News Room

March 15, 2006

Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter partnership Award in India

The Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Partnership Foundation, Inc. (JRCPF) announced today the establishment of a strategic partnership with Panjab University in Chandigarh, India to advance academic service learning in the country.

"Panjab University is pleased to be the first international partner for the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Partnership Foundation," said Professor K. N. Pathak, Vice-Chancellor of Panjab University. "Collaboration with the Foundation has sharpened the vision of university education and widened the scope of its influence. Panjab University is a home for innovative ideas and skills and a reservoir of knowledge. By using the community service mechanism for learning and contributing, it will become the leading university for community development programs. Association with the Foundation will help the students and faculty not only in creating accountability for their existing community service work, but will also encourage students and faculty everywhere to embark on this approach to education."

Panjab University is one of the prestigious universities in India. It is accredited by NAAC as a Five Star University, the governing body's highest rating, and recognized by the UGC as a university with potential for excellence in bio-medical sciences. Professor Pathak was teaching at Northwestern University in Illinois, USA prior to joining Panjab University in 1970 and thereafter being appointed Professor in January 1977. He earned a Ph.D. from the Indian Institute of Technology and holds a prestigious Government of India Merit Scholarship and an Uttar Pradesh Government Scholarship.

"We are pleased to be represented by one of the premier schools in the subcontinent," said Dr. Sue Sehgal, president of the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Partnership Foundation. "The Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Partnership Award for Campus-Community Collaboration will hold its inaugural presentation in India in October with President and Mrs. Carter in attendance. Panjab University will be instrumental in making this event a great success and in creating awareness for academic service-learning in India."

"The vision of JRCPF is a world where students and faculty collaborate with community leaders to serve and to create academic service-learning experiences," said Dr. Robert Heightchew, Executive Director of JRCPF. Based on the vision and aspirations of President and Mrs. Carter, the Foundation seeks to foster in tomorrow's leaders a lifelong commitment to service-learning and community service.

The former First Lady Rosalynn Carter has said that as the value of granting credit for academic service-learning becomes better understood, and the practice becomes more common, serving will become more of an integral part of a college education and college will become an education for a life of service. President Carter has called this program a "sterling jewel" in education.

The foundation focuses on young adults with a mission to mobilize campus and community service partnerships by recognizing and rewarding the best practices in academic service-learning. Such recognition is a powerful motivator, and the winners of the award each year provide a vivid picture of excellence - and success - for scores of other applicants in each state where the program is held.

The Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Partnership Foundation builds upon these values and beliefs by recognizing the best volunteer work of students, faculty, and staff at universities and colleges as they partner with community groups and community agencies. Hundreds of programs have received recognition through the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Partnership Award. Some have attracted more participants and, in some cases, have attracted more funding. By applying uniform and high standards to award selection, the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Partnership Award not only recognizes the best programs, but inspires others to excel and achieve the status of a Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Certified Partnership for campus-community collaboration.

More information on the Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Partnership Foundation can be obtained at www.jrcpf.org.