Anna University begins Vice Chancellor search for third time in one-and-a-half years

COIMBATORE/CHENNAI: The Anna University has begun the process to select a vice-chancellor for the third time in the last one-and-a-half years. The university’s syndicate meeting held at the secretariat on Tuesday has nominated R Gnanamoorthy, an IIT Madras professor, to the vice- chancellor selection committee. But in another move that has raised eyebrows, university registrar S Ganesan has been appointed as in-charge registrar for one year. He was to retire on Saturday after completing three years in office.

While a few staff raised questions on the appointment without advertising for applications, higher education secretary Sunil Paliwal justified it saying Ganesan was only appointed as an “in-charge” and hence the applications were not called for. “Once the vice-chancellor is appointed, a regular registrar will be appointed by him following due procedure,” Paliwal said.

With the university now setting the process in motion, the state government and governor Banwarilal Purohit (who holds the chancellor post) will have to nominate a member each for the vice- chancellor selection committee. A new committee was necessitated after the previous selection committee headed by former Supreme Court chief justice R M Lodha and another member Anandha Padmanabhan resigned. The then governor Ch Vidyasagar Rao had rejected the three shortlisted candidates by previous committee headed by TN Open University vice-chancellor M Bhaskaran.

Gnanamoorthy, the university’s representative for the committee, is a professor of Mechanical Engineering. He was also the founder director of Indian Institute of Information Technology Design and Manufacturing in Kancheepuram.