Rutgers University was honored to welcome a distinguished delegation of senior leaders from O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU), one of India's top private universities, to the Rutgers-New Brunswick campus on July 22. Led by Professor (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, President & Vice Chancellor, and founder of JGU, the group discussed potential collaborations including student and faculty exchanges and dual degree programs.
A diverse group of faculty and staff from across Rutgers joined the meeting, including deans and senior faculty from the Rutgers Law School, Rutgers Business School, the School of Engineering, the School of Biological and Environmental Sciences, the School of Social Work, and the Bloustein School, as well as key members of enrollment management, and Rutgers Global(please see the full list of delegates below).
Mohini Mukherjee, Executive Director of International Services at Rutgers University and the lead for the Rutgers India Initiative, noted: “This visit comes at a particularly exciting time for us at Rutgers as we have been we’ve been deepening our institutional engagement in India over the past few years by expanding our partnerships in areas such as research collaboration, student mobility, faculty exchange, and global learning.” She added that a few years ago, a group from Rutgers visited JGU’s campus in Sonipat, outside of Delhi, and noted that “we saw many areas of alignment between our institutions from shared academic strengths to a mutual commitment to global impact and innovation.”
Vice President for Global Affairs Rick Garfunkel commented, "We were grateful to have this opportunity to meet with our colleagues at JGU and discuss the ways we can deepen our collaborative efforts.”
Meeting and Discussion
The group met in Van Nest Hall and spent the first half of the meeting in discussion and dialogue about collaborative opportunities and the second half at a reception for further conversations.
Professor Kumar spoke about his global experiences as a Rhodes Scholar with degrees from Oxford, Harvard, and Hong Kong, and how he built JGU from the ground up into one of India’s top institutions. He noted that JGU is one of only 20 universities in India and the only non-STEM university that has been declared as an “Institution of Eminence” by the Government of India. Since its founding in 2009, JGU has quickly become a high-ranking multidisciplinary, research-led global university, renowned in law and with a strong commitment to public service and global impact.
Kumar commented on the deep values that India and the United States share, and envisions a future of greater focus on India and Indian studies in the U.S.
In the ensuing conversations, the Rutgers delegation expressed interest in exploring collaborations with JGU in areas such as joint research, faculty and student exchange, short-term mobility, and joint programming. Also discussed were opportunities for partnerships in articulation programs (3+2, etc.), and for recruiting JGU students into some of Rutgers’ master’s degree programs.
Next Steps and the Future
JGU has a strong focus on internationalization and has created numerous meaningful partnerships with leading universities across the globe, including Harvard University, Yale University, Columbia University, City University of Hong Kong, University of Oxford, Peking University, and Sciences Po, among many others. Rutgers currently counts as partners more than 130 leading universities and institutions around the world.
“We are conscious of ensuring that the MoUs and agreements that we sign have meaningful impact on the life of the student, faculty and the institution and hence, significant efforts are undertaken to implement the collaborations that have been established over the years,” noted Dr. Akhil Bhardwaj, Vice Dean and Director, Office of International Affairs and Global Initiatives at JGU.
Following the highly successful delegation, Professor J.C. Lore, Director of the Rutgers Advocacy Center at Rutgers Law School and currently in India on a Fulbright Scholarship, visited JGU Law School, where he met with faculty, students, and administrators. He was deeply impressed by the school’s work and its impact on both the community and the country. As he noted, “I look forward to returning and continuing to find ways in which we can collaborate and learn from each other.” Professor Lore’s visit marks another meaningful step toward building lasting, impactful collaborations between our institutions.
Members of the Delegation
From O.P. Jindal Global University:
• Professor (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, President & Vice Chancellor
• Justice Michael D. Wilson, Former Judge, Supreme Court of Hawai‘i; Eminent Jurist and Distinguished Professor of Law, Jindal Global Law School (JGLS)
• Professor R. Sudarshan, Dean, Jindal School of Government and Public Policy (JSGP)
• Professor (Dr.) Mohan Kumar, Former Indian Ambassador to France & Bahrain; Dean, Strategic & International Initiatives • Professor Padmanabha Ramanujam, Dean, Office of Academic Governance
• Professor (Dr.) Deepanshu Mohan, Dean, IDEAS, Office of Interdisciplinary Studies; Professor of Practice and Director, Centre for New Economics Studies, Jindal School of Liberal Arts and Humanities (JSLH)
• Professor (Dr.) Akhil Bhardwaj, Vice Dean & Director, Office of International Affairs and Global Initiatives
• Professor Siddharth Kanojia, Assistant Dean; Associate Professor, Jindal School of Banking and Finance (JSBF)
• Professor Kanishk Rai, Assistant Dean; Assistant Professor, JGLS
• Professor Asmita Singh, Assistant Dean; Assistant Professor, JGLS
• Professor Dhwani Mainkar, Assistant Dean; Assistant Professor, JGLS
• Professor Manya Pundhir, Assistant Dean; Assistant Professor, JGLS
From Rutgers University:
• Johanna Bond, Dean; Professor of Law, Rutgers Law School
• Lei Lei, Dean; Professor, Department of Supply Chain Management, Rutgers Business School, Rutgers–Newark and New Brunswick
• George Leibowitz, Dean; Distinguished Professor, School of Social Work
• Mark Robson, Distinguished Professor, Associate Vice Provost for Graduate Education for Rutgers University—New Brunswick and Dean of the School of Graduate Studies
• Courtney McAnuff, Vice Chancellor, Division of Enrollment Management, Rutgers– New Brunswick
• Marco Dinovelli, Associate Vice Chancellor, Division of Enrollment Management, Rutgers–New Brunswick
• Arpana Inman, Distinguished Professor, Department of Clinical Psychology, Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, Rutgers–New Brunswick
• Radha Jagannathan, Professor, Department of Urban Planning and Policy, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers–New Brunswick
• Lia Nower, Associate Dean for Research, Distinguished Professor and Director, Center for Gambling Studies, School of Social Work
• Farrokh Langdana, Director, Rutgers Executive MBA Program; Professor, Department of Finance and Economics, Rutgers Business School
• Dietrich Tschanz, Assistant Dean, International Programs; Assistant Director, International Student Recruitment and Advising, Rutgers Business School, Rutgers– Newark and New Brunswick
• Megan Francis, Director, Office of Global Engagement, School of Environmental and Biological Sciences, Rutgers–New Brunswick
• Hao Lin, Director, International Programs; Professor, Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, School of Engineering, Rutgers–New Brunswick
• Carol Mandzik, Director, International Programs and Services, Office of International Students and Global Programs, Rutgers–Camden
• Eric (Rick) Garfunkel, Vice President for Global Affairs, Rutgers Global; Distinguished Professor, Department of Chemistry and Chemical Biology, School of Arts and Sciences
• Mohini Mukherjee, Executive Director, International Student Services, Rutgers Global
• Kim Pernice, Associate Director of Partnerships, Rutgers Global
• Meghan Lord, Partnerships Coordinator, Rutgers Global
