William Carey, whose name this university commemorates, was an extra-ordinary English missionary who contributed much more than what is traditionally known as “mission” work in India. Known today as the "father of modern missions" he was a pioneer of social and educational initiatives that continue even stronger today.

Carey was educationally unqualified having left school at twelve to become a cobbler's apprentice. But he founded the Serampore College in West Bengal, India which was the first degree-granting institution in Asia. The King of Denmark granted a royal charter in 1827 to provide education in the arts and sciences. The college also helped to train Indian ministers for the church. So respected a scholar he was that Fort William College, Calcutta invited him to be a professor. Carey initiated around 100 rural schools mainly encouraging the education of girls.

William Carey was a linguist. He became a lover of the Bengali language and also recognized the importance of Sanskrit, especially for the translation of the Bible into various Indian languages. Carey studied Sanskrit and even translated parts of the Ramayana into English. He is credited for reviving the Sanskrit and Bengali language. Rabindranath Tagore, wrote: "I must acknowledge that whatever has been done towards the revival of the Bengali language and its improvement must be attributed to Dr. Carey and his colleagues. Carey was the pioneer of the revived interest in the vernaculars."

Carey started a printing press from where came translations of the Bible in Bengali, Sanskrit, and other major languages and dialects. In his lifetime, the press printed and distributed the Bible in whole or part in 44 languages and dialects. William Carey also had a hand in starting The Statesman, India’s first newspaper. This began with as a weekly publication “The Friend of India” continuing today as a respected national daily newspaper.

Little is written about William Carey and his contribution to Indian agriculture and horticulture. He was the founder of the Agricultural and Horticultural Society of India. Self taught through experience, he wrote about the improvement of land by encouraging a “superior mode of cultivation”, rotations of crops and the use of waste lands for cultivation. He also introduced the concept of the savings bank to assist poor farmers improve their produce.

William Carey pioneered action against the questionable social practices such as infanticide and sati – the rite of a woman burning herself on her husband’s funeral fire. Along with his colleagues, John Marshman and Ward, he joined with the Hindu reformer Raja Ram Mohan Roy to bring about abolition. Carey researched Hindu scriptures and showed that sati was a rite simply encouraged as a virtue and not a duty.

William Carey leaves a rich legacy behind – an educationist, a linguist, an environmentalist, a social reformer and the list goes on. His motto was:

In keeping with the vision, WCU will offer academic courses and programs that will equip students to get involved in commercial as well as service oriented opportunities to bring transformation in the region and to the peoples of NE India. Thus, whether teaching of Environment or Management, Education or IT programs students will train and study in an appropriate context in preparation for their professional activities. Knowledge, skills and the dispositions for service to the community will be cultivated. WCU programs will be both the formal and non-formal as the university goes to the people rather than people coming into an academic sanctuary.

William Carey University will cultivate strategic alliances, both national and international, for economic advantage of the peoples of NE India. WCU will facilitate appropriate research leading to industrial and commercial collaborations to create job opportunities at all levels. There is wide scope for profitable ventures, as human as well as natural resources are plentifully available. Capital as well as other investments will be encouraged. Commercial operations will be encouraged to simultaneously develop a commitment to the community.

The region is rich in its biodiversity but its fragile ecology must be addressed. With significant changes in global economic conditions and in India in particular, the academia will need to identify areas of study that affect NE India’s economic development alongside its environmental sustainability. Studies must address the changing economic, social, political or institutional context that will promote environmentally sustainable economic development.

Alongside attention to sustaining the rich but fragile ecology of the region, appropriately scaled productive operations could be developed for optimal use of the rich biodiversity. The forest cover, soil and water management etc must be carefully studied. Students will be encouraged to engage in research to propose projects for sustainable resource utilization. People can be lifted out of poverty.

NE India offers an ideal “laboratory” for serious study of environmental sustainability for economic development. Researchers and institutions from all over the world will collaborate with WCU. Such studies must change human behavior and actions so as to reduce ongoing damage to the ecosystem while optimizing the available potential.

Conscious efforts must be made to safeguard the socio-cultural environment. The key to transformation of NE India will also be a culturally sensitive development. There is a growing tendency in the developing world to consider purely physical and environment factors without reference to socio-cultural and religious realities. Studies of socio-cultural and religious factors affecting development and grassroots issues in tribal societies will play a vital role in the development process of NE India.