BALWANT N. DIXIT, PH.D.

While chair, Dixit initiated a Ph.D. program in Toxicology. Then in 1976, Dixit was appointed acting dean of the School of Pharmacy. During his three-year tenure as acting dean, Dixit reorganized programs and established the Departments of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmaceutics, as well as a program in Clinical Pharmacokinetics, a Drug Information Center, and a full service pharmacy in the Student Health Service. In 1982, Dixit was selected for the Distinguished Alumni Award. Dixit has a strong interest in the performing arts and established the India Association of Pittsburgh and the Center for the Performing Arts of India at the University of Pittsburgh. Serving as an exchange program between the University of Pittsburgh and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, the Center sponsors leading Indian classical musicians, features performances, and gives workshops in Indian classical music at universities and colleges throughout the United States. The Center has become nationally recognized for the quality of its programs and its organization. For his work in promoting the performing arts of India, Dixit has received a number of awards from organizations within the U.S. and India. Dixit currently is a professor of pharmacology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy.


		Balwant Dixit was born in a small village in India. After completing his high school education in 1949, he entered Fergusson College. His goal was to become a physician. His plans changed, however, when his father died suddenly. He instead trained as a custom tailor to help support his family, and while running his own business, he earned two B.S. degrees—one in biology and one in industrial chemistry–and an M.S. degree in biochemistry. Dixit then accepted a position as a research assistant in pharmacology at Baroda Medical School. For six years he worked with a team of investigators evaluating the therapeutic effectiveness of several indigenous medical herbal preparations. Dixit continued his education and was awarded an M.S. degree in Pharmacology. Dixit was offered a senior fellowship by the International Union of Physiological Sciences to conduct research in Pharmacology in the United States, and he accepted a position with Professor Joseph P. Buckley at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy. Within three years, Dixit completed the requirements for a Ph.D. and in 1965 joined the faculty of the School of Pharmacy as an assistant professor. In 1969, he was appointed assistant chairman. In 1973 Dixit was appointed chairman of the Department of Pharmacology.		While chair, Dixit initiated a Ph.D. program in Toxicology. Then in 1976, Dixit was appointed acting dean of the School of Pharmacy. During his three-year tenure as acting dean, Dixit reorganized programs and established the Departments of Clinical Pharmacy and Pharmaceutics, as well as a program in Clinical Pharmacokinetics, a Drug Information Center, and a full service pharmacy in the Student Health Service. In 1982, Dixit was selected for the Distinguished Alumni Award. Dixit has a strong interest in the performing arts and established the India Association of Pittsburgh and the Center for the Performing Arts of India at the University of Pittsburgh. Serving as an exchange program between the University of Pittsburgh and the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, the Center sponsors leading Indian classical musicians, features performances, and gives workshops in Indian classical music at universities and colleges throughout the United States. The Center has become nationally recognized for the quality of its programs and its organization. For his work in promoting the performing arts of India, Dixit has received a number of awards from organizations within the U.S. and India. Dixit currently is a professor of pharmacology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy.