Sachidananda Mohanty, alumnus of the Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education and till recently, a member of the Auroville Foundation governing board, had his contributions to education highlighted at the 75th anniversary celebrations of the Fulbright Exchange Program of the United States-India Educational Foundation (USIEF).
Prof. Mohanty, a former Vice-Chancellor of the Central University of Odisha and recipient of several national and international awards, is a widely-published author and a former member of India’s Commission on Education to the UNESCO.
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The citation notes that Prof. Mohanty was a Fulbright Scholar/Professor to the U.S. in 1990 and 2004.
His extensive research on the exchange programme was published as a book titled,
The USIEF (Fulbright Commission) was set up by an executive agreement between India and the U.S., jointly signed by then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and then U.S. Ambassador Loy. P. Henderson on August 2, 1950, to promote mutual understanding through educational exchanges between the two nations.
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The programme itself was envisioned by American Senator J. William Fulbright in 1946 in the aftermath of the Second World War.
“I am deeply humbled and honoured by this singular honour... I attribute this recognition, in large measure, to my cosmopolitan upbringing at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram School, exposure to the unique multicultural ethos of the town and the international ambience of Auroville,” Prof. Mohanty said.