{"id":25326,"date":"2019-10-10T16:16:27","date_gmt":"2019-10-10T20:16:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sciencescosmaincms.cm.ucf.edu\/news\/?p=25326"},"modified":"2020-02-13T11:24:35","modified_gmt":"2020-02-13T16:24:35","slug":"1-million-gift-brings-india-center-endowed-chair-closer-to-reality","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/1-million-gift-brings-india-center-endowed-chair-closer-to-reality\/","title":{"rendered":"$1 Million Gift Brings India Center Endowed Chair Closer to Reality"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

Interim President Thad Seymour, left, and Raj Toleti.<\/p><\/div>\n

An endowed chair position for UCF\u2019s India Center continues its march toward reality with a new $1 million pledge.<\/p>\n

The pledge comes from Raj Toleti, \u201893MS, and family, including his wife, Aparna Toleti, \u201895MS, and brings the total for the fund to $2 million of a $5 million goal. Their generous commitment to the success of the India Center was recognized Wednesday at a reception attended by influential members of Central Florida\u2019s Indian community, College of Sciences Dean Michael Johnson, Ph.D. and Interim President Thad Seymour.<\/p>\n

In remarks after receiving the key to the university, Toleti looked back at his early days as an entrepreneur. The encouragement and mentoring he received as a new business owner supplied him a platform to grow and take chances. He chose to invest in the India Center because he sees it as an opportunity to spur innovation and provide a similar support platform for students.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese generations of students need infrastructure to grow their global social responsibility. That is a fundamental value, and I see the India Center as a valuable conduit for developing that,\u201d Toleti said.<\/p>\n

The Raj Toleti Family Speaker Series at the India Center will play a key role in increasing the India Center\u2019s national and international visibility and impact. New partnerships will be forged, and existing ones deepened, by inviting renowned speakers to UCF and Orlando to engage with students, faculty and the community and speak on Indian-American relations, said Kerstin Hamann, Ph.D., director of the School of Politics, Security, and International Affairs, and interim director of the India Center.<\/p>\n

\"\"Similarly, the endowed chair will provide the intellectual and scholarly leadership that will put the India Center on the academic map among scholars of India. An endowed chair communicates to the international academic community that the study of India is of recognized significance among donors. Funding from this gift boosts the reputation of the India Center, and makes it possible to expand its programming under the leadership of an expert on India, Hamann said.<\/p>\n

Interim President Thad Seymour praised Toleti\u2019s commitment to growth at UCF, and pointed to the importance of community partnerships to UCF\u2019s success.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am strongly committed to this center because I see the tremendous opportunity it provides us to connect with our larger community \u2013 here and abroad \u2013 to drive new ideas and to create business and economic opportunities,\u201d Seymour said.<\/p>\n

Johnson echoed Seymour\u2019s gratitude, and shared that Toleti\u2019s vision for innovation is already underway. A UCF delegation visited the Indian state Madhya Pradesh in 2018 and drafted a groundbreaking agreement to support seven \u201csmart cities\u201d in the state. This talent pipeline between India and UCF will strengthen the development of new technology.<\/p>\n

The vision and leadership of a full-time India scholar as the endowed chair\u2014 made possible by Toleti\u2019s gift \u2014 will keep that momentum going, Johnson said.<\/p>\n

\u201c\u2026We see the India Center as a national leader in the formation of U.S.-India partnerships among universities, government and nongovernmental agencies, and businesses \u2013 fostering innovation in fields such as technology, politics, economics, government, medicine, security, and more,\u201d Johnson said.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An endowed chair position for UCF\u2019s India Center continues its march toward reality with a new $1 million pledge. The pledge comes from Raj Toleti, \u201893MS, and family, including his wife, Aparna Toleti, \u201895MS, and brings the total for the fund to $2 million of a $5 million goal. Their generous commitment to the success […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":134,"featured_media":25327,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[38,5967,16,5424,28,29],"tags":[6062,6063,6024],"class_list":["post-25326","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-breaking-news","category-notables","category-political-science-departments","category-the-india-center","category-top-news","category-ucf-news","tag-raj-toleti","tag-raj-toleti-family-speaker-series","tag-ucf-india-center"],"yoast_head":"\n$1 Million Gift Brings India Center Endowed Chair Closer to Reality - College of Sciences News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sciences.ucf.edu\/news\/1-million-gift-brings-india-center-endowed-chair-closer-to-reality\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"$1 Million Gift Brings India Center Endowed Chair Closer to Reality - College of Sciences News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An endowed chair position for UCF\u2019s India Center continues its march toward reality with a new $1 million pledge. The pledge comes from Raj Toleti, \u201893MS, and family, including his wife, Aparna Toleti, \u201895MS, and brings the total for the fund to $2 million of a $5 million goal. 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