Vishakha N. Desai
President, Asia Society
As president and CEO of Asia
Society, a global educational organization dedicated to deepening
connections among the peoples of Asia and the United States, Dr. Desai sets
the directions for the Society’s diverse set of programs—in
the areas of policy, business, arts, culture and education—throughout
the Society’s network of centers in the U.S. and in Asia. She
is a frequent speaker and commentator in the media addressing cultural,
social, educational, business and policy trends and their implications
for the U.S.-Asia relationship and Asian regional ties.
Appointed president in 2004, Dr. Desai conceptualized and presided
over the organization’s 50th anniversary celebrations in 2006,
marked by high-profile activities and expansive fundraising initiatives.
As a result of these efforts, the Society is expanding the scope and
scale of its activities, particularly in Asia, including a new India
Centre in Mumbai (formerly Bombay) which opened in 2006, a Korea Center to
be opened in April 2008, and planned multi-million dollar physical facilities
in Hong Kong and Houston.
Prior to her appointment as president, Dr. Desai served as Asia Society’s
Senior Vice President and Director of the Museum and Cultural Programs.
In this position, she managed the Society’s $40 million renovation
of its New York City headquarters. As Museum Director, Dr. Desai built
an international reputation for introducing contemporary Asian art to
a broad audience and using it to illuminate historical trends and their
influence on the development of society. A scholar of classical Indian
art, she has published numerous catalogues and scholarly articles and
is widely recognized for conceiving innovative exhibitions of traditional
Asian art within strong cultural contexts. She was also at the forefront
of the Society’s integration of Asian American issues into its
public programming.
Prior to joining the Asia Society in 1990, Dr. Desai was a curator at
The Museum of Fine Arts in Boston. She also taught at the University
of Massachusetts, Boston University, Columbia University, and Williams
College.
Dr. Desai holds a B.A. in political science from Bombay University and
an M.A. and Ph.D. in Asian Art History from the University of Michigan.
The recipient of numerous grants and fellowships, Dr. Desai was awarded
an honorary degree, Doctor of Humane Letters, Centre College in 2008;
Doctor of Humane Letters, The College of Staten Island in 2006; and,
Doctor of Fine Arts, Susquehanna University in 1996. She was also awarded
the Asian American of the Year Award by the University of Massachusetts,
and by Asian Americans for Equality, and is a recipient of the National
Institute of Social Sciences Gold Medal.
Dr. Desai serves on the boards of The Brookings Institution, Citizens
for NYC, The American Federation of Arts, and the New York City Advisory
Commission for Cultural Affairs. She served as the President of the Association
of Art Museum Directors (AAMD) in 1998-99, and was on the Board from
1995-2000. She has also served on the Boards of the Andy Warhol Foundation
for the Visual Arts, LEAP (Leadership Education for Asian Pacifics),
the South Asian Council of the Association of Asian Studies, the College
Art Association, ArtTable, and the Massachusetts Foundation for the Humanities.
Dr. Desai served on the Board of ArtTable from 1992-1994.
Dr. Desai is married to Robert B. Oxnam, a China scholar, who was Asia
Society’s president from 1981 to 1992.
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