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Programs > Pune, India > Faculty

Faculty

Alliance faculty are drawn from across Pune's many prominent academic insitutions, think tanks, research institutes, and NGOs.  This allows us to select faculty who are among the best in their field, who have experience working with foreign or U.S. students, and who are committed to the high standards of academic excellence for which our programs are known. 

Current faculty are:

Dr. Shrikant Paranjape is Chair of the Department of Defense Studies and International Relations at the University of Pune.  He is considered an expert on Indo-U.S. relations and foreign affairs with an impressive list of research articles and books to his credit, and serves as a regular contributor to Indian newspapers on contemporary political issues. Dr. Paranjape also has extensive experience working with U.S. undergraduates, having taught at Colorado College and serving as academic advisor to the Associated Colleges of the Midwest.  Books include: India and South Asia since 1971 and Parliament and the Making of Indian Foreign Policy, with Internal Security and Role of the State in India in press.  

Dr. Laila Garda is a medical doctor specializing in Public Health who has spent much of her career in the NGO and research sectors.  With multi-disciplinary interests and research areas, a wide network of contacts both within academics and the non-profit sector, and a genuine love of teaching, Dr. Garda is uniquely suited to introduce U.S. undergraduates to the complexities of doing intership-based research in India.  

Dr. Mangesh Kulkarni is a lecturer in Department of Political Science at the University of Pune, with interests ranging from political theory, modern political ideologies, and the Indian political system to feminism, people's movements, and the politics of gender.   Books include:  Contemporary Political Theory, India in World Affairs, and Politics in Maharashtra, with numerous journal articles also to his credit.  Recently returned from an Erasmus Mundus teaching and research fellowship at the University of Goettingen, Germany, and the University of Duesto, Spain, Dr. Kulkarni has also taught and conducted research in the U.S., France, Assam, and Malawi. 

Dr. Gayatri Chatterjee is both a film director and professor at the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII).  A well-known scholar working in film and cultural studies. Dr. Chatterjee has lectured widely throughout the U.S. and Europe.  Recent publications include Mother India (2002) and of Awaara (1992), which won the President's Gold Medal for the Best Book on Cinema.

Dr. Hemante Apte earned his M.Sc. and Ph.D from the University of Pune in Cultural Anthropology and Health Sciences, respectively.   Since then Dr. Apte has received numerous awards for his achievements and publications, including the Academic Excellence Award from the Rotary Club of Gandhi-Bhavan in 2007.   In addition to teaching in the Health Sciences and Anthropology Departments at the University of Pune, Dr. Apte works as a social scientist at the KEM Hospital Research Centre and serves as Vice-President of the Maharashtra Association of Anthropological Sciences.

Dr. Vidyut Bhagwat is a former and founding director of the Women's Study Centre, Department of Sociology, University of Pune. As a renowned sociologist and social activist, she has a rare blending of academic credentials and field experience. Her specializations center around feminist thought and theory, gender and social history, and gender, culture and development. She has been actively involved with various progressive movements in Maharashtra including organizations working on women's and farmers' issues, with many publications to her credit.

Professor Pradeep Apte has extensive experience teaching at the graduate and undergraduate levels at several institutions in and around Pune, including an 18 year tenure at both Fergusson College and the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics. An expert in several areas including international trade and finance, Professor Apte has held advisory positions with the World Bank, the World Trade Centre - India, and the Pune Stock Exchange. He is also an accomplished presenter with multiple publications and two books, Economics of Intellectual Property Rights and New Issues in World Trading System, in press.

Dr. Ramanna is currently lecturer in the Department of Politics and Public Adminsitration at the University of Pune, and Visiting Research Associate at the Indira Gandhi Insitute of Development Research, Mumbai. Her research interests focus on the political economy of development, intellectual property rights and agriculture, India's policy on agricultural biotechnology and biodiversity,and India strategic relationship with the WTO. Dr. Ramanna also has extensive international experience, having completed post-doctoral fellowships at the International Food Policy Research Institute in Washington, D.C. and the London School of Economics, as well as pre-doctoral Fulbright fellowships at the University of California-Berkeley and Harvard University.

Professor Vijay Paranjape teaches Environmental Studies at the University of Pune and is active in numerous local projects involving rural development and river base management. His interests and specializations include: environmental impact assessment of development projects; environmental law and public interest litigation; cost-benefit analysis of large dams and water resources, environmental management planning of protected areas; and urban/rural development planning. Prof. Paranjape serves as lead consultant for organizations such as the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, the Dutch Ministry of Development Cooperation, and the International Water Tribunal. 

Dr. Aparna Jha completed both her M.A and Ph.D in Linguistics and has over 20 years of experience teaching Hindi, Marathi, and Bengali to foreign students from all over the world.  In addition to publishing textbooks on learning Hindi, Marathi and Bengali, Dr. Jha has utilized her fluency in 6 languages to translate several novels.  Her latest publication for Hindi language acquisition, Beginner's Hindi, is currently in press. 

 

Pune Academic Council

In addition to drawing upon the best of Pune's scholarly community to serve as instructors for our courses, the Alliance has formed a Pune Academic Council that brings together many of Pune's most prominent intellectuals to guide and advise the academic portion of the program. Current members are:

  • Dr. Ram Takawale, Former Vice Chancellor, University of Pune and Indira Gandhi National Open University. A well-known educator now working on initiatives to leverage information technology in promoting educational opportunities in interior parts of Maharashtra. During his tenure as the Vice Chancellor of Pune University, Dr. Takawale played an instrumental role in developing partnerships with several universities in Canada, Europe, and the U.S.
  • Prof. Ram Bapat, Professor Emeritus and Former Chair, Dept. of Political Science, University of Pune.  Prof. Bapat is a widely-respected thinker and social analyst in India. He has been a supporter of movements for rural development, environmental conservation and Gandhian thought.
  • Prof. H. M. Shaikh, Chairman, Sir Haroon Jaffer Educational Trust and Former Principal, Ness Wadia College. Prof. H. M. Shaikh is a dedicated educator with a demonstrated commitment to promoting education in minority communities and underprivileged areas of Pune.
  • Mr. Vikas Kakatkar, Vice Chairman, Deccan Education Society (DES). Actively involved higher education administration at DES’ 45 member institutions in and around Pune, Mr. Kakatkar is based at Fergusson College and has been an active force in the establishment of our program center. 
  • Advocate Mrs. Vandana Chavan, Former Mayor of Pune. A well-known figure in the public life of Pune, Mrs. Chavan has championed the cause of women from poorer sections of Pune city. She is also an committed environmentalist and activist for the cause of sustainable urban development.
  • Dr. Bhushan Patwardhan, Chief of Academics, Manipal University and Former Chair, Dept. of Health Sciences, University of Pune.  In his role at the University of Pune, Dr. Patwardhan was an active supporter of international partnerships, and has carried this commitment into his role at Manipal.  Dr. Patwardhan is active in the development of international education in India through the EDGE (Emerging Directions in Global Education) organization, and has been active in reaching out to the U.S. international education community through AIEA and NAFSA.
     

 
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