UCF is a step closer to establishing the Indian Community Endowed Chair for The India Center thanks to a generous gift of $250,000 from Ramesh and Neena Chopra, residents of Port Orange, Florida. This donation emphasizes the significance of studying India at UCF, where over 3,000 students from 149 countries, including 460 students from India, enrolled in Fall 2022.
To further support this cause, the university will match the Chopra’s gift with an additional $50,000 through the UCF Challenge, a program that matches funds from the transformative $40 million donation made in 2021 by philanthropist MacKenzie Scott. With the contribution from the Chopra family, donors have committed more than $2.5 million towards the endowed chair position’s $5 million goal.
Ramesh Chopra, who has been practicing medicine in Florida alongside his wife for over four decades, expressed his hope that their gift will provide a solid foundation for ongoing research and teaching about India—a culture that is both ancient and modern. The couple, actively involved in the Indian American community in Central Florida, helped establish CAPI, an organization that supports health and wellness initiatives, professional growth, and leadership development for Indian American medical professionals.
Kerstin Hamann, interim director of The India Center, expressed gratitude for the Chopra family’s support, highlighting the significant contribution their donation makes towards enhancing the center’s reputation and advancing its mission to raise awareness and understanding of India’s role in the world. Established in 2012, The India Center hosts various events and symposia of interest to the regional Indian American community, UCF students, and faculty.
The center collaborates with universities, companies, governmental bodies, cultural organizations, and more in both India and the U.S. to address important issues and opportunities across various fields, such as technology, politics, security, and medicine. UCF and The India Center have already established partnerships with eight educational institutions in India for student and faculty collaborations and joint graduate degree programs with two Indian colleges.
India, known for its incredible history, culture, cuisine, art, and music, is one of the most ethnically diverse countries globally. As the world’s most populous country, it holds significant influence in economics, security, politics, and technology. The Indian American population is one of the fastest-growing migrant populations in the United States, with a 150% increase between 2000 and 2018, according to the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. In Florida, Orange County is home to the third-largest population of Indian immigrants in the state, following Hillsborough and Broward counties, according to the Migration Policy Institute’s data from 2021.
