New York: Vishakha N. Desai, president of the Asia Society, has been conferred the Woman of Achievement' award here Monday at a ceremony here. She was given the award by Women in Development, a non-profit professional association promoting the cause of women in New York. Desai was selected for her social contribution through transformational work, said the News India Times, an ethnic Indian newspaper.

Desai, who graduated from Bombay University, got a masters and PhD from the University of Michigan. Prior to assuming her position at the Asia Society, Desai was with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, as a curator of Indian, Southeast Asian and Islamic art.

A recipient of numerous grants and fellowships from the National Endowment for Humanities, the National Endowment for Arts, the Indo-US Sub-commission on Education and Culture and the American Institute of Indian Studies, Desai has written extensively on traditional Indian and contemporary Asian art.