Arcadia is pleased to announce that Usha Palaniswamy, PhD, has been named Associate Dean of the Global Pathways Institute in Mumbai, India. Dr. Palaniswamy will serve as the Chief Academic Officer of GPI and will be responsible for implementing the Arcadia curriculum and for hiring and evaluating faculty. The appointment is effective Aug. 1.

Dr. Palaniswamy is a scientist and principal investigator at AVRDC—The World Vegetable Center in Shanhua, Taiwan, where she has led development and implementation of the “Vegetables Go To School” project in six countries in Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. At AVRDC, she also has collaborated closely with academic partners Swiss Tropical and the Public Health Institute to determine educational program needs, vision, and strategic plan, in addition to working with the national education, health, and agriculture departments in Nepal, Bhutan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Burkina Faso, and Tanzania to determine education needs and implement programs.

Dr. Palaniswamy was a professor of biology at Strayer University in Herndon, Va., where she served as associate dean from 2010 to 2013. Prior to her work at Strayer and AVRDC, Dr. Palaniswamy served as dean of Academic Affairs at Everglades University in Orlando, Fla., and as chair and faculty program director (online) of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at Excelsior College in Albany, N.Y.

Dr. Palaniswamy earned a Ph.D. in Plant Science, Phytochemistry and Plant Physiology at the University of Connecticut; an M.Ed. in Educational Administration and Counseling at Madurai Kamaraj University in Madurai, India; an M.Sc. in Horticulture at the University of Agricultural Sciences in Bangalore, India; a B.Ed. in Science Education at Annamalai University in Tamil Nadu, India; and a B.Sc. in Horticulture at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University in Coimbatore, India. She serves as president of the Association for Horticulturists of Indian Origin and on the boards of several professional organizations and universities, including the American Society for Horticultural Science, Banaras Hindu University, Bharathiar University, and Sri Avinashilingam University for Women.