Wyant Lecture to Discuss India’s Role in Changing Global Landscape
February 02, 2012
Nirupama Rao, current ambassador of India to the United States of America, will discuss "India's Role in the Changing Global Landscape in the 21st Century" at the spring Wyant Lecture Series on February 15th.
Rao became ambassador of India to the United States in September 2011. In a diplomatic career spanning three decades, she has served in various world capitals, including Washington, Beijing and Moscow. Rao joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1973 after completion of her university studies with an M.A. in English literature.
She acquired extensive experience in India-China relations, serving in the East Asia Division of the Ministry at policy-level capacities for several years. She later served as India's first woman ambassador to China from 2006 to 2009.
Previously, she served as ambassador to Peru, Bolivia and Sri Lanka, where she was India's first woman high commissioner. In 2001, she was designated as spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, the first woman Indian Foreign Service officer to hold this post.
On completion of her ambassadorial tenures in Sri Lanka and China, she was appointed foreign secretary, the highest office in the Indian Foreign Service, where she served a two-year term ending in July 2011.
The Wyant Lecture Series features speakers in the humanities, history and the arts. This endowed professorship was established by the late Louise Doherty Wyant '63 and her husband, Dr. James Wyant, in honor of Sister Anne Cyril Delaney, SND. Sister Anne Cyril was a professor of English at Emmanuel for 26 years. Through her teaching and her intellectual breadth, Sister Anne Cyril exemplified the values and relevance of the humanities and had a profound influence on generations of students.
The lecture begins at 4:30 p.m. in the Janet M. Daley Library Lecture Hall. A reception will follow immediately after in the Fenway Room. To register, click here.
