EUGENE, Ore. - (Oct. 12, 2011) - University of Oregon President Richard Lariviere, whose academic and professional career was built on his study of Indian languages and culture, has accepted an invitation to participate in Thursday's U.S.-India Higher Education Summit at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Lariviere was invited because of his background in India and the University of Oregon's participation in the International Academic Partnership Program.
The summit will be co-hosted by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Indian Minister for Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal. Both will speak during an opening session.
The conference - which is the first of its kind - is intended to strengthen higher education collaboration and opportunities for exchange between institutions in the U.S. and India. An estimated 100,000 Indian students already attend U.S. colleges and universities.
Lariviere has been asked to speak in a panel discussion of the challenges in establishing academic exchange programs between faculty members in India and the U.S.
"I appreciate the invitation to participate in this important and timely conversation," said Lariviere. "This is a great step in the U.S. State Department's efforts to strengthen U.S. and India ties."
He will be on an eight-member "Faculty Collaboration and Scholarship" panel that is scheduled to follow the summit's luncheon and keynote address. Other U.S. members of the panel are from the Institute of International Education in New York, the University of Chicago, the University of Iowa and the State Department. Indian panelists are from the Indian Institute of Management in Bangalore, Himachal Pradesh Central University and Hyderabad University.
The all-day summit will include other sessions on student exchange; joint degrees and branch campuses; quality assurance and governance; building relationships through the private sector; and expanding access to partnerships for workforce development.
The foundation for this year's summit was laid in 2009, when Clinton announced an "India-U.S. Education Dialogue" during her July visit to India. Sibal led an Indian delegation to the U.S. a few months later to explore partnerships with American institutions in the establishment of 14 "innovation universities" in India. Then in November 2009, President Barack Obama announced the "Obama-Singh 21st Century Knowledge Initiative" during his trip to India. That initiative included plans for establishing an Indo-U.S. Education Council for permanent dialogue between the two countries, and Thursday's summit is considered a precursor to the establishment of that council.
More information about the conference can be found on the State Department's summit agenda web page (http://1.usa.gov/r6HyP4). Also, you may virtually attend the summit online at http://bit.ly/oOii7m; click on the button to "enter as guest."
Lariviere and his wife, Jan Lariviere, traveled to India for the first time after he earned his bachelor's degree in the history of religions from the University of Iowa in 1972. His academic career centers on the country's languages, histories, religions and cultures, and in 1978, he earned his doctorate in Sanskrit from the University of Pennsylvania. Lariviere has also had a successful career as a consultant for U.S. and Indian companies in information technology and business process outsourcing.
About the University of Oregon
The University of Oregon is among the 108 institutions chosen from 4,633 U.S. universities for top-tier designation of "Very High Research Activity" in the 2010 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education. The UO also is one of two Pacific Northwest members of the Association of American Universities.
MEDIA CONTACT: Joe Mosley, UO media relations, 541-346-3606, jmosley@uoregon.edu