Laurie Patton, dean of arts and sciences, represented Duke at the U.S. India Higher Education Summit in Washington, DC, this week.
The summit, intended to provide a platform for government and education leaders from both countries to outline their vision for 21st century education engagement, brought together academic, corporate, foundation and government leaders from the United States and India.
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Indian Minister of Human Resource Development Kapil Sibal, and Nirupama Rao, Indian ambassador to the United States, attended the summit.
Clinton challenged attendees to break down institutional barriers to increase educational collaboration between the United States and India, particularly in the areas of student and faculty exchanges and cooperation around research.
"There is a great deal of energy and enthusiasm for U.S.-India cooperation," said Patton, who has devoted much of her career to the study of South Asian history, culture and religion. "It was especially gratifying for me to see the range of American and Indian institutions that care deeply about this topic and understand the potential benefits increased collaboration can yield for both countries.
"I think Duke is poised to take our involvement in India to the next level, and I hope we can move forward on some creative possibilities."
Patton's current research for two forthcoming books focuses on religion in the public sphere and on women and Sanskrit in contemporary India. For several years of research during the last two decades she has made her Indian home in Pune, Maharashtra.
Duke is strongly engaged in India, with programs and activities including medical care and research initiatives, public health, business education programs, the Talent Identification Program for gifted youth, training programs for Indian government employees, DukeEngage, Duke Intense Global, and Global Semester Abroad.