Georgetown University Student Association President Pat Dowd (SFS `09) has formed a fundraising committee to solicit funds to revive the University’s Hindi language program.
The University discontinued Hindi in 2008 due to budgetary constraints. Dowd estimates that $80,000 will provide for a Hindi professor for one year, and the interest on $2 million will endow a chair for a Hindi department for an extended period of time.
The fundraising committee, which Dowd said he formed after encountering resistance from other departments to sharing the cost, consists of Dowd, SFS Senior Development Director Tom Esch, and Georgetown Law professor Michael Gadbaw. Dowd said they intend to solicit funds from the technology community in Silicon Valley, as a strong alumni network exists in the region.
“I’m gonna work on this until we get enough money. It’s not really dependent on whether or not I’m in office,” he said.
