BOSTON– Perkins School for the Blind, the first school for the blind in the United States and the international leader in blindness education, has appointed Puran Dang as a member of its corporation.
“The Corporation of the Perkins School for the Blind is a very prestigious body of about 130-150 distinguished people from various walks of life,” Mr. Dang told INDIA New England News. “I am looking forward to this exciting experience and serving for such a noble cause.”
Members of the Perkins Corporation are elected at the annual meeting of the Corporation and those persons who are appointed as Trustees by the Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Corporators attend the Annual Meeting at which they vote to elect the Members of the Board of Trustees and new Members of the Corporation, and approve any changes to Perkins governing By-Laws.
Indian-American Anantha Chandrakasan, Dean of MIT’s School of Engineering, serves as a trustee of Perkins School for the Blind.
“I feel very humbled by this honor by Perkins School for the Blind. It is a fountain of inspiration where the most famous blind and deaf lady of the world—Helen Keller–was a student,” Mr. Dang said. “Her bravery to fight the misfortune of blindness and deafness did not deter her and she became a symbol of fortitude and enlightenment. She traveled the whole world with her message of love and helped the deprived by her stature. Keller had rightly said: A person with no eyes but with Vision is much better than the person with eyes but no Vision.”
George Ruckert, founder of MITHAS and a professor of music at MIT, said that Mr. Dang’s appointment to the Corporators of the Perkins School for the Blind is another feather in the cap of one whose life is an inspiring example of commitment to charity and dedication to serve humanity.
“Puranji has contributed so much to projects in the US (such as MITHAS and others), in India (so many educational and health foundations), and globally (such as his promotion of IIT internationally). How lucky we all are to have him as part of our local community,” added Mr. Ruckert.
Ramakrishna (Ram) Raju, founder and executive director of Vision-Aid, who has worked with Mr. Dang at his non-profit, said that Mr. Dang has also been an exemplary and visionary leader for Vision-Aid.
“As our Chairman, he is a role model for all of us, in his ability to serve tirelessly and selflessly with vision, grace and humility. I was delighted to hear about his new role in Perkins,” said Mr. Raju. “Perkins is an amazing organization and a global leader in this field. Vision-Aid is already collaborating with Perkins in many areas, and I am sure having Mr. Dang involved in both organizations will only foster this relationship and help us both greatly.”
In 2018, Mr. Dang was recently appointed Distinguished Professor of Leadership and Entrepreneurship at Adamas University in Kolkata. He is a Lifetime Trustee at IIT Kharagpur Foundation. Mr. Dang is founder of first IIT Alumni Society of the world (IIT-SINE), which has grown as PAN-IIT worldwide. He serves as Chairman Emeritus of the organization now. He is also Chairman Emeritus of MIT Heritage of The Arts of South Asia as well as of Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation, USA, and chairman of Board of Advisors of Vision Aid.
