US professors say they are grateful for Padma award

A husband-wife duo - both professors at the University of Chicago - who were named for India's third-highest civilian award, the Padma Bhushan, in the foreigners category Sunday said they were "grateful for the honour".

Susanne Hoeber Rudolph, the William Benton distinguished service professor emerita, and Lloyd I. Rudolph, professor emeritus of political science at the university, were named for the prestigious award by the government of India Saturday.

"We are grateful for the honour awarded to us. The 11 years we have lived in India, most of them with our family, doing research and writing have been a deeply rewarding experience," Lloyd Rudolph was quoted as saying in a statement.

The Rudolphs joined the university's department of political science in 1964. Susanne Rudolph studies comparative politics with special interest in the political economy and political sociology of South Asia.

She has co-authored eight books with her husband, Lloyd Rudolph, including "Postmodern Gandhi and Other Essays" in 2006.

In 2008, a three-volume collection of the writings of Lloyd and Susanne Rudolph, titled "Explaining Indian Democracy: A Fifty-Year Perspective" was published.

Lloyd Rudolph served as chair of the committee on international relations and the Master of Arts programme in social sciences and as chair of concentrations in political science, public policy, international studies and South Asian studies.

The Rudolphs now divide their time between Kensington and Barnard in the US and Rajasthan capital Jaipur.

The statement said the University of Chicago will open a new academic centre in Delhi in March, that would support opportunities for collaboration among scholars and students from India and Chicago across academic disciplines.