Akanksha Patel, an Indian American teenager from New Jersey, has received the US President’s Volunteer Service Award for her exemplary volunteer service.

The award, which recognises Americans of all ages for voluntary service, was granted by the Prudential Spirit of Community Awards programme on behalf of President Barack Obama, according to NJ.com.

The award for 15-year-old Patel of Summit, a small city in New Jersey, was announced by the local Young Men’s Christian Association, which had nominated her for national honours, it said.

As a volunteer for the past year at the Summit YMCA, Akanksha contributed her time and talent to help care for children at birthday parties hosted at the YMCA as well as other volunteer activities.

Through these efforts, she has gained the satisfaction of giving back to her community.

“Akanksha loves volunteering. It has taught her valuable skills such as patience, responsibility, teamwork, time management and empathy for others,” Terri Clinton, executive director of the Summit YMCA, was quoted as saying.

“Her volunteer activities have helped her to grow by enhancing her social skills and by building relationships with individuals of all ages.

“She is a very responsible and courteous young lady with a caring nature and, most importantly, she treats everyone with a lot of respect.”

John Strangfeld, chairman and CEO of Prudential Financial, said: “The recipients of these awards demonstrate that young people across America are making remarkable contributions to the health and vitality of their communities.”

The YMCA is a worldwide, non-profit network of clubs and institutions that operates under the belief that “everyone, regardless of income, age or background, deserves the opportunity to learn, grow and thrive”.

Source: Business Standard

Somnath Bhattacharya has been appointed dean of the business school at St. Thomas University in Miami Gardens, Fla. The appointment is effective July 10

The Indian American has a Ph.D. in business administration with a concentration in accounting from the University of South Florida, an MBA in management information systems from Northern Arizona University and a B.A. from Jadavpur University in Kolkata. Bhattacharya was formerly associate dean and interim dean of the College of Business at Florida Atlantic University.

“Bhattacharya’s academic contacts in India and his wide reach in global business will be most valuable to the university’s academic global advancement plan, St. Thomas said in a press release.

Source: IndiaWest

Susmita Roye, an Indian-American associate professor of English at the Delaware State University, has been named as a recipient of the National Endowment for Humanities (NEH) Award for Faculty.

The award has been given in recognition and support of her current book manuscript project, which is about the women writers of India during British rule (1757-1947). She has tentatively titled the book “Mothering India”.

Roye will receive financial support from the grant award, which will enable her to take some time off from teaching to finish the book.

She was one of only eight people to receive the award out of 101 applications, according to an announcement on the university website.

The NEH, an independent federal agency created in 1965, is one of the largest funders of humanities programmes in the US.

Previously, Roye co-edited and contributed a chapter to the book “The Male Empire under The Female Gaze”, which explored the perspective of British white women amid British rule of India.

Roye, who did her MPhil in English from the University of Calcutta in 2006 and PhD in English in 2011 from Britain’s University of Bristol, has been a faculty member of DSU since 2011.

Her research interests include “Women’s Writing, World Literature, Gender and Imperialism, Anglophone Literature of the World, Post/Colonial Literature, Orientalism, Race and Ethnic Studies, and Cultural Studies”.

Source: Business Standard

Dr. Suneeta Krishnan, a social epidemiologist at RTI International, has been nominated to the World Health Organization’s Gender and Rights Advisory Panel.

The Indian American will be one of 12 panel members serving a three-year term.

The Gender and Rights Advisory Panel was set up in 1996 with the mandate to examine the Department of Reproductive Health and Research’s work from a gender equality and human rights perspective, and to give guidance on these issues in the field of sexual and reproductive health.

The views and recommendations of the panel are presented to the department’s Scientific and Technical Advisory Group that reviews research and technical support activities and recommends priorities for the Department’s future work.

Krishnan is a social epidemiologist specializing in community-based research in developing countries. For more than a decade, she has conducted research that aims to uncover the pathways through which gender inequalities lead to adverse health outcomes and health disparities and to develop and test interventions that promote health and gender equity.

Her studies focus on the intersections between gender inequalities, violence, and women’s health over the life course.

She has received funding from the National Institutes of Health, private foundations, and the World Bank to conduct research on gender-based power and prevention of intimate partner violence, HIV, cervical cancer, and other adverse women’s health outcomes, and to provide technical assistance for the development, implementation, and evaluation of women’s health promotion programs.

Krishnan holds a doctorate and master’s degree in epidemiology from the University of California at Berkeley. She is currently based in India and is RTI India’s technical lead. Krishnan is also associate director of RTI’s recently launched Global Gender Center.

In recognition of her research and community service, Krishnan a 2004 U.S. Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers.

Krishnan has authored or co-authored book chapters, peer reviewed journal articles and technical reports focused on violence against women, HIV/AIDS, and gender inequities.

Source: IndiaWest

The US Senate has confirmed an Indian-American Arun M Kumar to a key administration post that would make him responsible for foreign trade.

“I am pleased that the US Senate has confirmed Arun Kumar as Assistant Secretary of Commerce and Director General of the United States and Foreign Commercial Service at the International Trade Administration (ITA),” Commerce Secretary, Penny Pritzker, said.

“In this role, he will lead the agency’s efforts to assist and dvocate for US companies in international markets. Promoting US trade and investment is crucial to remaining globally competitive, which is a key priority of our ‘Open for Business Agenda’,” the Commerce Secretary said.

The nomination of Mr Kumar, till recently a partner and member of the Board of Directors at KPMG LLP, was confirmed by the Senate by a voice vote.

From 2005 until his retirement in September 2013, Mr Kumar led the firm’s West Coast Finance Management Consulting practice.

He also led the firm’s US-India practice from 2007 to 2013. Mr Kumar joined KPMG in 1995 as a Finance Management Leader.

From 1993 to 1995, he was the founder and CEO of Planning & Logic, Inc, a software company.

Mr Kumar received a Bachelor of Science in Physics from the University of Kerala in India, and an SM in Management from the Sloan School of Management, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the US.

Source: NDTV