Indian on Harvard overseer board Padma Shri Dr Swati Piramal is first Indian to get elected with 6-year term

Indian on Harvard overseer board

Padma Shri Dr Swati Piramal is first Indian to get elected with 6-year term

"It is a great honour for me to be the first Indian to be elected as overseer on the most historic and prestigious boards in the world," said Dr Swati Piramal who was elected to the Harvard Board of Overseers. She is one of the five new overseers elected to the 30-member board for a six-year term. The 350-year-old board created in the 17th century has boasted of luminaries like US president John F Kennedy, Bishop Desmond Tutu, Al Gore and Frances FitzGerald. Dr Piramal was the only international and Indian candidate nominated to contest the elections held by the Harvard Alumni Association committee this year. "The overseer board brings together diverse people aligned to take Harvard to greater heights of excellence. My international perspective and deep experience in creating effective changes in large institutions will help Harvard graduates recognise their potential as destined leaders who will make a positive difference to their community and their world," Dr Piramal told DNA. Unlike many universities led by a single board of trustees, Harvard's governing structure, dating to the University's early days nearly four centuries ago, consists of two boards. The smaller of the two, is the President and Fellows of Harvard College, also known as the Harvard Corporation. The larger and slightly older body is the Board of Overseers, whose membership is selected by Harvard School graduates. Over their six-year term, overseers contribute significantly to Harvard, exerting a broad influence over the University's strategic directions, counselling University leaders on priorities and plans, and exercising the power of consent to certain actions of the corporation, such as the election of corporation members (including the president). Board members also watch over the external review of the University's schools, departments, and other selected programmes through more than 50 visiting committees that bring together overseers with experts from elsewhere. Dr Piramal has a medical degree from the University of Bombay, a diploma in Industrial Medicine and a Masters in public health from Harvard University, USA. She currently serves on the Dean’s Advisory Board of both the Harvard School of Public Health and the Harvard Business School. She also serves on the boards of Indian and international academic institutions such as IIT-Bombay and Harvard University. She was the Commencement Speaker at the Harvard School of Public Health in 1992. The Padma Shri winner is one of India's leading scientists in the sphere of public health and life sciences. Her impact on public policy related to healthcare has led to major policy changes in reducing the burden of disease and democratising healthcare access. Her past awards include one of France's highest civilian honour, "Chevalier de l'Ordre National du Merite" (Knight of the Order of Merit) in 2006, for medicine and trade. A recipient of the Global Empowerment Award, UK, from her royal highness, the Duchess of Kent, she has also been nominated in the 25 most powerful list eight times and is now part of the Hall of Fame of Most Powerful Women. She received the Rajiv Gandhi Award for Outstanding Woman Achiever, from the Rajiv Gandhi Foundation, in 2007.