BY RAVJOT KAUR
CLAREMONT, CA - The 12th Anniversary Conference of the South Asian Studies Association 2018 was held from March 23-25h on the beautiful campus of Claremont McKenna College, here. This year’s theme ‘South Asian Studies Reimagined’ was conceptualized under the leadership of the new CEO Ken Silverman,
CLAREMONT, CA - The 12th Anniversary Conference of the South Asian Studies Association 2018 was held from March 23-25h on the beautiful campus of Claremont McKenna College, here. This year’s theme ‘South Asian Studies Reimagined’ was conceptualized under the leadership of the new CEO Ken Silverman,
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whose leadership extended the scope of SASA 2018 to include South Asia related business, trade, NGOs, nonprofits and philanthropy while continuing to embrace the field of scholastic studies. With over a year of planning in the SASA Board and a very special collaboration with Claremont McKenna College, the conference organizers welcomed speakers, students and attendees at an evening reception on March 23, the opening day, on CMC campus. The conference made possible in part via grants from Navin and Pratima Doshi and Sannam S4 Group had over a 150 participants. Speakers over the three days included leading South Asian specialists and academic leaders from universities and colleges across North America, Asia, and Europe, as well as business and civic leaders.
According to the Program Committee Executive Chair and SASA Director, Dr. Vandana Asthana 75 scholarly papers were presented from almost a dozen countries . The subjects covered demonstrated the interdisciplinary nature of the conference with 22 panels ranging from gender science, voices of women, art history, politics, modernity, religion, Ayurveda, among others. Presentations were followed by lively discussions within and outside of the panels during coffee breaks and luncheons.
Three exceptional plenaries addressed US-India higher education alliances focused on entrepreneurship and innovation; South Asia’s NGOs, nonprofits and philanthropy; and an interactive open forum with prominent entrepreneurs and CEOs of South Asian origin.
Hiram Chodosh, President, Claremont McKenna College, led and moderated the SASA Conference’s opening Plenary Session, US-India Higher Education and Entrepreneurship: Cross Border Alliances. Among this session’s featured speakers were President Mukesh Aghi, of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF),, Dr. Larry Cox, who leads Pepperdine University’s Entrepreneurship program, Adrian Mutton, of Sannam S4 Group, Dr. Meghana Joshi, Program Director for the collaborative US-India initiative between Keck Graduate Institute and India’s Biocon Academy, and Dr. Brian Penprase, Dean of Faculty at Soka University of America. These speakers emphasized that this alliance aimed to promote a design of education that help students apply class room knowledge outside of the class towards problem solving and practical learning.
A Fireside Chat with Silverman, Aghi, educated the audience of the meaningful opportunities in a robust strategic partnership between India and the U S. He mentioned that as China rises it becomes imperative for India to grow quickly and the US-India economic partnerships in business, trade and investment are a step in that direction. He recognized that the reciprocal cross border relations in foreign investment are beneficial for both countries.
The evening plenary on NGOs, nonprofits and Philanthropy moderated by Robin Meili, Director of International Programs, Rand Corporation featured seven panelists: Vandana Tilak CEO, Akshaya Patra; BU Patel of Tarsadia Foundation; Vandana Asthana of Eco Friends . Navin Doshi summed up his philanthropy in three words ‘Daman, Daan and Daya’‘control’ ‘giving’ and ‘compassion’ and highlighted the role Ekal Vidyalaya plays in promoting functional literacy amongst tribal and villagers to more than one million children.
March 24 evening ended with the year’s annual SASA Exemplar Awards at the Banquet in the McKenna Auditorium. The awards were presented to Aghi, for Business Leadership, to Dr. Christopher Chapple, the Doshi Professor of Indic & Comparative Theology at Loyola Marymount University, for Academic Achievement, and Varun Soni, Dean of Religious Life at the University of Southern California, for Community Service. This was followed by a live Indian Classical music performance by David Trasoff, on sarod, accompanied by Javad Butah on tabla. The evening ended with a classical Sri Lankan Dance presented by a troupe from Sri Lanka.
Along with the academic sessions on March 25, the third plenary `CEOs And Entrepreneurs: An Interactive session’ was moderated by Arnold Peter, Managing Partner Peter Law group. Speakers in this session included Ajit Singh, William Simon, Ravi Kapur, Smita Bagla, Julian Leuthold and Vijay Sather.
According to the Program Committee Executive Chair and SASA Director, Dr. Vandana Asthana 75 scholarly papers were presented from almost a dozen countries . The subjects covered demonstrated the interdisciplinary nature of the conference with 22 panels ranging from gender science, voices of women, art history, politics, modernity, religion, Ayurveda, among others. Presentations were followed by lively discussions within and outside of the panels during coffee breaks and luncheons.
Three exceptional plenaries addressed US-India higher education alliances focused on entrepreneurship and innovation; South Asia’s NGOs, nonprofits and philanthropy; and an interactive open forum with prominent entrepreneurs and CEOs of South Asian origin.
Hiram Chodosh, President, Claremont McKenna College, led and moderated the SASA Conference’s opening Plenary Session, US-India Higher Education and Entrepreneurship: Cross Border Alliances. Among this session’s featured speakers were President Mukesh Aghi, of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF),, Dr. Larry Cox, who leads Pepperdine University’s Entrepreneurship program, Adrian Mutton, of Sannam S4 Group, Dr. Meghana Joshi, Program Director for the collaborative US-India initiative between Keck Graduate Institute and India’s Biocon Academy, and Dr. Brian Penprase, Dean of Faculty at Soka University of America. These speakers emphasized that this alliance aimed to promote a design of education that help students apply class room knowledge outside of the class towards problem solving and practical learning.
A Fireside Chat with Silverman, Aghi, educated the audience of the meaningful opportunities in a robust strategic partnership between India and the U S. He mentioned that as China rises it becomes imperative for India to grow quickly and the US-India economic partnerships in business, trade and investment are a step in that direction. He recognized that the reciprocal cross border relations in foreign investment are beneficial for both countries.
The evening plenary on NGOs, nonprofits and Philanthropy moderated by Robin Meili, Director of International Programs, Rand Corporation featured seven panelists: Vandana Tilak CEO, Akshaya Patra; BU Patel of Tarsadia Foundation; Vandana Asthana of Eco Friends . Navin Doshi summed up his philanthropy in three words ‘Daman, Daan and Daya’‘control’ ‘giving’ and ‘compassion’ and highlighted the role Ekal Vidyalaya plays in promoting functional literacy amongst tribal and villagers to more than one million children.
March 24 evening ended with the year’s annual SASA Exemplar Awards at the Banquet in the McKenna Auditorium. The awards were presented to Aghi, for Business Leadership, to Dr. Christopher Chapple, the Doshi Professor of Indic & Comparative Theology at Loyola Marymount University, for Academic Achievement, and Varun Soni, Dean of Religious Life at the University of Southern California, for Community Service. This was followed by a live Indian Classical music performance by David Trasoff, on sarod, accompanied by Javad Butah on tabla. The evening ended with a classical Sri Lankan Dance presented by a troupe from Sri Lanka.
Along with the academic sessions on March 25, the third plenary `CEOs And Entrepreneurs: An Interactive session’ was moderated by Arnold Peter, Managing Partner Peter Law group. Speakers in this session included Ajit Singh, William Simon, Ravi Kapur, Smita Bagla, Julian Leuthold and Vijay Sather.
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