FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                          October 9, 2006

NORTHWESTERN PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY BECOMES U.S CITIZEN

How many amendments are there to the Constitution?  What is the Bill of Rights?  Who is the Attorney General of the United States?  Who is the Chief Justice of the U.S Supreme Court?  What is the Constitution?  Who wrote the Star Spangled Banner?

All of these questions and more are asked of anyone wanting to become a U.S citizen.  On Sept. 29, after answering every question correctly, Dr. Venkata Moorthy, professor of biology at Northwestern, and his wife Sudha did just that--became citizens.

Dr. Venkata Moorthy and his wife Sudha show off their certificates after becoming United States citizens on Sept. 29.

The Moorthys’ interviews/tests dealt with history and civics of the United States, much like the questions given above.

“We (Moorthy and his wife) spent a while studying for the exams,” Moorthy said.  “They can give you an oral exam and/or a written one.”

Moorthy came to the United States from India in May 1990 to finish school at the University of Oklahoma.  He left his wife in India but returned to bring her back with him in 1991. Moorthy received his bachelor’s degree in science and his master’s degree in botany from the University of Mysore, India.  He also received his doctor of philosophy in botany from OU in 1990, and then taught there.  Moorthy came to Northwestern in 1995.

This past July he and his wife decided to apply for citizenship and within a couple of weeks they were called to send in more information and do a fingerprinting process.  Moorthy said it usually takes up to two years for each process, but they were contacted within weeks.  He credits his family’s clean record for the procedure being completed so quickly. 

Moorthy said he and his wife are very excited to be citizens and that the process was worth it.

“We are happy and proud to be U.S citizens and it’s an honor,” Moorthy said.

His wife is the preschool teacher for the Lutheran Education Center.  His daughter, Ganga, is 15 and involved in band and cheerleading at Alva High School.  She became a U.S citizen automatically when her parents did because she is under the age of 18.  His son, Gagan, is 9 and was born in the United States.

To become a U.S citizen, the civics questions must be answered efficiently and correctly. 

For anyone needing answers to the questions at the beginning of this article, they are as follows:

There are 27 amendments to the Constitution; the Bill of Rights are the first 10 amendments to the Constitution; the U.S Attorney General is Alberto R. Gonzales; the Chief Justice of the U.S Supreme Court is John Roberts; the Constitution is the supreme law of the land; and the Star Spangled Banner was written by Francis Scott Key.

Anyone who would like to test themselves on their citizenship knowledge can visit the following web site for question/answer flashcards: www.quia.com/jfc/80851.html.

-NW-

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