PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
STAR Scholars Network Announces 2025 A. Noam Chomsky Global Connections Award Winners
Honoring Exceptional Global Impact in Scholarship, Leadership, and Humanitarian Service
Baltimore, MD — December 7, 2025 — The STAR Scholars Network proudly announces the 2025 recipients of the A. Noam Chomsky Global Connections Awards, revealed today during a virtual ceremony commemorating Professor Noam Chomsky’s 97th birthday. This year’s honorees represent the highest levels of scholarly excellence, global collaboration, and humanitarian leadership—advancing knowledge and equity across borders.
The Global Connections Awards recognize transformative contributions in transnational research, education, and service. Selection was conducted by the Awards Committee chaired by Dr. Keith Wright, with rigorous evaluation based on scholarly impact, depth of analysis, global engagement, and contributions to humanity.
Expressing happiness about these awardees, Dr. Uttam Gaulee, the president of the STAR Scholars Network said, “In the spirit of Professor Noam Chomsky’s intellectual legacy, we are proud to honor scholars and humanitarians whose work exemplifies rigorous inquiry, global collaboration, and a deep commitment to equity. From the lifetime leadership of Professors Anastasia Christou and Pankaj Mittal, to the pioneering research of Drs. Emiliano Bosio and Thurman Bridges; from the rising voices of Drs. Shikha Sharma, Mohammad Rahmatullah, and Rishi Rajpopat, to the lifesaving impact of Professor Dr. Arjune Sen and Dr. Sanduk Ruit—our 2025 honorees demonstrate how knowledge, courage, and compassion can transform lives across borders.
“Their achievements advance an academy without walls, where ideas, opportunity, and care move freely to serve humanity. I am grateful to the Awards Committee, chaired by Dr. Keith Wright, for a thoughtful and rigorous selection process, and I congratulate each awardee. The STAR Scholars Network celebrates your contributions and reaffirms our commitment to building a more just, connected, and humane world.”
2025 AWARD RECIPIENTS
NORTH STAR MEDAL OF LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT
Professor Anastasia Christou
Professor Anastasia Christou is an internationally recognized scholar in migration, citizenship, identity, intersectionality, feminism, and social justice. A Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and Editor-in-Chief of GeoHumanities and the Journal of Further and Higher Education, she combines extensive publications and global ethnographic research with leadership in academic activism—including work with Cara and co-founding the Free University Brighton. Her distinguished career reflects an enduring commitment to equity, transnational scholarship, and transformative social change.
Dr. (Mrs) Pankaj Mittal
Dr. Pankaj Mittal is an internationally respected higher education leader with more than 37 years of impact in policy, administration, and global academic collaboration. A Fulbright Scholar and former Vice Chancellor of Bhagat Phool Singh Mahila Vishwavidyalaya, she has advanced women’s education, international partnerships, and quality assurance across India’s higher education system. As Secretary General of the Association of Indian Universities and former Additional Secretary of the University Grants Commission, she led national reforms, expanded India’s global engagement through 25+ international MoUs, and strengthened collaborations with key academic bodies worldwide. Her work exemplifies visionary leadership grounded in equity, integrity, and global connectivity.
SHINING STAR MEDAL OF RESEARCH
Dr. Emiliano Bosio
Dr. Emiliano Bosio is a global scholar of critical pedagogy, ethical global citizenship, youth agency, and participatory democracy. His work—co-authored with leading scholars such as Henry Giroux, Carlos Alberto Torres, Hans de Wit, and Wiel Veugelers—reflects a deep commitment to cross-border collaboration. Through his acclaimed “Global Citizenship Education Interview Series,” he amplifies global voices in education, sustainability, and ethics, making scholarly dialogue accessible and impactful. His research advances a vision of global education grounded in justice, inclusion, and sustainability.
Dr. Thurman Bridges
Dr. Thurman Bridges is a distinguished scholar and senior administrator whose globally influential work spans culturally relevant, translingual, and transnational education. His seminal study, Towards a Pedagogy of Hip Hop in Urban Teacher Education, continues to shape discourse on identity and learning. He has directed eight study-abroad and service-learning programs across five countries, advanced pedagogical reform in Liberia, and strengthened partnerships in France and Senegal. His leadership reflects Professor Chomsky’s vision of interconnected solutions for global educational challenges.
RISING STAR MEDAL OF ACHIEVEMENT
Dr. Shikha Sharma
Dr. Shikha Sharma has built a strong global academic presence through active participation in international conferences, workshops, and faculty development programs. She leads a social media network supporting more than 8,000 scholars worldwide, advancing accessible global academic exchange. Her research encompasses Cultural Studies, Feminism and Transnational Writing, War and Trauma Literature, Migration Studies, and Minority Studies—demonstrating broad engagement with contemporary global issues.
Dr. Mohammad Rahmatullah
Dr. Rahmatullah advances global debates on ecowomanism and dark comedy in ecological literature. As guest editor for special issues in Women’s Studies, Social Identities, and Celebrity Studies, he amplifies Global South perspectives in global scholarship. His body of work reflects a collaborative, justice-oriented, and transnational scholarly vision.
Dr. Rishi Rajpopat
As a PhD student, Dr. Rishi Rajpopat solved a 2,500-year-old linguistic problem by uncovering the algorithm underlying Pāṇini’s grammatical system—an achievement that gained global media attention. His research spans the Ṛgveda, Indo-European philology, Sanskrit computational linguistics, and theoretical linguistics. His thesis and monograph analyze the implications of his discovery for Pāṇinian studies, the Indian grammatical tradition, computational modeling, rule-based phonology, and the classification of natural languages within the Chomsky Hierarchy.
STAR HUMANITARIAN AWARD
Professor Dr. Arjune Sen
Professor Dr. Arjune Sen is an internationally recognized neurologist and global health leader whose work advances equitable epilepsy care worldwide. As Professor of Global Epilepsy at the University of Oxford, Consultant Neurologist at Oxford University Hospitals, and Founder of the Centre for Global Epilepsy, he leads multi-country initiatives across Africa, Asia, and Latin America to reduce diagnostic and treatment gaps. His programs—including the Oxford Martin Programme on Global Epilepsy and EPInA—use low-cost digital tools, community education, and clinician training to expand access in underserved regions. A key figure in global policy, he co-authored the 2022 NICE Guidelines and helped secure WHO Essential Medicines status for levetiracetam. His humanitarian leadership has strengthened global health systems and advanced equitable neurological care for millions.
Dr. Sanduk Ruit
Dr. Sanduk Ruit, a Nepalese ophthalmologist known globally as the “God of Sight,” has restored vision for more than 180,000 people across Asia and Africa through his pioneering small-incision cataract surgery. As Founder and Executive Director of the Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology, he launched low-cost intraocular lens production, making modern cataract surgery accessible and affordable in developing regions. Trained in India and Australia, Dr. Ruit transformed eye-care delivery through surgical innovation, mobile field hospitals, and community-based models now used worldwide. He has led missions in over 30 countries and trained more than 650 surgeons from 70+ nations, significantly expanding global eye-care capacity. As co-founder of the Himalayan Cataract Project and the Tej Kohli & Ruit Foundation, he continues to champion sustainable solutions to end avoidable blindness. His work restores not only sight, but dignity, independence, and opportunity—embodying the highest ideals of humanitarian service.
About the A. Noam Chomsky Global Connections Awards
The Awards honor scholars and institutions whose work advances transnational research, global justice, and international collaboration. Established in recognition of Professor Chomsky’s intellectual legacy, the program celebrates contributions that create a more humane and interconnected world. More at https://starscholars.org/a-noam-chomsky-global-connections-awards/
About the STAR Scholars Network
The Society of Transnational Academic Researchers (STAR) is a member-supported 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to fostering global scholarly partnerships, research collaboration, and inclusive academic leadership.
Learn more: https://starscholars.org
Watch Award Ceremony Record at YouTube.
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