U.S. Varsity Gets $1.5 Million for Indian Studies Named After Vivekananda

Bangalore: The Union Government will donate nearly Rs 8 crore ($1.5 million) to the University of Chicago next week in order to help establish a new visiting professorship in Indian studies named after Swami Vivekananda. The donation will be gifted during Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's visit to the university next week.

The new chair, which honors the legacy of Swami Vivekananda, is expected to enrich the university's program for the study of the Indian subcontinent and its research and teaching of India's history and culture. University officials along with the Indians will come together on January 28 in the International House to celebrate the new commitment.

The ceremony will include comments from Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee , the Indian Ambassador to the US Nirupama Rao, Dean of the Humanities Martha Roth, Chauncey S Boucher- professor of Assyriology along with Dipesh Chakrabarty, the Lawrence A Kimpton Distinguished Service Professor in History and South Asian Languages and Civilizations.

The university president Robert J Zimmer said "The ministry's generous support will allow us to expand on the university's tradition of rigorous scholarship in Indian studies," as reported by rediff.com. "This pledge, as well as the upcoming visit from Indian leaders, stands as a testament to the importance of the relationship between the University of Chicago and India, and the mutual commitment to scholarship," he added.

The donation will support the establishment of the Union ministry of culture's Vivekananda Visiting Professorship. One fourth visiting professorship will be given to distinguished scholars from a variety of disciplines with an interest in the fields of study most relevant to the teachings and philosophies of Vivekanada, such as Indian philosophy, politics and social movements. The professorship, administered by Division of the Humanities includes teaching commitment as well as an annual public lecture.