Dr. Amiya Kumar Mohanty

July 15, 1936 - June 18, 2020

Amiya Kumar Mohanty, Ph. D., professor emeritus, 83, passed away Thursday, June 18, at his home in Richmond, Ky.

He was born on July 15, 1936, in Cuttack, Orissa, India to Dukhishyam and Pasoramani Mohanty, both of whom preceded him in death. Dr. Mohanty came to the United States after being the first recipient of a Fulbright Scholarship from the state of Orissa. He attended Florida State University and received his Ph. D. in sociology. Dr. Mohanty retired as a full professor of sociology at Eastern Kentucky University. He served terms as president for the Anthropologists and Sociologists of Kentucky, the Bluegrass Indo-American Civic Society and the Orissa Society of the Americas, and he was a member of many other professional and social organizations. He is also one of the founding members of the Bharatiya Temple and Cultural Center of Lexington.

Dr. Mohanty received a curriculum grant on "Aging Analysis" from the Commonwealth of Kentucky, an aging research grant from the Smithsonian Institute for "Study of the Elderly Population in Tamilnadu, India" and he received a grant as a senior post-doctoral fellow at the American Center of Oriental Research in Amman, Jordan to study the "Problems and Adjustments of the Elderly in Jordan." He also spent a year in Malaysia teaching as a Fulbright Specialist. His scholarly articles were published in several academic journals, and some of his works were cataloged by the Princeton University Library. Dr. Mohanty also published a number of research monographs during his long academic career.

Survivors include his loving wife, Sarat Kumari Mohanty; one son, Ranjan Mohanty (Monica) of Aurora, Ill.; one daughter, Sucheta Meena Mohanty, of Richmond, Ky.; and four grandchildren, Nikhil Mohanty, Sahil Mohanty, Vijay Blevins and Sanjay Blevins.

The visitation was held Saturday, June 20, from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. in Richmond, Ky. at Oldham, Roberts & Powell Funeral Home. A private ceremony for family followed the visitation.