Will explore how Gandhi’s life/works are helpful in rebooting human cognition in rapidly evolving world

UTICA, NY – Dr. V.K. Kool has been selected as a Fulbright Specialist by the Fulbright Peer Review Committee to allow host institutions abroad to seek his expertise in collaboration with their local Fulbright establishment.

He is currently working on a new book titled, “Human Cognition at Crossroads: Navigating with Gandhi,” in which he will be contending how Mahatma Gandhi’s life and works would be helpful in rebooting human cognition as human beings grapple with the rapid changes in the two evolutions: biological and technological. 

Dr. Kool also informs that there has been a growing demand for employee ownership at work. At the invitation of Executive Director and Distinguished Professor at the Institute of Employee Ownership, Rutgers University, Dr. Joseph Blasi, (PHD, Harvard), Dr. Kool recently participated in a conference held in San Diego, California where he advocated that Gandhi’s conceptualization of corporate social responsibility in the form of Aparigraha (the Indian concept of non-possessiveness, non-greed and non-attachment) boosts the philosophy and implementation of modern management’s orientation to employee ownership. In this regard, Dr. Kool argues that the United States should take a leaf from European and other nations.

This is not the first time he has been involved with the program, having earned several different Fulbright awards in the past.

“I am grateful to return to the Fulbright Program, which has produced many gratifying experiences,” said Dr. Kool. “Participation in this program will afford me an opportunity to not only to support the Fulbright activities abroad but also bring back and assimilate learnings from the other corners of the globe.”

Established in 2001, the Fulbright Specialist Program is part of the larger Fulbright Program under the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA). By pairing highly-qualified U.S. academics and professionals with host institutions abroad, expertise is shared and institutional links are strengthened. Participants are also able to hone their skills, gain international experience, and learn about other cultures while building capacity at their overseas host institutions.

During his time at SUNY Poly’s Utica campus, Dr. Kool was a professor of psychology. He has authored several books, with the most recent, Gandhi’s Wisdom, having been published by Macmillan-Palgrave in 2022.

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