APRIL 2020
Khaas Baat : A Publication for Indian Americans in Florida

Florida News

FLORIDA REGION OF EKAL RAISES $434,000

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This year, in Tampa, the format was changed to assigned tables, which made the atmosphere of the event more social. “The performances were well received, and audience members were pleasantly surprised at the uniqueness of the program,” said Anjana Shah, Youth Volunteer Coordinator of the Tampa chapter.

At least ?26 families and entities came forward to be Grand Sponsor level supporters contributing $5,000 or more. There were several families who proudly supported one school for the first time, which is one of Ekal’s goals – raise awareness to those who may not know about them but who become enthusiastic supporters after seeing the presentation.

The Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation (www.ekal.org) strives for holistic development of villages through empowerment of tribal and rural communities in India with basic education, digital literacy, skill development, health awareness, learning modern and productive agricultural practices, and rural entrepreneurship. As a tax-exempt, non-profit organization, Ekal supports and runs non-formal one-teacher schools operating on a minimal $1-a-day budget in India. Ekal has reached the goal of 100,000 schools in as many villages and has received the prestigious Gandhi Peace award.

Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the remaining fundraisers in other regions of the country had to be canceled. ?“So far, ?we have raised funds for 1,200+ schools from Florida alone and expect that number to keep with pledge fulfillment and online donations,” remarked Malti Pandya, Florida’s regional president. The “Bharat Ke Rang Ekal Ke Sang” programs across the state raised the following:

Chapter

Attendance

Collection (day of event)

Tallahassee

100

$15,000

Ocala

50

$22,630

Tampa

400

$114,000

Orlando

500

$142,221

Lakeland

200

$28,301

Fort Lauderdale

120

$22,165

Jacksonville

200

$90,000

The organizers of the Tampa event included Board of Director Jawahar Lal Taunk, President Umesh Choudhry, Vice President Sanjiv Jain, Secretary Vivek Agarwal, Treasurer Anuja Bhutada, Florida President Malti Pandya, Florida Vice President Manu Nanda, Florida Secretary Deepak Parekh, former National President of Ekal USA, Chandresh Saraiya, National event team coordinator Dipali Shah and IT lead Vishal Lakhotia.


Georgia Tech senior associate dean SABYASACHI MITRA NAMED dean of UF Warrington College of Business

Sabyasachi “Saby” Mitra, senior associate dean of faculty and research and Thomas R. Williams – Wells Fargo professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology Scheller College of Business – has been named dean of the University of Florida Warrington College of Business.

Mitra will begin his tenure as dean on Aug. 1. He will be responsible for leading Warrington’s strategy and vision, championing its fundraising efforts, and managing its budget and personnel.

In his role as senior associate dean of faculty and research at Georgia Tech, Mitra managed all faculty, doctoral program, IT services and administrative support staff in the college. He led a collaborative and consensus-driven effort to redesign the promotion and tenure process, co-directed an effort to rationalize faculty teaching and course offerings to advance the Scheller College’s teaching and research missions, and started an effort to increase diversity in Scheller’s doctoral program.

Before his role as senior associate dean of faculty and research, Mitra served as senior associate dean of programs from 2015 to 2019, during which he was responsible for overseeing all degree and non-degree programs in the Scheller College.

Mitra has been with Georgia Tech for 27 years, starting as an assistant professor of information systems in 1993. He was promoted to full professor in 2012 and has held the Thomas R. Williams – Wells Fargo Professorship since 2018, teaching MBA-level courses in information technology management. 

Mitra received his doctorate in business administration (management science) from the University of Iowa and his bachelor of technology degree in mechanical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur.


BANKUNITED CEO RAJINDER P. SINGH OF MIAMI LAKES APPOINTED TO FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD OF GOVERNORS’ FEDERAL ADVISORY COUNCIL

The Atlanta Fed has appointed Rajinder P. Singh, chairman, president, and chief executive officer of BankUnited Inc., to the Federal Reserve Board of Governors’ Federal Advisory Council (FAC). BankUnited, Inc. is the bank holding company of BankUnited, N.A., a national bank headquartered in Miami Lakes, with banking centers in Florida and New York metropolitan area.

The Federal Advisory Council is composed of 12 representatives of the banking industry. The council meets several times a year to consult with and advise the Board of Governors. Each Reserve Bank chooses one council member to represent its district.

“It is a great honor and privilege to be nominated to join this group,” said Singh. “I look forward to representing my district and its members.”

Singh was one of BankUnited’s founding members in 2009. Before becoming chairman, president and CEO, he served as the company’s chief operating officer.

As an industry veteran for 25 years, Singh has held several executive leadership positions prior to BankUnited, including at WL Ross & Co., Capital One Financial Corp, North Fork Bancorporation and FleetBoston Financial Corporation. 

Singh earned a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi, and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon University.

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