Purnima Mehta Email and Phone Number

Purnima Mehta, Director General, American Institute of Indian Studies (AIIS): Purnima oversees AIIS operations in India. This includes the management of its intensive language programs that bring students from American universities to multiple sites in India; the two AIIS research centers–the Center for Art and Archaeology and the Archives and Research Center for Ethnomusicology; support of AIIS research and performing and creative arts fellows; and overall responsibility for the relationship of the Institute with the Government of India, the educational network in India and the U.S. Embassy. The AIIS language programs have expanded in the previous decade, providing instruction in up to sixteen Indian languages to more than 150 students each year. Purnima is instrumental in providing enhanced services to U.S. study abroad programs in India. Under Purnima’s leadership, AIIS has implemented some key programs- three U.S. Ambassador’s Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) grant programs, including an ongoing one on Documentation of 16th-17th Century Monuments on the Grand Trunk Road . In addition, she has been part of implementing Faculty Development Seminars bringing faculty groups from MSIs and Community Colleges. In 2015, Purnima Mehta, was distinguished by inclusion in The Economist’s list of Top 50 Diversity Figures in Public Life (http://www.globaldiversitylist.com/top-50-diversity-figures-in-public-life.html)