“My parents always taught me to fight back and do something to be the change …” – Nikki Haley
The first female Governor of South Carolina State of USA, Ms. Nikki Haley who is currently US Ambassador to the UN was given a passionate welcome at LPU. Her husband, Mr. Michael Harry was also honoured with a Punjabi turban, in keeping with the tradition of Punjab. Lovely Group Chairman Mr. Ramesh Mittal, Vice-Chairman Mr. Naresh Mittal, LPU Chancellor Mr. Ashok Mittal, Pro Chancellor Mrs. Rashmi Mittal, Vice-Chancellor D.r Ramesh Kanwar and Shri KGS Cheema, IAS and Principal Secretary to the CM of Punjab were also present on this occasion. Ms. Nikki Haley was at LPU to inaugurate the 2-day Global Science Conference ‘EBAS 2014’ being held here. Eminent Professors from the top universities of America, Canada, and other countries will be participating in the conference.
Ms. Nikki Haley is a renowned American politician. She was serving as the 116th Governor of South Carolina during her visit to LPU. Born as Nimrata Nikki Randhawa in an Indian Sikh family, Ms. Haley shared stories of her childhood and her early days in the US with the audience. She introduced herself as a proud daughter of her Indian parents Dr. Ajit Singh Randhawa and Mrs. Raj Kaur Randhawa, who migrated to America in the early sixties. She started contributing to her parental business at the age of 13 and worked hard at her mother’s clothing business to expand it to a multi-million dollar company. “My parents always taught me to fight back and do something to be the change and that is when I and my husband decided to do door to door campaigning”, she said speaking of her campaign. Ms. Haley won the election with a record margin and became the first woman governor of South Carolina. Her time here made her reminisce of some of the early years spent by her in Punjab during the 60s. Pleased to be at the campus, Ms. Haley congratulated LPU on being a world class facility and promised to help it collaborate with universities in her state .
Welcoming Governor Nikki Haley at the Campus, Chancellor Mr. Mittal applauded her great contribution to society and congratulated her on being the first female and the youngest Governor of South Carolina.
The conference, ‘Exploring Basic & Applied Sciences for Next Generation Frontiers’ has been organized by LPU departments of Agriculture, Physical Sciences, Biotechnology & Bio Sciences. Today, Prof. KG Raghothama from Purdue University of US spoke about ‘Nutrient Efficiency for Global Food Security’; Prof. Shiv O. Prasher from McGill University of Canada presented food for thought on ‘Issues in Global Water, Food, and Environmental Security’ and Dean Dr. Ulf Runesson of Lakehead University Canada held a talk on ‘Beyond research and new sensors- the role for better access, better training as well as less complexity in making remote sensing an effective decision support tool for natural resources managers.’
