Ludhiana, May 19, 2025 (Yes Punjab News)
Dr Gurcharan Singh Dhillon, a PAU alumnus, received an honorary doctoral degree, the highest honor in the California State University system, on May 17, 2025.
He is among the four eminent persons who have been given this honor for devoting their lives to creating opportunities for generations of Californians, including students, farmworkers, immigrants, and rural residents.
The University President, on honoring them, said, “Though each of these great men achieved stunning success in their fields, they have remained true to the lessons of their upbringing, sharing their light as far as it would reach. They are true humanitarians, and we are humbled to honor their life’s work.”
Dr Dhillon graduated from the Government High School, Kotkapura, and completed his Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Agriculture from the College of Agriculture, PAU, Ludhiana. He migrated to the USA in 1970 and did his MS in Plant Sciences (Genetics) from the University of California, Riverside, and worked there as a Research Agronomist for five years.
Thereafter, he joined the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and retired as its Regional Director in 2008. He was the first Sikh ever appointed as regional director of the USDA. During his tenure at the USDA, he received 19 meritorious awards, including the Best Supervisor of the Year Award.
He continues to provide technical inputs at his family farm, besides actively participating in various philanthropic activities at the Sikh Centre. Dr Dhillon donated a seed capital of Rs 37.5 lakh to PAU to award scholarships to six students of B. Sc. (Hons) Agriculture.
Dr Dhillon said, “I tried to make a difference in the quality of life of rural people.” Growing up on a farm in Punjab, India, is not so different from life in the fields of the Central Valley. As a boy, he would rise with the sun and work all day, and when it was time to enroll in college, he didn’t think twice about what he would study.“All my life, I have been connected with agriculture and rural residents,” he said.
r Satbir Singh Gosal, Vice-Chancellor, PAU, Dr MIS Gill, Dean, Post Graduate Studies, Dr Ajmer Singh Dhatt, Director of Research, Dr CS Aulakh Dean-cum-President Alumni Association, College of Agriculture and Dr Tejinder Singh Riar, Additional Director Communication congratulated Dr Dhillon for this big achievement.
