Suresh Gosavi new VC of Pune varsity, to focus on rank improvement

PUNE: The year-long wait of Savitribai Phule Pune University for a permanent vice-chancellor ended on Tuesday with the appointment of Suresh Gosavi, a professor in the varsity's physics department, to the post.
The term of Gosavi's predecessor, Nitin Karmalkar, ended in May 2022.
University of Mumbai and Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth too got new VCs on Monday. Ravindra Kulkarni, a senior professor from Institute of Chemical Technology, Matunga, is now the new VC of University of Mumbai. At Dr Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth Dapoli, Sanjay Bhave will hold the post. He is the HoD of agricultural botany at the university.
The newly appointed SPPU vice-chancellor, who will have a five-year tenure, has declared his focus will now be on improving the varsity's performance in National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF).
Gosavi said, "I am delighted to be appointed the vice-chancellor of SPPU. We will make concerted efforts to effectively implement the New Educational Policy (NEP) in the university and its affiliated colleges. Special attention will be given to the implementation of the policy in the first-year degree courses. We will try to stem the drop in Pune university's ranking in the NIRF by improving academic performance. My focus will be on restoring this ranking."
Among the 27 candidates who applied, the search committee selected Gosavi. He had faced tough competition from the last five shortlisted candidates, who interviewed with Maharashtra Governor Ramesh Bais last month.
Meanwhile, the University of Mumbai VC Kulkarni has around 30 years of experience in academia. He held the post of pro-VC the university till last year. He was one of the frontrunners in the race for the post from the time the hunt started. Kulkarni will now hold office for five years
"With all humility, I accept the position. It is a post of responsibility and I am aware of... the legacy of the University of Mumbai," Kulkarni said in a press statement.
He said he had received the cooperation of all teaching and non-teaching colleagues and college principals when he was pro-vice-chancellor and he expected that to continue. "This is a challenging time of transition and we are aware of the expectations of all the stakeholders," he said.
Kulkarni has worked extensively with the state government as the chairman of the state panel to design the four-year degree programme on the NEP implementation steering committee.