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Readings for Day One – Monday, July 30

Session 1: Welcome and Introduction

Tarun Khanna, Director of SAI and Jorge Paulo Lemann Professor of Harvard Business School

Click here to view the Introductory Powerpoint Presentation

Parimal Patil, Professor of Religion and Indian Philosophy; Chair of the Department of South Asian Studies, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Harvard University

No readings


Session 2: Building A World Class Institution

Jorge Dominguez, Antonio Madero Professor for the Study of Mexico; Vice Provost for International Affairs, Harvard University

Morton and Phyllis Keller. Making Harvard Modern: The Rise of America’s University (Oxford University Press, 2007 revised edition).

Please come prepared to answer the following questions:

1) How does Harvard’s evolution into a meritocratic university – with faculty selected primarily on the basis of their scholarly reputation, a student body chosen primarily for its intellectual abilities, and a campus culture that places a high priority on national and international ranking – resonate with your experience as a senior academic leader?

2) Harvard University has successfully been able to establish itself as a meritocratic, affluent and worldly institute – a model that other American universities have tried to follow. Given the tapestry of higher education in India, would such a blend be achievable in your own context?


Session 3: Think Again: Adult Developmental Frontiers in Higher Education

Michael Shiner, Harvard Graduate School of Education

Gardner, H. (2011). “Chapter 6 – Learning Throughout Life” in Truth, Beauty, and Goodness Reframed: Educating for the Virtues in the Twenty-First Century (pp. xii, 244). New York: Basic Books.

Click here to view the powerpoint presentation for this session.


Session 4: Building an Outstanding Student Body

Bill Fitzsimmons, Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid to Students in Harvard College; Member of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences

Deidre Leopold, Managing Director, MBA Admissions and Financial Aid, Harvard Business School

“Megan Turner” Case Study


Session 5: Bringing Global Studies to K-12 Classrooms: Why It Matters for Universities

Dinner with Deborah Cunningham, Senior Programs Director, Primary Source

Please come prepared to answer the following questions:

1) What kind of educational experiences did you have as a child that influenced your thinking about other cultures?

2) What kinds of conversations do you think would be useful for university educators in India to have with primary and secondary school educators in India?

3) Would you describe the teachers you have encountered at the pre-university or university level in India as culturally proficient (knowledgeable about their students’ cultural backgrounds)? Why or why not?