BOSTON–Rishihood University, India’s first social impact university with a mission to create the next generation of leaders, has appointed Bostonian Puran Dang as Distinguished Professor of Practice for Leadership.
“We are honored to have Mr. Dang join us as the Distinguished Professor of Practice for Leadership. Over his illustrious career in leadership and administrative roles, Prof. Dang has gained sharp practical acumen which combines seamlessly with his commitment to academic rigor and excellence. Under his guidance, we hope to promote valuable research, industry-institute linkages, a range of entrepreneurship activities, and many other important institutional initiatives at Rishihood,” said Rishihood University Vice Chancellor Shobhit Mathur.
Dang has been a community leader for over five decades. He has founded many organizations of international repute, including the very first IIT Alumni Association, which has evolved into a PAN-IIT community spread across the world.
“There are special periods in the evolution of our civilization when great things occur. Rise of Taxila and Nalanda were major milestones, as I hope rise of Rishihood will. In that spirit engagement of a special soul like Puran Dang as Professor of Practice is testimony to the “rishi” he has been in service of humanity,” said Partha Ghosh, Professor of Practice, Globalization and Multinational Strategies at Tufts University. “Let’s hope with his guidance, and my friend Suresh Prabhu’s chancellor-ship of the New University will revive some of our ancient wisdom in synch with the Academy of Leadership at IIT Khargpur. Congratulations to the Leadership of Rishihood University as well as to Puran Dang.”
Over the last 25 years, Dang has been Chairman and now Chairman Emeritus of MIT Heritage of The Arts of South Asia – MITHAS and Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation. He has played a major role in leading important initiatives at TIE-Boston, the Akshaya Patra Foundation, and Indian Americans of Lexington (IAL), among other notable organizations. Dang has won many awards for his humanitarian service. In 2011, his alma mater, IIT Kharagpur, honored him with the “Lifetime Achievement Gold Medal Award for Distinguished Service” out of approximately 45,000 alumni.
Rishihood University aspires to become an application-based, multidisciplinary academic ecosystem where students will be trained to become visionaries and individuals with leadership and entrepreneurial capacities.
