Mukesh Srivastava
Associate Professor of Computer Information Systems
Mukesh Srivastava, educated in three countries and fluent in four languages, has felt at home in more than a few far-flung places. Now he counts Mary Washington among them.
Since joining the UMW faculty in 2004, Srivastava has carved out a niche. An associate professor of computer information systems, he delights in teaching at the College of Graduate and Professional Studies. But with equal enthusiasm, he pursues many other interests − scholarly and beyond.
Concern about global issues has inspired him to form the new Association of Global Management Studies, www.association-gms.org, as a platform for the study of global themes across management. Academics here and abroad serve on its advisory and editorial boards. With Srivastava as editor in chief, the association recently published the first editions of its International Journal of Global Management Studies and International Journal of Global Management Studies Quarterly.
Srivastava has earned degrees from American, British, and Indian universities. He also has a prestigious Cambridge fellowship under his belt. Indian-born, he already spoke English, Hindi, and Urdu when, in 1991, he met the love of his life, spurring him to master her native Spanish.
Q. What do you most love about UMW?
A. The flexibility. I teach evenings, so my days are available for scholarship and research. I like the collegiality of the people. I find the students very mature and interesting. They have diverse backgrounds, a variety of experiences, and a desire to better themselves.
Q. What would you change about UMW?
A. I look forward to a scholarship- and teaching-centric college of business. I’m excited about the chance to move from the status quo to a higher-order university that would have a bigger impact on teaching and scholarship. I welcome a global dimension.
Q. How would you describe yourself?
A. I’m outspoken. I believe in honest communication without fear of political repercussions. I’m open to new ideas and willing to understand others’ point of view.
Q. What motivates you?
A. Professionally, I’m driven by first-rate scholarship. I have the highest regard for people who contribute to knowledge.
Q. What inspires you?
A. Simple things of natural beauty. It could be Kilimanjaro or rainforests and tribes. In India, I saw villages where people dance in the night. The music, harmony, rhythm, choreography around the fire, the drums − it’s breathtaking.
Q. Who has inspired you?
A. My father. He was a Ph.D. in nuclear physics. He presided over two campuses of India’s Garhwal and Kumaon Universities. He produced 35 Ph.D. students, published more than 200 papers, and wrote two books on nuclear physics and quantum mechanics. He taught me science and critical thinking. He was one of the elite, yet he didn’t abandon his friends. Some were very simple, poor farmers. At our home, they were treated the same as a dignitary.
Q. What are your passions?
A. I like meeting people from different backgrounds and cultures. I like different kinds of music − classical, Latin rhythms, blues and jazz, Indian classical. I love hiking and sightseeing. My wife and I go to the Shenandoah Valley and climb a trail to the top.
Q. What is your fear?
A. That the economic meltdown will worsen. I worry about the social underclass rapidly developing in American society. When resources get scarce, will we remain generous or become cruel to each other? Will our fairness disappear?