Bequest endows the GDS Center
Through the generosity of Seymour Bluestone, MD, Brandeis has received an $8.4 million bequest that endows the GDS Center, the Sustainable International Development Program and the Transitional Year Program. See the full announcement.
GDS receives the Heller School Team Research Award for 2017
The 2017 Heller School Team Research Award was presented to a GDS Research team for its impact evaluation in Uttar Pradesh of the Akshaya Patra Foundation’s Midday Meal Scheme in Lucknow, India: A School Level Evaluation. Mandated by the Supreme Court of India, the Midday Meal Scheme provides free meals for students throughout the nation. The evaluation team was headed by Prof. Joseph Assan (Principal Investigator) and included Prof. Laurence Simon (Co-PI) and two GDS PhD students – Dinar Kharisma (of Indonesia) and Afia Adaboh (of Ghana). Abdullah Al Mamun, a graduate of the Heller Sustainable International Development Program, flew in from Bangladesh to conduct trainings and help supervise the survey team based on his work with the Aga Khan Foundation and BRAC. Based on surveys conducted with 1,338 students and 175 teachers within the Lucknow Area, the evaluation is being used to improve the management and effectiveness of the Lucknow Area program involving almost 64,000 students in 729 schools. The evaluation was conducted in cooperation with the Akshaya Patra staff in Lucknow.