The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/tag/tata/)
A $50 million investment by Tata Consultancy Services has led to the inauguration of the Tata Innovation Center on Roosevelt Island, a space on the Cornell Tech campus for academics and industry leaders to come together to conduct research and solve real world challenges.
It has been over 50 years since Ratan Tata ’59 arrived at Cornell for freshman orientation, but on Friday, the chairman and CEO of the multinational conglomerate Tata Sons Ltd. told students and alumni that the event was still fresh in his mind.
“I was one of about 2,000 people and very frightened,” Tata reminisced. “They told us to look to your left, look to your right … One of you won’t be here in four years.”
This was only one of the things that Tata talked about in the annual Olin Lecture titled “Corporate Social Responsibility in the 21st Century” during Reunion Week.
This Thanksgiving weekend people all over the world were transfixed by the violence taking place in Mumbai, India, as terrorists went on a 59-hour siege of the city. The attacks, which according to The Times of India, killed 183 people and wounded another 239 at 10 locations, lasted from Wednesday to Saturday. Most of the killings occurred at the Taj Mahal Palace and Tower Hotel. The Taj Hotel is owned by the Tata group, the chair of which is Ratan Tata ’62, who gave a $50 million endowment to Cornell in October.
The attacks have affected the lives of several Cornellians, including those from India and Pakistan and those planning to study abroad in the area.