September 9, 2020
Lavanya Vemsani, professor of history and religious studies at Shawnee State University, was awarded as the 2020 Outstanding Research Faculty by the SSU Senate.
This is the first year the award was instituted and given at SSU, and it recognizes excellence in research to the faculty member with the most contribution to the collective knowledge.
“I am not only thrilled, but honored, to receive the Outstanding Research Faculty award by SSU,” said Professor Vemsani.
Vemsani has taught at SSU since 2006, and has been recognized several other awards, including Distinguished Teaching Award for Teaching Excellence (2003 – SSU), Best Canadian Ph.D. Dissertation on South Asia (2007 – Canadian Asian Studies Association), and Barkley’s of Avonmore Award for a Scholar from the third World (2000 & 2001 – McMaster University). She published several books, Modern Hindunism in Text and Context (2018), Krishna in History, Thought, and Culture: Encyclopedia of the Hindu Lord of Many Names (2016), and Hindu and Jain Mythology of Balarama (2006). Vemsani has also written numerous articles and journals, as well as participated in many research and fellowships. She is currently working on another book, Ancient Settlement Patterns of Southern India.
This past summer, Professor Vemsani was also appointed as an honorary visiting professor of Ancient India at JNU, Jawahar Lal Nehru University. The honorary appointment provided her the possibilities of collaboration in teaching and research with the faculty of Center for Historical Studies at JNU. Professor Vemsani and her colleagues are enthusiastic about the invitation and want to explore the possibilities of offering collaborative or exchange programs to benefit both SSU and JNU.