Message from the Chairman

• Golden Jubilee of the Institute will be celebrated next year.
• Professor Ghosh, Sanyal and Bhaskaran visiting USA in June. Please volunteer to host them, schedule events and help to raise money.
• Please donate $$.

Have you ever wondered what your life would be like had you not attended IIT Kharagpur? I've asked myself this question many times and believe me, not a single day goes by that i don't think about those good old days at IIT Kharagpur. Although it is a God forsaken place, in the middle of nowhere, with horrible food, and absolutely nothing to do for entertainment, it changed our lives dramatically. I know for me, IIT Kharagpur brought me so much happiness; it allowed me to know young people from all different parts of India, and experience many different foods and cultures. Many friendships were bonded at IIT Kharagpur and they still exist today for me. I hope when you reflect back on IIT Kharagpur, you have the same wonderful memories as I do.

Now it is time for us to think about what we can give back to our beloved IIT. It has given so much to all of us, it has literally changed all of our lives. IIT has even had an impact on the American economy, as discussed in a wonderful article that appeared in Business Week magazine.

You may or may not be aware of this, but IIT Kharagpur will be celebrating its Golden Jubilee next year. Professor Amitabha Ghosh, who is the new Director of IIT, has a dream for IIT. He hopes that by way of the Golden Jubilee we can change the landscape of IIT Kharagpur. He also has proposed to expand the School of Management from an intake of 45 students to roughly 120 students. Professor Ghosh has very ambitious plans of raising about $5.5 million which is pittance compared to what universities and colleges in this country raise. Even a small technical community college in this country probably has an endowment fund of $100 or more. The endowments in major universities in this country are in the billions. Unfortunately, we have not done such a great job of creating an endowment fund for our beloved IIT Kharagpur.

I am writing this letter asking for your support of the Golden Jubilee. The money that you give will make our dreams come true. Professor Ghosh, Professor Sanyal and Professor Bhaskaran will be coming to the United States in May for a two week trip. They will be visiting several cities such as Boston New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Seattle. I would like to have volunteers in each of these cities to host and arrange dinners, parties, etc. to raise money for the Golden Jubilee during their visit.

It would be great if we could raise twice the money Professor Ghosh needs, which would mean more than $10 million, so there will be money left over for future projects. I know in my own case whatever wealth I have at the time of my death, a sizable chunk will go to make our beloved IIT Kharagpur even more beautiful. Please contact me via e-mail at this link or write to me if you are willing to support financially and/or with your time on this very worthwhile project.

With love and affection,
Vinod Gupta
Class of '67