National News

Meet Shantisree Dhulipudi Pandit - First Woman VC of JNU

A professor from Savitribai Phule Pune University, Shantisree Dhulipudi Pandit is appointed as 13th Vice-Chancellor of JNU. She will succeed M Jagadesh Kumar, present UGC chairman.

Sentinel Digital Desk

NEW DELHI: On Monday 7 February Professor Shantisree Dhulipudi Pandit has been appointed as the 13th Vice-Chancellor of JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University) in New Delhi.

Before being named as VC of JNU, Shantisree Dhulipudi Pandit was serving as a professor at Savitribai Phule Pune University. She taught in the department of politics and public administration at the University in Pune.

Pandit has been appointed as the new VC of JNU for the period of 5 years and will be succeeding M Jagadesh Kumar, the present chairperson of higher education regulatory UGC (University Grants Commission).

Kumar's term for five years as VC in JNU ended in the year 2021 and in last week he is appointed as the president of the UGC.

Notably, Pandit has become the first woman to be appointed as the vice-chancellor of the reputed Jawaharlal Nehru University. President Ram Nath Kovind approved her appointment.

In a letter to the JNU registrar, the Union Education Minister wrote that in the exercise of the powers conferred upon him by the statutes of the University, Ram Nath Kovind the President of India in his capacity as the visitor has been pleased to appoint Shantisree Dhulipudi Pandit as the VC of JNU.

Know About Shantisree Dhulipudi Pandit:

59 years old Shantisree Dhulipudi Pandit was born in St Petersburg of Russia on 15 July 1962. Her mother was a Tamil and Telugu professor at the Leningrad Oriental Faculty Department in Russia.

Pandit had done her master's degree from Presidency College in Chennai with her major subject as political science.

In between 1986 and 1990 Pandi had completed her Ph.D. and MPhil courses in international relations from JNU School of International Studies.

Pandit had a long experience and career in teaching since the year 1988. Before joining the Savitribai Phule Pune University, she had also worked as a professor at Goa University.

She is associated with research from 1985 and wrote her books such as 'Parliament and Foreign Policy in India' published in 1990 and 'Environmental governance in Asia-Ethics and Policy' in 2003.

She has been associated with various reputed organizations such that including the Indian Association of American Studies, the All India Political Science Association, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, the Indian Council of Social Science Research, the Indian Secular Society, American Studies Research Institute among others.

Pandit also served as a member of the University Grants Commission and was a Visitor Nominee for Central Universities. She has provided a guide to a total of 29 Ph.D. and held administrative positions in many institutions.

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