Kathwari

Tufts University President Anthony P. Monaco awarded Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Ethan Allen, Farooq Kathwari, an honorary Doctor of Public Service degree during Tufts University’s commencement ceremony, held late last month. Kathwari was recognized for combining corporate leadership with a dedication to public service and humanitarian efforts.

“I am humbled to have received this honor from Tufts for the work I am so passionate about,” said Kathwari.

In conferring the honorary doctorate, Monaco stated, “Political upheaval separated your family following the partition of India in 1947. From that searing personal experience, you have gone on to become an acclaimed entrepreneur and a respected humanitarian. After university in Kashmir, you came to the United States and entered business with little more than 12 wicker baskets, filled with handicrafts. Your drive and talent took you to the leadership of a dynamic international business, as chairman, president and chief executive officer of Ethan Allen. At the same time, you have worked to mitigate the harsh impact of geopolitics on the lives of ordinary people, speaking tirelessly for those without a voice. You have served as chair of Refugees International, dedicated to advocacy for the displaced, and as a director of the International Rescue Committee, providing relief to those caught up in humanitarian crises around the world. You founded and still lead the Kashmir Study Group, to provide a thoughtful basis for reducing tensions in the still volatile region of your birth. For combining corporate leadership with dedication to the highest ideals of global citizenship, we take great pride in conferring upon you the degree of Doctor of Public Service, honoris causa.”

Headquartered in Danbury, Conn., the publicly traded Ethan Allen Interiors Inc. is an interior design company and manufacturer and retailer of home furnishings. The company offers free interior design service to its clients and sells a full range of furniture products and decorative accessories through ethanallen.com and a network of approximately 300 design centers in the United States and abroad. Ethan Allen owns and operates eight manufacturing facilities, including five manufacturing plants and one sawmill in the United States plus two plants in Mexico and Honduras. Approximately 70 percent of its products are made in its United States plants.