GUJARAT'S FOREMOST UNIVERSITY APPEALS TO INDIANS
(14 July 2003)

Sardar Patel, one of the founding fathers of modern India, is to be commemorated by Gujarat's foremost University, the eponymous Sardar Patel University, which today launched its Golden Jubilee Endowment Fund appeal. To celebrate fifty years since its inception and to continue meeting new challenges in its pursuit of EXCELLENCE, the University seeks to create a secure financial foundation by raising a corpus fund of five million pounds as part of the celebrations of the forthcoming Golden Jubilee in 2005.

Dr. Pravin J. Patel, the Vice Chancellor of the University, makes an ardent appeal to all Indians settled in Britain, the USA, Australia, and other countries to contribute generously to the Endowment Fund in order to pass on the benefits of higher education to future generation. He further adds, "History of human civilization has confirmed, time and again, that Knowledge is Power. It is axiomatic, therefore, if India is to regain its glory as a great nation, it will have to strengthen its Universities. For, University is a centre of higher learning where knowledge is not only imparted but also created."

The objectives of the Golden Jubilee Endowment Fund are to support and promote qualitative academic research, establish links with national and international academic institutions; commend high achievers, extend the existing services offered by the University, and enrich the standards of rural life in Gujarat. The fund is also looking to regenerate local and national civil society through educational programs. There are seven endowment donation packages ranging from as little as £100 and rising to £700,000.

The proposed schemes in the seven endowment packages aim at making the University self-reliant and to sustain various academic activities such as prizes, awards, loans, scholarships, grants, stipends etc. for students, faculty, and non-teaching staff of the University. The schemes included in the packages will support academic activities, add to the infrastructure facilities, and will also promote better international linkages and collaborations.

The vice chancellor points out that the appeal is a well-thought-out scheme with benefactors allowed to contribute directly to areas of specific interest to them. Donations are made directly to the University and are exempt from Income Tax. "I want to assure the donors that only the interest earned on the endowment fund will be utilized for the aforesaid activities. We are also keen to emphasise that there should be no cash donations, only cheques, bank drafts or credit card payments. All donations should be made directly to the University in the name of the Registrar and all donors will be acknowledged," he stressed.

"All our endeavours are to bring to light the unexplored thoughts and contributions of Sardar Vallabhai Patel who devoted his life to making India a strong, self-reliant and powerful nation," added Dr. Patel.

GUJARAT YET TO ACHIEVE MANY MILESTONES

In the educational field, Gujarat has yet to achieve many more milestones. With the majority of teaching in Gujarati language, the thrust on vibrant interaction with the intellectual community of the world needs a special boost. This combined with its largely industrial and rural economy has meant that the state has much to do to keep up its place on national platform in academic world. Financial support to the Universities from the Indian Government is decreasing at a time when costs for modernisation and improvement are escalating. Add to this the high level of outward migration from the state to the western economies of the UK and USA, and it is easy to envisage the challenges facing Gujarat today.

INDIANS LOYAL TO THEIR MOTHERLAND

However, Dr. Patel firmly believes in the loyalty of non-resident Indians (NRIs) towards their motherland. Indeed many NRIs retain their ancestral home and lands with a view to spending some of their retirement time "back home". Towns like Karamsad, the native place of Sardar Patel, are already heavily supported by expatriate community groups known as a "samaj" who build and maintain schools and community centres.

"Indians and Gujaratis the world over are great believers in education" says Dr Patel, "we hope that those who have pursued their goals overseas will now donate generously to help improve Sardar Patel University. We hope that they will do this in the name of their family and the future sons and daughters of Gujarat".

Since its formation, the University has achieved considerable number of firsts. It is already known as major seat of higher education in India and is nationally recognised as a "Centre of Excellence", a status granted to only one university in the state of Gujarat, and to only seventeen (out of 300) universities of India by the UGC, India. It is the first University in the states of Gujarat and Rajasthan to volunteer itself for assessment and accreditation by NAAC, and to win a Four Star rating. Sardar Patel University has successfully executed the prestigious Campus Diversity Initiative Project sponsored by the Ford Foundation, New York. It is the first University to sign Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Prasar Bharati of Government of India to set up Community Radio Centre, and it is the only University to publish an encyclopaedic series of popular, yet scholarly publications, in 30 volumes entitled 'Gnan Gangotri' (in Gujarati) that encompass the various disciplines of Humanities, Social Sciences, Sciences and Engineering.

Dr. Patel hopes that the Sardar Patel University's status and recognition within India will encourage institutional bodies and interested parties to come forward with donations and international partnership opportunities. "I am delighted to say that contributions have already started trickling in from former alumni and well wishers," he reports.

DISTINGUISHED VISITORS TO THE SARDAR PATEL UNIVERSITY

Distinguished visitors to the University and Township include the late Lord Mountbatten when he was the Governor General of India, former Prime Ministers and Presidents of India, leading figures like Justice P N Bhagavati, Chief Justice (Supreme Court of India), outstanding intellectuals like Lord Bhikhu Parekh, and global businessmen like Sam Pitroda, Chairman and CEO of World Tel. In the UK, the Golden Jubilee Endowment Fund appeal has already gained the support of peers, Lord Bhikhu Parekh, and Lord Meghnad Desai and many eminent NRIs (Non Resident Indians).

ABOUT THE SARDAR PATEL UNIVERSITY

SARDAR PATEL UNIVERSITY (SPU), inspired by, and named after one of the greatest sons of India, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel (the first Deputy Prime Minister of Independent India, a relentless freedom fighter, a trusted lieutenant of Mahatma Gandhi, well known for his gigantic achievement of integration of princely states after Independence) was established in 1955. Shri Bhailalbhai D. Patel, the founding father of this University-township of Vallabh Vidyanagar (founded in 1945), was its first Vice Chancellor. Shri H. M. Patel, with his outstanding administrative capability, proved to be an invaluable asset to this university campus.

In a span of around forty-eight years, thanks to the zeal and discipline of its students, a sense of commitment and dedication of its teachers, and the dynamic leadership of its Vice Chancellors and administrators, Sardar Patel University has come to be known as a major seat of higher education in India. It has eleven distinct faculty streams: Arts, Science, Business Studies, Engineering and Technology, Medicine, Pharmaceutical Science, Homoeopathy, Management, Home Science, Education, and Law. The University has twenty-five post-graduate departments, one constituent college, and thirty-eight affiliated colleges within its fold.

The lush green campus of the University, spread over 8 kms. radius covering Vallabh Vidyanagar, Anand, and Karamsad (the native place of Sardar Patel), a quiet and peaceful place, away from urban distractions, is an ideal place for study. Some of the departments of the University are enjoying national and international reputation due to the scholarly contributions made by the members of the faculty. The University possesses well-equipped and sophisticated laboratories, a rich central library (apart from departmental and college-based libraries), an Instrumentation Centre, a Computer Centre, a Press, and a Museum, housing rich artefacts depicting culture and heritage of the region which had played a historic role in the freedom struggle of India.

The University has been able to bring the benefits of higher education right to the doorsteps of the surrounding rural society, and has thus succeeded in improving the quality of life in the area it covers.

THE SPU GOLDEN JUBILEE ENDOWMENT APPEAL

A copy of the Sardar Patel University Golden Jubilee Endowment Appeal brochure is available in ENGLISH, online from the following link (Adobe Acrobat PDF reader required): http://www.spuvvn.edu/endowmentfund.pdf

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