Bhagirathi

Volume 1, Issue 1; January, 2001 ___________________________

UMass Dartmouth Announces Establishment of the Center for Indic Studies

 

    The Office of the Provost is pleased to announce the approval of a new Center, The Center for Indic Studies.

 

    The Center will disseminate understanding of issues relating to the arts, philosophy, culture, societal values, and customs of India; promote international harmony through a mix of ancient and modern values; and promote awareness among Americans of contemporary India and its demographic diversity in the 21st century.

 

November 10,2000 India booth at Multicultural Day at UMass Dartmouth

The proposal was approved on campus and then by UMass President Bulger.  It cites the fact that,

 

    Beginning with the time of Indus Valley Civilization, one of the oldest civilizations on earth, contributions of India to the rest of world have been substantial in many fields, including but not limited to spiritualism, philosophy, language, science, mathematics, astronom

y, statecraft, etc.

 

The proposal further explains that the Center for Indic Studies will

 

    ... promote studies on issues germane to contemporary Indian society and their relevance to the evolving multicultural global society.... With an increasing number of students, faculty members, and citizens of neighboring communities being people of Indian origin, we believe this is the right time for UMass Dartmouth to take lead in setting up a formal structure that can serve as a portal for discussion,

dissemination, and exploration of all issues that may be labeled as "Indic."

 

    Dr. Bal Ram Singh is the Center's Director, who was joined by the following faculty in initiating the proposal: Dr. Avijit Gangopadhyay, Department of Physics and CMAST; Dr. Madhu Jhaveri, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Dr. Kannan Raghunandan, Department of Accounting/Finance; Dr. Dasaratha Rama, Department of Accounting/Finance; Dr. Tridib Roy, Department of Mechanical Engineering; and Dr. Sukalyan Sengupta, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

 

-Richard Panofsky, Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs 

 Last Updated On: 3/29/06