The University of Chicago will celebrate the opening of its Center in Delhi on March 28-30 with a series of panel discussions among distinguished scholars, on topics such as visual cultures, transnational innovation in science and public health, and early childhood education.
Two of the weekend’s events will be webcast live: a presidential forum on March 28, moderated by Raghuram Rajan, governor of the Reserve Bank of India and Distinguished Service Professor of Finance, on leave from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business; and a ribbon-cutting ceremony on March 29.
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The celebration will conclude March 30 with a panel discussion featuring three UChicago deans, and conversation between distinguished authors. A full schedule of events is listed below.
Announced last October, the Center in Delhi will be a home for research and education for University of Chicago faculty, graduate students and undergraduates working in India and throughout South Asia, as well as Indian researchers and students representing a wide array of institutions, and scholars from around the world. It will catalyze interdisciplinary, cross-cultural discourse that encourages the rigorous debate and intense inquiry for which the University is well known, and will be the site of regular programming that engages UChicago alumni and friends.
In establishing a center in India, the University draws upon a long and rich history of excellence in scholarship, research and teaching related to South Asia, and it aims to create new opportunities to attain broader and deeper understanding—through the open and free exchange of ideas and debate—of the region’s past, present and future.
The Center in Delhi will be an important addition to UChicago’s international presence. Delhi joins the University’s Center in Beijing, opened in 2010, and the Center in Paris, opened in 2004, in bringing together researchers and students to collaborate across the academic spectrum. Building on the University’s presence in China, work is also underway on a Center in Hong Kong that will house a University of Chicago Booth School of Business executive MBA program as well as other University programs.
Chicago Booth also has campuses in London and Singapore, where UChicago faculty teach in degree–granting programs. The University’s Oriental Institute has a presence in Luxor, Egypt, founded in 1924 and known as “Chicago House,” which documents ancient Egyptian inscriptions and works with Egyptian scholars on conservation, restoration, and site management.
Overview of opening events for the Center in Delhi:
Friday, March 28
7 p.m. Presidential forum
- President Robert J. Zimmer will give remarks and introduce a panel discussion moderated by Raghuram G. Rajan, governor of the Reserve Bank of India and Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, with Randall S. Kroszner, the Norman R. Bobins Professor of Economics at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and other special guests from India.
* More details to follow on the live webcast of the presidential forum
8:30 p.m. Gala dinner
Saturday, March 29
9:30 a.m. Panel discussion: “Visual Cultures in a Global World”
University of Chicago speakers:
- James Chandler, the Barbara E. & Richard J. Franke Distinguished Service Professor in Cinema & Media Studies, the Committee on the History of Culture, and the College
- Jacqueline Stewart, professor in Cinema & Media Studies and the College
- Wu Hung, the Harrie A. Vanderstappen Distinguished Service Professor in Art History, East Asian Languages and Civilizations, and the College
Guest speaker:
- Shohini Ghosh, the Sajjad Zaheer Professor of Media at Jamia Millia Islamia
Moderator:
- William Mazzarella, professor in Anthropology and the College
11:15 a.m. Panel discussion: “Transnational Innovation in Science and Public Health”
University of Chicago speakers:
- Eric Isaacs, professor in physics, the James Franck Institute, and the College; director of Argonne National Laboratory
- Harold Pollack, the Helen Ross Professor at the School of Social Service Administration
Guest speakers:
- R. Chidambaram, principal scientific advisor to the Government of India
- K. Srinath Reddy, president, Public Health Foundation of India
Moderator:
- Marsha Rosner, the Charles B. Huggins Professor, Ben May Department for Cancer Research and the College
1:30 p.m. Panel discussion: “Early Childhood Education”
University of Chicago speakers:
- James Heckman, the Henry Schultz Distinguished Service Professor in Economics, the Law School, the Harris School of Public Policy Studies, and the College
- Martha C. Nussbaum, the Ernst Freund Distinguished Service Professor, the Law School and Department of Philosophy
Guest speakers:
- Gurcharan Das, author and commentator
- Jean Drèze, honorary professor at Delhi School of Economics
Moderator:
- Sunil Kumar, dean of the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and the George Pratt Shultz Professor of Operations Management
4 p.m. Ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Center in Delhi
* More details to follow on the live webcast of the ribbon cutting
6 p.m. Chicago Booth panel discussion and reception: “Improving Productivity: Private, Social and Public Sector Perspectives”
- Marianne Bertrand, the Chris P. Dialynas Distinguished Service Professor of Economics, the University of Chicago Booth School of Business
- Steven J. Davis, the William H. Abbott Professor of International Business and Economics, the University of Chicago Booth School of Business
- Luis Miranda, senior advisor, Morgan Stanley Infrastructure, chairman, board of advisors, Centre for Civil Society
Sunday, March 30
10 a.m. Center in Delhi inaugural events: “Interdisciplinary and Cross-Cultural Scholarship and Teaching”
University of Chicago speakers:
- Sunil Kumar, dean, the University of Chicago Booth School of Business; George Pratt Shultz Professor of Operations Management
- Martha Roth, dean, Humanities Division; the Chauncey S. Boucher Distinguished Service Professor, Oriental Institute, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, and the College
- Mario Luis Small, dean, Division of the Social Sciences; the John Matthews Manly Distinguished Service Professor, Department of Sociology and the College
Moderator:
- Gary Tubb, professor in South Asian Languages and Civilizations and the College; faculty director, the University of Chicago Center in Delhi
12:30 p.m. “On Ordinariness: A Conversation Between Amit Chaudhuri and Leela Gandhi on Their Recent Books”
Moderator:
- Alan Thomas, editorial director, Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Chicago Pres
For more information about the Center in Delhi and the opening events, please visit http://www.uchicago.in/
—Prof. Chuan He
