Bhubaneswar: On a day governor Ganeshi Lal lost his wife, he set an example by going ahead with his official works. He selected the vice-chancellors for six universities on Monday.
There was a suggestion that he postpone the scheduled selection process. However, the governor said the works should not suffer.
Lal’s wife Sushila Devi died of post-Covid complications on Sunday night. The governor, who himself also had tested positive on November 2, avoided taking personal interview of the 16 vive-chancellor aspirants as a social distancing measure. Instead, he delegated that part to officers whom he briefed what he wanted to ask and took the feedback from them, the officer said.
The governor, who is also the chancellor of state-run universities, did not to delay the appointment to ensure that the new vice-chancellors get at least seven days to join their new assignment as the tenure of the incumbents end this month.
Sabita Acharya, a professor of anthropology in Utkal University who got selected as vice-chancellor of Utkal University, appreciated the Governor’s gesture. “Amid the personal loss, the Governor did not postpone the selection process. It is a huge inspiration for us,” Acharya said.
Acharya said she would work hard to improve digital infrastructure, the need for which was felt during the pandemic and strive to implement the New Education Policy-2020.
The governor appointed Aparajita Chowdhury as vice-chancellor of Rama Devi Women’s University. Aparajita is a professor of home science in Berhampur University.
Dinabandhu Sahoo, a botany professor in Delhi University, was selected as the new vice-chancellor of Fakir Mohan University. He has earlier served as director of Institute of Bio-resources and Sustainable Development (IBSD) in Imphal.
N Nagaraju, an English professor from Central University of Karnataka, got the assignment of Gangadhar Meher University vice-chancellor. Kishore Kumar Basa, a retired professor of University of Culture and Tagore national fellow, got selected as vice-chancellor of North Odisha University. Prafulla Kumar Mohanty, a zoology professor in Utkal University became the vice-chancellor of Khallikote University.