Conference on Points of Connection: South Asians and the Diaspora – Program

Conference Program

8:30 AM – Breakfast & Registration – Newman Conference Center

9:00 AM – Greetings

        Presider: Parmatma Saran; Professor, Sociology, Baruch College, CUNY

 Panelists:

• James Muyskens; President, Queens College, CUNY
• Wellington Z. Chen; Member, CUNY Board of Trustees
• Terrence F. Martell; Director, Weissman Center for International Business- Baruch College, CUNY

9:15 AM – Session 1: “South Asian Human Rights in Global Context”

        Presider: Manu Bhagavan; Assistant Professor, History, Hunter College, CUNY

        Panelists:

• Ved P. Nanda; Director, International Legal Studies Program, University of Denver College of Law
• Vrinda Grover; New York University School of Law
• Mallika Dutt; Executive Director, Breakthrough

10:15 AM – Break

10:30 AM – General Session 2: “Issues on Leadership within the South Asian Community”

        Presider: Parmatma Saran; Professor, Sociology, Baruch College, CUNY

        Panelists:

• Thomas Abraham; Chairman, Global Organization of People of Indian Origin
• Mohammad Ali; Member, South Asian American Political Action Committee
• Jewel Chowdhury;President, Sylhet Sadar Thana Association
• Zahid Ali Syed; Commissioner, Nassau County Human Rights Commission

11:30 AM – Break

11:45 AM – General Session 3: “South Asian Youth: Socio-Cultural and Educational Challenges and Opportunities”

Presider: Amita Gupta; Assistant Professor, School of Education, City College
of New York, CUNY

        Panelists:

• Rifat Salam; Instructor, Sociology, Borough of Manhattan Community College, CUNY
• Samina Shahidi; Adjunct Lecturer, English and Composition, Lehman College, CUNY
• Niloufar Haque; Assistant Professor, Department of Physical and Biological Sciences, New York City College of Technology, CUNY
• Sohana Barot; Undergraduate Student, Political Science, City College of New York, CUNY
• Rimaz Hussain; Undergraduate Student, Physics Education, City College of New York, CUNY
• Ruhma Choudhry; Doctoral Student, TESOL, Columbia University

12:45 PM – Lunch & Keynote Speech

 Presider: Nehru Cherukupalli; Professor, Geology, Brooklyn College, CUNY

          Keynote: Rao S. Anumolu; President and CEO, ASR International
Corporation

1:45 PM – General Session 4: “Challenges and Opportunities for South Asians
in Business”

 Presider: Sambhavi Lakshminarayanan; Assistant Professor, Business
Administration, Medgar Evers College, CUNY

        Panelists:

• Gita Narayanan; Director, Business Marketing, BellSouth
• Prema Venkat; Vice-president, Relationship Management, Bank of America Securities
• Sylvia Pedder-Khanna; Entrepreneur
• Rao S. Anumolu; President and CEO, ASR International Corporation
• Manawendra Roy; Associate Professor, Computer Information Systems, Borough of Manhattan Community College, CUNY

    Remarks:

• Vinit Parmar; Professor, Film, Brooklyn College, CUNY
• Darrel Sukhdeo; Freelance Writer, Agenda 21/ Saja

2:45 PM – Special Presentation

Presenter: Hon. Upendra Chivukula, Member, New Jersey State Assembly

Topic: “Do Healthcare Disparities Among South Asians Exist or Not? You Decide!”

3:45 PM – General Session 5: “CUNY Response to Natural Disasters:  Tsunami  Taskforce and Others”

        Presider: Thomas Tam; Executive Director, Asian American / Asian Research
Institute

        Panelists:

• Vrunda Prabhu; Professor, Mathematics, Bronx Community College, CUNY
• Nehru Cherukupalli; Professor, Geology, Brooklyn College, CUNY
• Azra Shahidi; Director, Microbiology, Bronx Veteran’s Hospital

4:30 PM – Reception