Dr. Hersh Chadha, An AUCA friend and long-term supporter becomes an Honorary Professor

October 31, 2016

On October 24, 2016 Dr. Hersh Chadha OPM (Harvard), ARPS, photographer, writer, philanthropist and AUCA friend and long-term supporter visited the American University of Central Asia. Dr. Chadha gave a lecture entitled “Environmental Issues,” met with students and Kyrgyz filmmakers, and received an Honorary Professorship from AUCA.

President Andrew Wachtel thanked Dr. Chadha and presented him with an Honorary Professorship from AUCA, “thank you so much for all that you’ve done and will do for AUCA. We are proud to have you as a member of our faculty and we are hoping to see you here in the future. Thank you for coming!”

Dr. Chadha spoke about the environment and his photography, talking specifically about five of his photographs recently sent up to the International Space Station. In a video posted on his facebook page, Dr. Chadha said, “today is an important day in my life. I think I have achieved what I wanted to achieve. I have managed to excel in the field of photography, in my own view, because finally five of my pictures went to the International Space Station. This makes me feel very proud and I wanted to share this with you. Photography is a great medium of expression and my purpose of doing this was to let the human beings who live on the Space Station still be connected to Mother Earth. God bless you all.”

In 2015, Dr. Chadha in association with AUCA’s Journalism and Mass Communications Department organized a photography competition for students, of which Talgat Subanaliev was the winner. The prize for Subanaliev was a photography expedition to Antarctica alongside researchers and photographers from all over the world, fully sponsored by Dr. Chadha.

In addition to Subanaliev, several AUCA students who had been helped by Dr. Chadha came to thank him for his support.

The Hersh Chadha foundation has sponsored the education of over 200 students worldwide across multiple universities, by providing them with scholarship grants. Hersh Chadha sees charity as a necessary tool in the promotion of human development. Therefore, he has provided crucial support for the establishment of an infrastructure for students in Journalism and Mass Communications through his media lab at AUCA’s new campus. Now, Dr. Hersh Chadha is interested in cooperation with Kyrgyz cinematographers.

Soyuz MC-02, Expedition 49-50 to the International Space Station.
Cosmonauts took 5 photographs of Dr. Hersh Chadha to the International Space Station on October 19th, 2016

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