experts international security, defense, and Asian strategic issues, has been appointed as its inaugural chair. Tellis previously served as a senior adviser in the U.S. State Department in Washington, at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi, and on the U.S. National Security Council, where he was a special assistant to President George W. Bush and senior director for strategic planning and Southwest Asia. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of Chicago.

The Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs has been established at a time when Carnegie’s evolution as a global think tank intersects with disruptive changes in world politics. The Chair’s work will focus on the pressing international security challenges of the emerging world order, especially on U.S. foreign policy in Asia and the Indian subcontinent.

“The one strategic goal of countries that must precede all others is to bring prosperity to their people,” said Tata. “This can be achieved only when nations feel secure with one another in an environment of mutual cooperation and collaboration. I hope that Carnegie’s Chair for Strategic Affairs and its inaugural holder, Ashley Tellis, will contribute to our collective thinking towards that purpose. ”

“I could not be more grateful to Ratan Tata for his generosity and partnership or touched by his personal decency and commitment to Carnegie’s mission,” said Carnegie President William J. Burns. “There is no one more deserving of the Tata Chair than Ashley Tellis—an extraordinary scholar and colleague who has made profound contributions in his field, in the public arena, and at Carnegie. And there is no more important time for institutions like Carnegie to provide ideas and initiatives to help shape a rapidly changing international landscape.”

“I am deeply honored to hold the Tata Chair,” said Tellis. “My relationship with the Tatas goes back many decades. Over thirty years ago, I was privileged to work on J.R.D. Tata’s papers for Keynote, a commemoration of his lifetime of service. I was later supported by the Tata Trusts as I embarked on my immigrant journey to the United States. To now hold the Tata Chair at Carnegie is to come full circle: I am profoundly grateful to Ratan Tata for his friendship and support over the years, and to Bill Burns and Carnegie’s Board of Trustees for giving me the opportunity to work on challenging issues of international security that are dear to my heart.”

Tellis, 55, is at present a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, a Washington think-tank, and has played as an important role in the US’ engagement with India, including working on the civil nuclear agreement between the two countries.
He has served in New Delhi before as senior adviser to the US ambassador, and was also on the US National Security Council staff as special assistant to the president and a senior director for strategic planning and Southwest Asia. Ashley Tellis grew up in India and got a master’s degree from the University of Bombay before getting a PhD from the University of Chicago. He is the author of several books.

Tellis holds the Tata Chair for Strategic Affairs and is a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, specializing in international security and U.S. foreign and defense policy with a special focus on Asia and the Indian subcontinent. While on assignment to the U.S. Department of State as senior adviser to the under secretary of state for political affairs, he was intimately involved in negotiating the civil nuclear agreement with India.

Previously, he was commissioned into the Foreign Service and served as senior adviser to the ambassador at the U.S. Embassy in New Delhi. He also served on the U.S. National Security Council staff as special assistant to President George W. Bush and senior director for strategic planning and Southwest Asia. Prior to his government service, Tellis was senior policy analyst at the RAND Corporation and professor of policy analysis at the RAND Graduate School.

He is the author of India’s Emerging Nuclear Posture (RAND, 2001) and co-author of Interpreting China’s Grand Strategy: Past, Present, and Future (RAND, 2000). He is the research director of the Strategic Asia program at the National Bureau of Asian Research and co-editor of the program’s thirteen most recent annual volumes, including this year’s Strategic Asia 2016–17: Understanding Strategic Cultures in the Asia-Pacific. In addition to numerous Carnegie and RAND reports, his academic publications have appeared in many edited volumes and journals, and he is frequently called to testify before Congress.

Tellis serves on the Chief of Naval Operations Executive Panel. He is a member of several professional organizations related to defense and international studies including the Council on Foreign Relations, the International Institute of Strategic Studies, the United States Naval Institute, and the Navy League of the United States.

(New York, NY – April 4, 2017) Sanjana Das, a 22-year-old graduate of Pratham’s Vocational Training Program in India, will speak at the next Pratham NYC Young Professionals event (Tuesday, April 11th from 6 p.m. onwards at Stitch Bar & Lounge @ 247 W 37th Street in midtown Manhattan) about her inspiring life journey thus far.

After an early life of poverty, Das is defying the odds. She grew up in the small village of Kusasthali in the state of Odisha and was forced to leave school after her father passed away from a prolonged illness. Despite these challenges, Das persevered, and with the support of her mother, she completed Pratham’s vocational training program and earned a certificate in hospitality. Today, the diligent 22-year-old is employed in the front office at the three-star Lords Plaza Hotel in Jaipur and has realized her dream of financial independence.

“It is so empowering for us to hear the real-life testimonials of people who have benefitted from Pratham’s incredible work on the ground in India to educate and empower the youth,” said Meeta Manglani, co-chair of the New York chapter of Pratham Young Professionals. “Very rarely do we, the supporters of Pratham around the world, have an opportunity to see where our dollars, our energy and our time is going, unless we travel to India and witness it first-hand. Sharing Sanjana’s story is the responsible way for us to engage the next generation of Pratham supporters.”

Pratham’s Vocational Training Program promotes economic self-sufficiency for young adults through training and job placement. Last year, Pratham equipped 22,000 youth with skills and supported 300 entrepreneurs all over India.

A respected Indian American academic and an experienced higher education administrator who has spearheaded change at three top national research universities, Debasish ‘Deba’ Dutta, will become the next chancellor of Rutgers University-New Brunswick.

President Robert Barchi announced Dutta’s appointment today at a meeting of the Rutgers Board of Governors. The university conducted a national search before selecting a new leader of the Big Ten institution, which is also a member of the Association of American Universities – a group of 60 prestigious research universities across the nation, according to a press release.

Dutta will begin serving as chancellor on July 1. Dutta comes to Rutgers from Purdue University, where he serves as provost and executive vice president for academic affairs and diversity, with a faculty appointment as a professor of mechanical engineering. Previously, he worked at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

“Dr. Dutta will be an inspiring, collaborative leader and a powerful voice for Rutgers University-New Brunswick at a pivotal time in its history,” said Rutgers President Robert Barchi, in a statement. “He comes here with impeccable academic credentials, solid administrative leadership and deep experience at three Big Ten institutions.

“We also welcome and applaud Deba’s commitment to diversity. He has a proven track record of success in building diverse, inclusive communities, as he has shown in his efforts as Purdue’s chief diversity officer and at Illinois where he served as chancellor’s advisor on diversity.”

As both the chief academic and diversity officer at Purdue, Dutta is responsible for ensuring that diversity and inclusion are a priority in all areas of the university. During his tenure, he has helped increase the graduation rate, enhance student advising, establish new programs in liberal arts, and expand programs in engineering, computer science, business, nursing and technology.

As chancellor of Rutgers University-New Brunswick, Dutta will oversee the largest of the three major Rutgers University campuses with more than 50,000 students, 4,000 faculty, 12 degree-granting schools, nine academic research centers, four administrative units, a premier Honors College, Douglass Residential College and the Zimmerli Art Museum.

“I am tremendously excited to bring the skills I have developed at Purdue, Illinois and Michigan to lead Rutgers University-New Brunswick,” Dutta said. “I look forward to working with the faculty, staff and students to drive innovation and build a new era of success that will elevate the flagship of Rutgers University to even greater national prominence.

“One of my goals is to provide institutional leadership with an urgency to address current needs, ever mindful of history, and with an eye toward the future. This university is rich with highly accomplished faculty, skilled administrators, and talented and passionate students.  I truly believe that when we work together, the possibilities are limitless.”

Dutta is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, as well as a scholar in residence at the National Academy of Engineering.

Before joining Purdue in 2014, Dutta served as associate provost and dean of the graduate school at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he was also Gutgsell Endowed Professor and interim vice-chancellor for research. There, he established several new interdisciplinary programs to help foster new research and create collaborations across colleges. He also helped set standards for more than 300 master’s and doctoral programs across disciplines.

Dutta spent three years at the National Science Foundation, where he served as acting director of the Division of Graduate Education and as IGERT program director.

He started his career in 1989 at the University of Michigan, where he was a mechanical engineering faculty member for 20 years. He served as associate chair in the Department of Mechanical Engineering and also the founding director of InterPro, an innovative, interdisciplinary academic unit in the College of Engineering that launched new interdisciplinary graduate programs.

“From conducting grant-funded projects as an award-winning mechanical engineer to his program directorship at NSF to his current service as provost at Purdue, Dr. Dutta has nurtured a rich understanding of the power and value of research,” Barchi said. “He is the right leader to build on the great progress that our AAU institution has made in the past five years and take Rutgers University-New Brunswick to a new level of excellence.”

Dutta holds a Ph.D. in industrial engineering from Purdue, a master’s degree in engineering management from the University of Evansville and a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Jadavpur University in Calcutta, India.

He will succeed Richard Edwards, who is returning to the faculty after serving as chancellor of Rutgers University-New Brunswick since 2014.

The board of trustees of Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Feb. 9 announced that Indian American educator Devinder Malhotra was unanimously voted to serve as the interim chancellor at Minnesota State. Malhotra was chosen on an interim basis following an extensive search that didn’t yield a person to hold the post on a permanent basis, the board said in a news release. He will serve in his capacity until a permanent chancellor is named.

“I am very pleased that Devinder Malhotra has agreed to serve in this critical role,” said Michael Vekich, chair of the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities Board of Trustees. “Dr. Malhotra is a gifted leader with the experience, the understanding of our system, and the collaborative skills required to lead the system while the search continues. In his previous service to Minnesota State as an interim president of Metropolitan State University, he demonstrated his ability to keep us moving forward. Dr. Malhotra will ensure our ability to serve students and communities across Minnesota so we can meet the state’s need for talent. I thank him for his willingness to serve.”

Malhotra has previously served as an interim president of Metropolitan State University from 2014 until his retirement in 2016, demonstrating the ability to keep MSCU moving forward, Vekich noted.

“Dr. Malhotra will ensure our ability to serve students and communities across Minnesota so we can meet the state’s need for talent. I thank him for his willingness to serve,” the board chair added. “I appreciate the confidence that chair Vekich and the board of trustees has placed in me,” said Malhotra in a statement. “And I look forward to once again serving the students of Minnesota State as we continue our critical work.”

In additional to Metropolitan State, Malhotra served as provost and vice president for academic affairs at St. Cloud State University from 2009 to 2014.

He has also been dean of the University of Southern Maine’s College of Arts and Sciences from 2005 to 2009 and the University of Akron Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences associate dean before that. A tenured professor of economics for more than three decades, he has served on the faculty of the University of Southern Maine and the University of Akron. Malhotra holds a bachelor’s degree and a master’s from the University of Delhi, and a doctorate from Kansas State University.

At a recent Harvard Business School Conference on ‘Creating Emerging Markets’ held in Mumbai, Shahnaz Husain, who was a ‘Case Study’ and now a ‘Subject’ and part of the Curriculum on Emerging Markets at Harvard, Boston

Prof Geoffrey Jones, Isidor Straus Professor of Business History, Harvard Business School, stated at the conference, “We felt compelled to include Shahnaz Husain in Harvard Business School’s Creating Emerging Markets project, both because of her entrepreneurial role in creating India’s natural beauty market and her strong belief in the importance of corporate social responsibility. In both regards she is a pioneer and a role model, and we were delighted and humbled that she was willing to spare her time to help the project succeed. We anticipate that the interview will be widely used by educators and researchers, and by many others interested in seeing how she became so successful and impactful.”

Shahnaz Husain`s journey as an entrepreneur is a great inspiration for all the young entrepreneurs and startup ventures. Shahnaz Husain is one of the rare and few first generation women entrepreneur, pioneer, visionary and an innovator, who introduced a totally new concept of Ayurvedic Care and Cure worldwide. She created a brand with universal appeal and application. Shahnaz Husain`s brand found place in the international market for Ayurvedic beauty care. In a world ridden with environmental degradation, Shahnaz Husain ventured into the world of nature and its healing powers, taking the Indian herbal heritage of Ayurveda to every corner of the globe with a crusader’s zeal.

Shahnaz Husain was candid in her utterance when questions were thrown to her. The pioneer of Ayurvedic beauty care has achieved unprecedented international acclaim for her practical application of Ayurveda, the ancient Indian system of herbal healing. Just when there was a worldwide “back to nature” trend, Shahnaz Husain recaptured an ancient herbal system and made it relevant to modern demands.

The suave and soft-spoken, Shahnaz’s study of Ayurveda, the Indian holistic system of herbal healing, strengthened her faith in nature after finding that it could offer the ideal  answers to protective, preventive and even corrective cosmetic-care. What started as a young women entrepreneur`s dream is today one of the biggest brand in the cosmetic care space, the Shahnaz Husain Group. Shahnaz Husain is the CEO and the Brand Ambassador of the group. Today, the group has a chain of over 400 franchise clinics, shops, schools and spas worldwide, as well as ayurvedic formulations for skin, hair, body and health care covering almost 138 coutries. Her journey, from one herbal clinic to a worldwide chain, is one of unprecedented success. What started as a small business at home at a time when internet was unheard of, went on to become one of the greatest brands across the globe in the ayurvedic care segment.

Caption

Shahnaz Husain, Who was a ‘Case Study’ and now a ‘Subject’ and part of the Curriculum on Emerging Markets at Harvard, Boston, seen with  Prof Geoffrey Jones at the Harvard Conference held in Mumbai

Pareena Lawrence has been named as the new president of Hollins University, a private women’s college based in Roanoke, Virginia. The University of Delhi graduate, who came to the U.S. in 1989 to earn her Ph.D. in economics from Purdue University, is the first minority woman to serve as president in the university’s 175-year history. She will assume the leadership role in July 2017, succeeding retiring president Nancy Oliver Gray.

Hollins University is one of the oldest women’s universities in the U.S. It has an undergraduate and graduate population of about 800 students. Addressing faculty and students on the day she was named president, Lawrence spoke of her roots and growing up in a household of modest means in Northern India. As a teenager, she was given the opportunity to attend an all-girls high school. “It had a transformational impact on me,” said Lawrence. “I grew in self-confidence, found my voice, developed grit and determination, and learned how to set goals and achieve them.”

She was heavily recruited by the school and turned down other institutions to make Hollins her home. Current president Nancy Oliver Gray is retiring after serving in the role for 12 years. Lawrence takes office in July 2017, she is currently the provost and chief academic officer of Augustana College. Lawrence has a proven track record of doing big things, and she’s hoping to do even more at Hollins.

On a college campus, a sweatshirt gift from the student body was as good as gold for new Hollins President Pareena Lawrence at her introduction Tuesday night. The Indian-born educator has focused on liberal arts, women’s education and international development her entire life.

“As I put all these pieces together it just felt like I’d come full circle and it was time to go lead a women’s only Liberal Arts college,” Lawrence said. Women’s-only education was recently thrust into the national spotlight following the happenings at nearby Sweet Briar College. Lawrence sees this as a prime opportunity for Hollins to thrive across the globe.

“I am proud to say my school district has embarked on a whole child journey. The most important ingredients revolves around our extended recess time (we increased recess from twenty minutes to forty minutes), yoga, meditation and mindfulness work for students K-8. Our staff members have been participating in yoga and mindfulness activities as well,” Dr. Michael J. Hynes PMSD Superintendent wrote in a statement here last week.

Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, in a statement in Nevada, applauded PMSD for coming forward and providing an opportunity to students to avail the multiple benefits yoga provided. Zed urged New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, New York State Education Department Board of Regents Chancellor Betty A. Rosa and New York State Commissioner of Education MaryEllen Elia; to work towards formally introducing yoga as a part of curriculum in all the public schools of the state, thus incorporating highly beneficial yoga in the lives of New York’s students.

Yoga, referred as “a living fossil”, was a mental and physical discipline, for everybody to share and benefit from, whose traces went back to around 2,000 BCE to Indus Valley civilization, Rajan Zed pointed out.

Zed further said that yoga, although introduced and nourished by Hinduism, was a world heritage and liberation powerhouse to be utilized by all. According to Patanjali who codified it in Yoga Sutra, yoga was a methodical effort to attain perfection, through the control of the different elements of human nature, physical and psychical.

According to US National Institutes of Health, yoga may help one to feel more relaxed, be more flexible, improve posture, breathe deeply, and get rid of stress. According to a “2016 Yoga in America Study”, about 37 million Americans (which included many celebrities) now practice yoga; and yoga is strongly correlated with having a positive self image.  Yoga was the repository of something basic in the human soul and psyche, Rajan Zed added.

PMSD, headquartered in Patchogue (New York), whose Mission is “to provide diverse pathways and varied enrichment opportunities that will lead to meaningful learning experiences for all students”, runs 11 schools. Its Tremont Elementary School in Medford, where yoga classes were reportedly held for grades three, four, and five in November, has a “Yoga Room”. An hour-long “Yoga Discussion” was scheduled in “Caffeine with Mike” (Superintendent Hynes) on November 17. Anthony C. O’Brien is PMSD Board President.

S.P. Raj, Distinguished Professor of Marketing and chair of the Department of Marketing, will serve as interim dean, effective immediately. Today’s announcement follows more than a month of conversations between Provost Wheatly, Vice Chancellor and Acting Dean J. Michael Haynie, students, faculty, staff and members of the Whitman School Advisory Council.

“For the last several weeks, I’ve had the good fortune of speaking with a number of stakeholders about the future of the Whitman School,” says Wheatly. “During those conversations, I encountered engaged and passionate students, faculty, staff and alumni, all committed to seeing the Whitman School continue its upward trajectory of growth and success. While many people I spoke with discussed overall qualities and characteristics for an interim leader, an overwhelming number of people specifically recommended Professor Raj. As a former senior associate dean in the Whitman School, Professor Raj is a seasoned leader whose strong institutional knowledge, commitment to shared governance and excellence in teaching and research make him the ideal person to lead the Whitman School in the interim. I am grateful to Professor Raj for stepping into this very important leadership position, and look forward to working with him in his new role.”

Raj, a member of the Syracuse University faculty since 1978, says he is honored to be asked to serve as interim dean at such a critical juncture in the life of the Whitman School.

“Thanks to our incredible students, faculty and staff, the Whitman School continues to be a leader in business education,” says Raj. “I am proud and privileged to have the opportunity to lead one of the University’s highest-achieving schools during this time of transition. I am eager to partner with the great Whitman community as we collectively seek to build on the success achieved in recent years.”

Raj is an expert in marketing strategies, specifically their influence on customer behavior, and on managing new product development and innovation. He has taught marketing strategy, marketing management, integrated marketing communications, marketing and the Internet, and marketing research. His pioneering use of multimedia in the classroom was featured in Apple’s “Imagine” series of videos for educators.

“Professor Raj is a dynamic teacher, a highly sought-after marketing expert and a gifted researcher and publisher,” says Haynie. “After speaking with my colleagues in the Whitman School, our students and our alumni, I am confident the school will continue to thrive with Professor Raj at the helm.”

Raj is the author of several teaching cases, including a best case on Managerial Issues in Transitory Economies awarded by the European Foundation for Management Development in 2006. He consistently receives high commendations for his teaching in full-time and executive programs in the U.S. and internationally. He has published in such prestigious journals as Marketing Science, the Journal of Marketing, the Journal of Marketing Research and the Journal of Consumer Research, among many others. Raj is also the founding editor of the Journal of Agribusiness in Developing and Emerging Economies.

Raj has also served as a tenured professor of marketing at Cornell University and as a visiting faculty member at Northwestern University. He earned a Ph.D. and a master’s degree in industrial administration from Carnegie Mellon University and a bachelor’s degree with distinction in electronics engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology, Madras, India.

By Asian Media USA ©

Chicago, IL: Nearly 200 people assembled in to Sonia Shah Organization’s “Bringing the Worlds Together,” a multicultural fundraising event on Sept. 17 at the Museum of Contemporary Art-Chicago. Notable guests – including author and humanitarian Greg Mortenson and the consul generals of Pakistan and Macedonia – flowed onto the outdoor terrace on the beautiful late-summer evening, enjoyed Mediterranean cuisine, wandered the open galleries and were treated to hours of traditional Sufi qawwali music performed by the Fanna-Fi-Allah ensemble.

Sonia Shah Organization (SSO) board members Zahir Lavji and Dr. Saira Alvi began the program. Saira recited poetry and Zahir set the stage for updates on SSO’s progress and plans.

“At the tender age of 17,” Sonia was tenacious about providing “basic education to girls in the world who are denied this fundamental human right,” Zahir said. Although Sonia died suddenly in a car accident in 2012, her dream lives on through her mom, Iram Shah, extended family, and a dedicated team of volunteers who run the Chicago-based nonprofit organization.

“Sonia was a gift who keeps giving and tonight I want to share what we have achieved with your generosity and support,” Iram said. “We have come a long way. We have now 75 children in the school. Our filtration plant continues to provide clean drinking water to the village. “Schools are being bombed and destroyed” across Pakistan and Islamic militants have twice attacked school the Kangra village, he said. “But at the Sonia Shah School in the same village is fully functional, due to excellent security, with round-the-clock guards and new closed-circuit TV cameras.

Additionally, all three major initiatives announced in 2015 are complete or well under way: Solar panels will be installed on the Sonia Shah Memorial School by the end of this year, “which will provide uninterrupted electricity and security at night.” A vocational center for women, “where we are teaching women skills that can give them economic independence,” opened in June and “to our surprise 40 women registered the first day. Today we have a wait list of 100 women.” SSO’s first two scholarship recipient students, Aimon Wadood and Zuleyma Codero, started college in Chicago this fall. “These girls are not giving up on their dreams. They are strong and we are all going to help them have a new life,” Iram said.

Zuleyma said the scholarship has made what she thought were impossible dreams a reality. “It is just a whole new experience for me. It gives me hope that I can ensure financial status for my family.” Mortenson in his speech remarked how “I first met Sonia at the Northshore Country Day School, where she was a student” and he was talking about his work in Pakistan and Afghanistan. Sonia “came up to me and told me how she wanted to help change the world.” This remarkable young woman spoke five languages, was the youngest intern on President Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign, and took a gap year between high school and college to spend time in Kangra in Pakistan, her mother’s ancestral village.  “This is a remote area, plagued by poverty and violence,” said Mortenson, an SSO board member and author of Three Cups of Tea. Sonia Shah’s determined works on behalf of girls’ education make her a part of what humanitarian Greg Mortenson Saturday called “the greatest revolution of our time.”

When Sonia’s life was cut short, her family and friends decided the Sonia Shah Memorial School and other programs would be her legacy. “Schools are being abandoned” across Pakistan, “but at the Sonia Shah School, the lights are on.” SSO’s continued success is due to people like 13-year-old Ruby Writer, who along with her friends brought the film “Girls Rising” to her Chicago school. “We invited parents and friends and explained how hard it is” to promote girls’ education in these remote areas. “We raised $600.”

When she heard Iram interviewed on WBEZ, Chicago’s public radio station, Ruby knew SSO would be the perfect beneficiary of the funds, she said. All money raised at the event helps SSO to continue its life-changing work on behalf of “young girls in Pakistan who otherwise would never have gone to school, young adult women who had given up on higher education, and mature women learning skills to be economically independent,” Iram said.

“But the journey is not done, we have many mountains to climb together,” she said. “Many [students] come to school without a proper breakfast and appear chronically malnourished. Some of these kids don’t have shoes. We want to provide school lunches, uniforms and medical check-ups and expand the Sonia Shah Scholarship program.” It is a journey of hope and promise, she said. “Please join us.”

New Jersey City University has launched a scholarship program, called The Patel Scholars Program, supporting MBA students from Ahmedabad, India, as also the United States in their educational endeavors at the four-year public university in Jersey City, New Jersey.

The scholarship program has been made possible due to the generosity of its alumnus Chirag Patel, a 1989 NJCU graduate in Business Administration, covers the full cost of tuition, from admission to graduation, for students 5 each from Ahmedabad and the U.S.

The Patel scholars will take part in a program designed to meet their unique needs and engage in cultural activities, internship opportunities and rigorous academic initiatives, on their way to earning an MBA degree. The first batch of students, including 5 from Ahmedabad’s H. A. College of Commerce, and 5 from the U.S. started their classes last week.

While the U.S. students will study for two years for the degree, the students coming from India will have to pursue a 3-year course. The difference in course duration is because of issues relating to credit requirements and transfer of a portion of the credits of the Indian students from their home institutions depending on the NAAC criteria and assessment.

The Patel Scholars from India will take approximately 45 credits of pre-determined general business education studies, to address potential gaps in their general education requirements and knowledge base of the American economy and business climate.

“We are yet to make an official announcement about the Patel Scholars Program which will be done probably next month, but already there is a lot of excitement about this initiative both here and in India,” Daniel P. Elwell, vice president for university advancement, said.

Dr. Chander Mukhi Kapoor Kapasi, a graduate of Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, has been recognized by the school’s Legacy Magazine for giving back to her alma mater by creating gift annuity for the school.

Mukhi, who has a master’s in public health from the school in 1975, was featured in the fall issue of the magazine in which the newest member of its alumni society was recognized for her giving back to the school. It noted that Kapasi has always wanted to make a healthy impact on others’ lives. “Dr. Kapasi feels strongly about giving back, and this is why she and her husband have created a gift annuity for the School,” the magazine noted.

“I think it’s about the community, and the need to make a difference in the community. There’s always a joy, a love of giving. It doesn’t have to be too much – whatever you can give,” Kapasi said. “There’s always a joy, a love of giving,” she added. “It’s always good to give to your alma mater. There are new people with new vision, and they have the abilities to do things better now than before, because the paradigm is shifting. Everybody can give something.”

Dr. Chander Mukhi Kapoor Kapasi, MPH ’75, has always wanted to make a healthy impact on others’ lives. After receiving her MD, finishing her postgraduate work, and teaching in India, she spent years in Nairobi, Kenya, with the International Planned Parenthood Federation, where she supervised 19 mobile clinics and trained health workers in family planning and gynecology.
Her graduate education in public health at Harvard was enhanced by her residence in the International House. “It was really the best experience. We [her husband, Dr. Onaly Kapasi, and newborn child] met so many people there from different countries, and I learned so much. Mr. and Mrs. Napier were our ‘house parents.’ They were so helpful.”

Dr. Kapasi feels strongly about giving back, and this is why she and her husband have created a gift annuity for the School. “I think it’s about the community and the need to make a difference in the community. There’s always a joy, a love of giving. It doesn’t have to be too much—whatever you can give. But if you give for the right cause, and if that can make the change, that will be a legacy.”

Dr. Kapasi sees violence by both the public and police as public health threats, a matter of public health concern with public health implications. Her passion is to develop educational programs for both the public and police, which can make a positive difference in the communities we live in.
She continues, “It’s always good to give to your alma mater. There are new people with new vision, and they have the abilities to do things better now than before, because the paradigm is shifting. Everybody can give something.”