Vadodara: US-based alumni of M S University will raise half a million dollars to provide scholarships to needy students, support research work of scholars and for restoration of heritage buildings across the campus.
After going through a year-long rigorous process, the first ‘MSU Alumni Foundation Inc’ was registered recently as a charitable organization at Houston so that the wide-spread alumnus of the university can donate to their alma matter and also get tax rebate in US.
In November last, the foundation had organized a gala fund-raising event during the Diwali festivities in which around 200 alumni apart from their spouses had participated.
Recently, the foundation donated $500 for a trial of transfer of funds.
“We believe that there are at least one lakh alumnus of MSU who have graduated from various disciplines and are settled in various parts of US,” said Ramesh Shah, a former student of mechanical engineering from the 1966 batch of Faculty of Technology and Engineering (FTE).
“MSU was one of the first universities in Gujarat which exported engineers and doctors to the US in large numbers. In fact, in early 1960s and 1970s, around 80% engineering students had migrated to US for better opportunities,” said Houstan-based Shah, who is member of the foundation.
“Most universities in US, UK and European countries have flourished because of the support that they have received from their alumni apart from the fees that they collect from students and support they receive from their respective governments. Even alumni like us want to support our alma matter but so far they were searching for avenues where their help was required,” he said.
With the support of the Office of Alumni Affairs (OAA) set up by MSU, the foundation is also working to create a database of all the alumni of the university settled in US.
“We will create chapters at places like Boston, Los Angeles, New Jersey among others to bring in funding from other places,” said Shah.
It is thanks to support from alumni of 1966 batch which had organized a reunion at FTE last year that physically handicapped students and staffers will get a lift facility at the Kalabhavan campus.
“After our reunion last year, we had asked faculty dean to give us in writing the support they require from us and one of the support that the faculty had asked was for setting up a lift facility,” said P V Darji, former lecturer of FTE and a graduate of 1966 batch.
“We are also in constant touch with the foundation so that they are kept informed about the areas in which the university requires their support and we too can felicitate their contributions,” said OAA director Dr Sanskriti Mujumdar.
