The Future of Liberal Arts in India Undergraduate Liberal Arts in India: A Conference on

1. Dr. David Oxtoby, President, Pomona CollegeDr. Kalyanakrishnan Sivaramakrishnan, Dinakar Singh Professor of India and South Asian Studies, Chair, South Asian Studies Council; Director, Yale India InitiativeDr. Pramath Sinha, Founder and Vice Chancellor, Ashoka University; Director, Young India Fellowship • Dr. Malabika Sarkar, Vice Chancellor, Presidency University (Kolkata)Dr. Aromar Revi, Founder and Director of the Indian Institute of Human Settlements Dr. Raj Kumar, Founder and Vice Chancellor of the O.P. Jindal Global University Mr. Dileep Ranjekar, CEO, Azim Premji FoundationProfessor Nikhil Sinha, Founding Vice Chancellor, Shiv Nadar UniversityMr. Anand Sudarshan, Founder and Director, Sylvant, and former Director, Manipal Global EducationProf. Vasudha Dalmia, Chandrika and RanjanTandon Professor of Hinduism and Professor of Religious Studies, Yale UniversityProf. Steven Wilkinson, Rohini and Nandan Nilekani Professor of India and South Asian StudiesDirector of Undergraduate Studies in Ethics, Politics and Economics, Yale UniversityProf. Priya Natarajan, Professor of Astronomy and Physics; Chair Women's Faculty Forum, Yale UniversityProf. Venu Narayan, Azim Premji UniversityMr. Madan Padaki, Co-founder and Executive Chairman, Head Held High Foundation, BangaloreDr. Rishikesha Krishnan, entrepreneur, author and professor at the Indian Institute of Management, BangaloreDr. Laurie Patton, Sanskritist, and Dean of Arts and Sciences, Duke UniversityDr Satish Inamdar: Director, Krishnamurti Foundation, BangaloreDr. Rajeev Patke:  Director of Humanities at Yale-NUS College, SingaporeDr. David Drew: Former Dean of Claremont Graduate Education School, renowned expert on science and math educationMs. Akshata Murty:  Trustee and alumna of Claremont McKenna College, entrepreneur, and CEO.Dr. Anup Kumar Dhar: School of Human Studies at Ambedkar University, DelhiDr. Usha Rajaram, Director of Learning, UWC Mahindra College, PuneDr. Bryan Penprase: Pomona College, ACE Fellow, Yale University, New Haven, CT; Astrophysicist, author and educator. Undergraduate Liberal Arts Education in India - New directions, New Technology, New Curriculum, and New Institutions for the 21st CenturyLiberal Arts Education in India is taking root in a number of new institutions and initiatives, making this an opportune time to showcase some of these new ventures, and explore how Indian liberal arts can develop in its own way, building its own academic traditions that create lasting and meaningful impact for society. Advances in online education, pedagogy, and curriculum are converging, and we hope to create a stimulating workshop where leaders in advancing Indian Higher education can discuss the future landscape of education in India.In our meeting, we will discuss the best strategy for implementing online and liberal arts higher education in India in a way that will help solve some of the challenges that India faces in the new century. Liberal Arts Education can help create a new generation of graduates trained to think creatively about complex issues such as the urban-rural divide, the rapidly developing nature of Indian economy. Liberal Art Education merges science and technology with humanities, philosophy, and the arts to address some of the deeper issues facing India.Liberal Arts Education provides "holistic" education intended to foster creative and independent thought. It is an education that can liberate people to pursue their passions, enabling them to do their best and expand their capacities in all fields. One goal of such an education is to produce graduates who will approach the world with a more balanced perspective, and who can create new jobs and programs to help others with a sense of social responsibility. How is liberal arts best suited for the Indian context? What has been the experience of the new initiatives in liberal arts in India?We use the occasion to not only assess the relevance of and need for Liberal Arts education in India but to also meet with Presidents, founders and Vice Chancellors of leading liberal arts institutions and foundations to engage in an exchange of experiences and ideas aiming to learn and be motivated or motivate action for bettering the education of the youth of India and the world.  We will meet at the green and serene grounds of the Raman Research Institute in Bangalore, a place created by Prof Sir C.  Raman himself well over six decades ago for research in physical sciences. We meet for two days with time set aside for discussions between talks both in a formal and informal setting. Please come and help us discuss and envision the future for liberal arts in India! Conference web site http://www.astro.pomona.edu/blog/mohra/ Confirmed Attendees: The Future of Liberal Arts in India Undergraduate Liberal Arts in India: A Conference on New Directions, New Curriculum, and New Institutions Raman Research Institute, Bangalore, Jan. 7-9, 2014 Sponsored by Yale University, Pomona College and the Raman Research Institute • Conference Organizing Committee: Prof. Bryan Penprase, Frank P. Brackett Professor of Astronomy, Pomona College, Claremont CADr. Lakshmi Saripalli, Research Scientist, Raman Research Institute, Bangalore, IndiaProf. K. Sivaramakrishnan, Chair, South Asian Studies Council of Yale University; Director, Yale India InitiativeMr. George Joseph, Director for International Relations and Leadership Programs, Yale University