Texas Border Business
UT Pan American President Robert S. Nelsen and a number of UTPA administrators and staff joined members of the India Association of Rio Grande Valley Jan. 26 to celebrate their donation of $10,000 to establish the India Association of Rio Grande Valley Scholarship, an endowment that will help provide scholarships and support for students studying in the College of Science and Mathematics at the University.
During the event, which was held at a celebration of Indian Republic Day, the India Association of RGV also bestowed on Nelsen the organization’s Super Leadership Award for his dedication to the University and its students as well as his commitment to improving the quality of life in the Rio Grande Valley.
The University has a long relationship with the association and its members, a number of whom are faculty or staff members or have served on UTPA’s advisory boards.
In addition, many children of the India Association of Rio Grande Valley members have studied and graduated from UT Pan American.
This generous gift to UTPA from the Association was inspired by Jagdish Kanwar, an Association founder who, in 2012, established the Jagdish S. And Prakash Kanwar Family Endowment at UT Pan American matched by his former employer Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc.
That endowment, which also honors his late wife Prakash, also provides scholarships for students in the College of Science and Mathematics. In his acceptance of the award, Nelsen thanked the group for the award and their continued support for students as well as their many other contributions to the RGV community. Nelsen (fifth from right) is pictured, among other guests, accepting the check establishing the endowment from Hari Namboodiri, India Association of RGV president.
