Distinguished Ivy Leaguer academic appointed VC of SRM University, AP - Amaravati

NEW DELHI, JULY 9: Dr Jamshed Bharucha, a distinguished academic leader in the United States, has been appointed as the Vice-Chancellor of SRM University, AP - Amaravati. Dr Bharucha will become the university’s founding Vice-Chancellor, departing the Ivy League to contribute to the growth and reform of higher education and research underway in India. He is currently a Distinguished Fellow at Dartmouth College.

As the chief executive of the University, Dr Bharucha’s role will be to provide strategic vision in pursuit of excellence in education, research, and engagement, responding to the complex opportunities and challenges of becoming a globally recognized and nationally transformative institution. The emphasis will be on multi-disciplinary approaches, for which Dr Bharucha is well-positioned given his own research bridging cognitive neuroscience and music.

Following his appointment, Dr Bharucha said, “This is a pivotal moment in time for Amaravati – one full of extraordinary possibilities and opportunities to pursue new knowledge, challenge the status quo and ultimately serve the greater good by enhancing access to education.”

Dr. Bharucha has held a variety of academic leadership positions, including President of The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, Provost and Senior Vice President of Tufts University, and Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Dartmouth College, where he became the first Indian-American to be named dean of a school at an Ivy League university. While on the faculty at Dartmouth, he was the John Wentworth Professor of Psychological & Brain Sciences and received the Huntington Teaching Award and the Undergraduate Teaching Special Award (given by the Student Assembly).

“Dr Jamshed Bharucha is a highly accomplished academic leader and we are thrilled to welcome him as Vice Chancellor,” said Dr P. Sathyanarayanan, President, SRM University. “I am confident he will excel in this role not only in light of his wide-ranging experience, deep expertise, and intimate familiarity with our opportunities and challenges, but also because of his passionate commitment to helping universities, and everyone within them, serve the world at large,” he added.

Dr Bharucha has majored in Biopsychology for his BA from Vassar College, has an MA in Philosophy from Yale University, and a PhD in Cognitive Psychology from Harvard University. He also earned an Associate’s Diploma (ATCL) in violin performance from the Trinity College of London (International Exam Board). He has received numerous research grants from the National Science Foundation in the U.S. and has been a Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioural Sciences at Stanford University. He received the Distinguished Achievement Award from Vassar College, where he serves on the Board of Trustees, and the Pride of America award from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

“Such a time calls for a shift in strategic thinking, flexibility, and freedom to encourage and ignite the curiosity of young minds. I am looking forward to hitting the ground running in my mission to keep this university moving ambitiously forward by inspiring our community of students and faculty to realize their dreams.” SRM University - Amaravati is poised for metamorphosis under Dr Bharucha’s leadership,” said Dr Bharucha.