Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management and Medill School of Journalism are still considering the possibility of opening a joint graduate program in India. Though nothing has been finalized, NU has explored the viability of an Indian campus for nearly two years.
"All these things have to have interest from below," University President Henry Bienen said in a Nov. 6 interview with The Daily. "I'm a facilitator but if nobody's interested, that's the end of it. It depends on whether people want to run with the ball."
The program in India would offer graduate classes focused on journalism and media management taught by NU faculty. The university is currently exploring all options, but a program would likely be built in either New Delhi or Mumbai, said Kellogg Dean Dipak Jain.
India has become an especially attractive site because of its economic growth.
"If NU wants to be a global university, we need to reach out to markets where we see potential and see high caliber students," Jain said. "Tomorrow, when people graduate under Kellogg or NU, they will be our alumni, and at that time it would not matter whether they came out of India or NU, but that they were trained by NU people. That's the most important thing."
NU's global presence has grown in recent years. Earlier this year, NU opened the doors of its new campus in Doha, Qatar. Kellogg already has graduate programs in Hong Kong, Bangkok, Thailand and Tel Aviv, Israel.
Both Medill and Kellogg also have a history of working with India: Medill offered a program for undergraduates to complete their Journalism Residency in India from 2004 until 2006. Kellogg, along with the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, was a leading partner in establishing the Indian School of Business in Hyderabad.
Serious consideration of expanding graduate programs in India began after Bienen's first visit to the school in 2005, Jain said.
Initially, there were many obstacles in pursuing a program in India, including space and funding, Bienen said. The prospect of building a program in India was temporarily put on hold when NU was asked to open a campus in Qatar as part of the Qatari government's Education City initiative
Qatar was a more viable opportunity at the time because of the availability of land, the collaboration of other American universities and Qatar's offer to pay for all capital costs.
Jain said it is difficult to determine if and when a program in India will be executed, especially given the current economy.
"The time has to be right," Jain said. "An educational institution is a long term investment. You never get a second chance to clear that first impression, so we want to do it right the first time."
However, Bienen is optimistic about the possibility.
"My guess is it'll happen," he said. "I just don't think it's going to happen really quickly."
Journalism Prof. Charles Whitaker said he would like to see Medill expand in other countries.
"The world is flat; we're looking at a global marketplace," Whitaker said. "It just makes sense to have a foothold in this developing world from a media standpoint and an integration."
Medill Dean John Lavine has continued to have conversations about opening journalism programs in Delhi, Bienen said. Earlier this week, Lavine made appearances in Bangalore, New Delhi and Mumbai for a lecture on global journalism and met with students interested in Medill's graduate programs in journalism and Integrated Marketing Communications. Lavine was unavailable for comment.
Bienen, who will retire from his post at NU in August, is scheduled to visit India again in January. But with his retirement set for Aug. 31, creating additional programs in India will not be his decision.
"At this point I'm not going to do things which commit the university in a long-run way," Bienen said. "This isn't close enough that you could still commit."
ntadena@u.northwestern.edu youngsunchaey2007@u.northwestern.edu
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