Indiana University president Michael A. McRobbie announced recently that IU will donate a 12,000-volume research library of political science books, journals and reference materials used for decades by faculty and students to India's O.P. Jindal Global University.
Last year, IU entered into a wide-ranging collaboration with the private university located just outside New Delhi. A key component of the agreement is JGU's interaction with two of IU's professional schools, the Maurer School of Law and the School of Public and Environmental Affairs.
McRobbie made the announcement during the first IU/JGU international conference, part of an 11-day official visit to India.
During the joint conference, McRobbie also awarded the Thomas Hart Benton Medallion, the highest honor an IU president has the sole authority to bestow, to esteemed Indian economist, best-selling author and IU alumnus Narendra Jadhav.
Jadhav, who earned a doctorate in economics from IU in 1986, served the Reserve Bank of India for 31 years, retiring in 2008 from the position of principal advisor and chief economist. From 2006 to 2009, he was vice chancellor of the University of Pune.
A prolific writer with 100 research papers and 14 books, he is currently serving as a member of the National Planning Commission, India's top policy-oriented think tank chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, and a member of the National Advisory Council.
JGU will pay for shipping of the Political Science Research Collection, which is a core library of classic and fundamental books, journals and reference materials that was first established more than 40 years ago.
It includes many classic titles used in the study of American politics, comparative politics, policy studies, international relations, political theory and philosophy and political methodology.
Copies of all the publications remain part of IU Libraries extensive holdings and the books being donated to JGU are duplicates. The university is looking to establish a modern, new Social Science Research Center where the collection was located in Woodburn Hall.
JGU was established in 2009 to promote global education. Its benefactor, Naveen Jindal, the founding chancellor, provided the groundbreaking resources to launch the university.
Russell Hanson, chair and a professor in the Department of Political Science in the College of Arts and Sciences, said the collection has proven to be invaluable to scholars, particularly before the advent of electronic journals and other online research tools.