Madras univ VC search panel to interview 12 shortlisted candidates on July 28

Madras univ VC search panel to interview 12 shortlisted candidates on July 28

Ragu.Raman@timesgroup.com

Chennai:  23.07.2020

Amid intense lobbying, the Madras University vice-chancellor search panel has shortlisted 12 candidates for interview scheduled on July 28. The panel headed by Jawaharlal Nehru University vice-chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar has sent a communication to the shortlisted candidates for the interview.

P Maruthamuthu, former vice-chancellor of Madurai Kamaraj University and P Ramasamy, former vice-chancellor of Alagappa University are the other two members of the panel. “The list includes four professors from Anna University,threefrom MadrasUniversity and one from Bharathidasan University. A former director of IISER (Indian Institute of Science Education and Research) and two former vicechancellors of state universities are also in the race,” a source close to the selection process said.

Thecandidates arelikely to be askedto presenttheir vision for the university and possible plans to bring the institute out of the existing financial crisis and ideas to generate funds for the university. The candidates were asked to submit their vision in pro forma.

After the interview, the panel will suggest to the governor-chancellor for appointing the newVC.In Total,177 professors including 33 from outside the state applied to the top post of the prestigious university. The search committee shortlisted 43 candidates based on age, experience and fluency in Tamil. The committee then ranked the candidates based on their experience and academic positions.

A former vice-chancellor and a professor from Anna University are said to be the leading contenders.

Professors from the university said the institution is in a very bad financial condition and need a good academic leader to bring it back on track. “There is no fund with the university to disburse salary to the staff members from August. The new VC will have a tough initial few months. We are hopeful the chancellor will pick the able candidate to guide the university during the tough times,” professors added. The university’s previous vice-chancellor P Duraisamy completed his tenure on May 26.