UCF has received a $10 million gift that will be used to establish an India Studies Center.
Four years after launching an India studies program, UCF and Global Perspectives will establish a center devoted to the nation that has a growing population in the Central Florida area.
"Such connections are of key importance in light of India's rise to global prominence and its position at the forefront of growth in many fields," President John C. Hitt said in a release.
The gift comes as an endowment from The India Group, a group of business leaders organized by Anil Deshpande, a longtime supporter of UCF's efforts related to India who helped start the studies program.
The India Group is one of many advisers UCF has worked with in creating the India Studies Center, Global Perspectives spokeswoman Jessica Gagnon said.
The annual fund and the endowment, totaling $10 million, makes the India Studies Center possible at UCF. The center will focus on India's politics, economy, technology and culture.
According to a release from UCF, activities envisioned for the India Studies Center include public presentations and other community outreach, an annual India forum, and scholarly and research activities.
Anticipated activities also include exchanges of scholars and students with institutions in India, new courses and fellowships for UCF students, a sister-university relationship in India and an expanded permanent India collection at the UCF Library.
While it is not yet decided where the center will be permanently located, it will be initially placed in the Global Perspectives office in Howard Phillips Hall, where the center's operations will open in a few weeks.
It will be there for about two years until a new destination is determined.
The India center is a natural evolution of the India studies program that launched in 2008. The success and extensive activity of the original program made the development of the center possible.
The initial reactions from Indian students, faculty and staff have been very positive, Gagnon said.
Gagnon said the opening of the center is an important moment in UCF history, and that the center will advance knowledge about India, as well as the ties between it and the United States.
"Considering India's rise to global prominence, the center's interdisciplinary approach to enhancing such international and cultural awareness, as well as exchanges between UCF and India, serves UCF and its surrounding community," Gagnon said.
The original program was part of the Department of Political Science in the College of Sciences. It is a possibility that the India Studies Center could break away from the department, though it is has not yet been decided.
The original endowment for the program totaled about $150,000, coming from both The Anil and Chitra Deshpande India Program Endowed Fund, also organized by Anil Deshpande, and the state.
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