Lalita Sen

Dr. Lalita Sen was recently bestowed Emeritus Status by the Board of Regents at Texas Southern University for her 36-year tenure as a Professor, in the Barbra Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs, at Texas Southern University.

 

 Dr. Sen began her teaching at TSU in 1984 and retired from active teaching in December 2019.  She did her undergraduate studies in Geography at Swansea University in the United Kingdom and went on to receive her PhD from Northwestern University in 1970.  She wrote the proposal for a new Master’s and PhD program in Urban Planning & Environmental Policy when Texas Southern University was awarded funds to initiate new graduate programs in 2003.

 

Dr. Sen taught both undergraduate and graduate courses ranging from Public Management Budget and Information Systems, Urban Planning and Fiscal Policy, Planning Theory and Practices and Regional Development. Dr. Sen’s passion and research interest focuses on planning for marginalized groups such as seniors, the disabled and low-income populations as well as the need assessment and evaluation of public transportation for those marginalized groups. 

 

Beyond the classroom, Dr. Sen spent countless hours assisting graduate students in the School of Public Affairs, helping them find their path in the field and for many recent graduate student immigrants, adjusting to life in the US.  Her two children benefited from her global view on life with her expeditions in the summer to see new cultures and places around the world, from seeing a rainforest in Katmandu, Nepal to driving across the northern island of New Zealand.

 

An avid researcher, she has used her research to compose such publications as “Road Design and Accessibility for Person with Disabilities in India: Challenges and Prospects” in the International Journal of Disability Studies; “What Next After the American with Disabilities Act? An Assessment of the Accessibility Needs of the Disabled to Live a Quality Independent Life in The Urban Environment” and “A proposed Central Regional Business District in India Using Universal Design Concepts, both listed in the Design for All Institute of India.

 

Among numerous publications, Dr. Sen was awarded the William G. Bell Award for outstanding contributions to the field of accessible transportation and mobility through practice, research and commitment to outreach and service, given by the Transportation Research Board (TRB), of the National Academy of Sciences in June 2010.  The TRB recently bestowed Emeritus Status on Dr. Sen for her many years of work with the organization.