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Prof. Usha Kumar
(1931-2016)
Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur
Professor Usha Kumar, retired professor of Psychology, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, passed away in Hyderabad on August 14, 2016. She had not been keeping well for quite some time, and as one of her colleagues, also a retired faculty, IIT Kanpur, put it, “She had her share of suffering (cancer, fracture) and faced it bravely like only human beings can”.
Professor Usha Kumar was born on August 22, 1931 in Lahore, now in Pakistan. Her family migrated to India and during her early days she stayed in Lucknow, U.P. She went to Isabella Thoburn College in Lucknow in 1950 for her undergraduate education. She did her Masters from Lucknow University. Afterwards, she proceeded to Ohio State University, USA, for her Ph.D., and later on joined University of Michigan, USA, for her postdoctoral research work. She joined IIT Kanpur in October 1967, and continued to be with the Institute until her retirement on 31 December 1991. After her retirement, she chose to settle down in Hyderabad, where she remained until her last days.
Professor Kumar was trained in the area of clinical psychology and had keen interest in the area of developmental and personality psychology too. She also had developed herself as an industrial-organizational consultant, and was a highly sought after expert at many business houses. A renowned scholar and an avid teacher, she also contributed to academics at IIT Kanpur through her guidance of research students in Psychology. Her courses at IIT Kanpur were some of the most popular ones and she is still very fondly remembered by her students worldwide, some of whom returned back to IIT Kanpur as faculty members themselves. In addition, she was also associated with the Students’ Counselling Service at IIT Kanpur. Many of the old time faculty members at IIT Kanpur have fond memories of her charming personality.
