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From Pune to Galloway: Honoring a Legacy Through Giving Back

By Loukaia Taylor '22 

A  CHILD'S LOVE for their parents knows no distance – not even almost 8,000 miles, as shown by a �ԹϺ��� professor whose determination to share the American dream with his parents led him to leave their legacy on a university campus they never had the chance to visit. 

Before he was a long-standing professor within �ԹϺ���’s  program, Renganathan Iyer was the youngest of six children born to a couple in Pune, a city in western India.  

Education was highly valued in their household; despite Iyer’s mother never attending school, every single one of her children pursued and earned at least their bachelor’s degree. Iyer’s connection to education ran even deeper because of his shared love of mathematics with his father.  

For Iyer, this wasn’t just the catalyst for his journey in higher education, but also the way his parents showed their love for him and his siblings.  

“I think that's the best thing we can do as parents: to give them a good education,” Iyer said.  

With that gift, Iyer earned a merit scholarship, enabling him to attend a prestigious Ph.D. program at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. 

BY 1991, IYER was the recipient of a year-long teaching position within �ԹϺ���’s Mathematics program. As evidenced by his impressive three-decade tenure, Iyer was more than a good fit in �ԹϺ���’s campus community. “I decided to stay put,” Iyer said emphatically.  

“What attracted me to �ԹϺ��� was it’s commitment to teaching and it’s encouragement of interdisciplinary research amongst faculty members.”  

“And our class size is very small within Mathematics, with a maximum of 35 students, which is unheard of for most college classes,” Iyer continued. “It's nice to have that interaction with the students.” 

Iyer didn’t just love �ԹϺ���’s ideals or its students. The community that he created of faculty, students and staff became integral to his life, even after he married and began a family of his own.

Unfortunately, the circumstances surrounding tourist visa procedures prevented Iyer’s father and mother from visiting the United States before their passing in 2004 and 2018, respectively. 

DESPITE HER EFFORTS to ensure that Iyer received the education she was never promised, his mother never got to see Iyer teaching and inspiring the next generation, and his father never had the opportunity to witness his grandchildren’s inherited love and passion for mathematics. 

With that in mind, Iyer and his wife, Anu Vedantham, decided to donate to the �ԹϺ��� University Foundation to dedicate a bench in memory of his parents, placing it in his favorite place on campus: along one of the paths to Lake Fred.  

“The fact that they couldn't come here definitely bothered me, so at least this is a nice way of, I think, giving something back to the community, as well as honoring my parents’ memory here,” Iyer shared.

“I thought donating a bench was a lovely decision considering �ԹϺ��� has been his home for 35 years, and he’s taught thousands of students, some of whom come back to visit him from time to time. Benches help, not just for fundraising, but for bringing people and memories back to campus,” Vedantham said of the donation.

Vedantham had fond memories of her years working at �ԹϺ��� in various roles including founding the Atlantic County Educational Technology Training Center (ETTC), which is now the Southern Regional Institute (SRI). The Rowan University library administrator describes her and Iyer’s relationship to �ԹϺ���'s campus community as “remarkably close.”

“The Math program is like a family,” Vedantham said. “It’s a very special community where people look out for each other. It’s �ԹϺ��� that makes relationships like this possible.”

Additionally, he plans to include �ԹϺ��� in his estate planning, which he hopes will support students on their collegiate journeys. “For me, this is a small thing to do because what I've gotten from �ԹϺ��� in the last 35 years is priceless.”  

“Anything that's student-centered, I want to contribute towards it,” Iyer continued, mentioning that he also supports �ԹϺ���’s Math program through a monthly recurring gift. “I think if you’ve gotten a lot from �ԹϺ���, it just makes sense to give back, so my goal is to give back as much as I can.” 

Iyer’s love for his parents knows no distance, and he’s no longer separated from them by 8,000 miles. Through his generosity, he has created a place on campus where he can reflect, share his day and take in his favorite view, surrounded by the love and legacy that shaped his life.

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