Former Vice-Chancellor Prof. S. N. Hegde at UoM Alumni felicitation function

Mysuru: Former University of Mysore (UoM) Vice- Chancellor Prof. S.N. Hegde, coming down heavily on the way the Universities are run in the country, said that a Vice-Chancellor should be free to think and implement ideas than to keep pushing files and in this direction a pro-Vice-Chancellor should be there to do administrative work.

He was speaking as the chief guest at the felicitation function organised by the University of Mysore Alumni Association (UMAA) at the Rani Bahadur Auditorium here on Apr.11, to honour three achievers of University of Mysore — Prof. G. Hemantha Kumar for assuming the post of Vice-Chancellor, former VC Prof. K.S. Rangappa for becoming the General President of 107th Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) and Prof. Mewa Singh for being awarded Science and Engineering Research Board Distinguished Fellowship.

Unless the VC is free to implement ideas, bring funds like he did when he was the VC by getting Dr. B. N. Bahadur to build the Rs.3 crore Bahadur Institute of Management Sciences and asking Infosys Foundation Chairperson Sudha Murty to donate Rs. 1.5 crore for the renovation of folk museum, the current VC should also go out and build the institution by getting funds and not just depend on the Government, said Prof. Hegde.

He also praised Prof. Rangappa for his fearless and daring approach to get the work done during his tenure as VC and said that more people like him were needed at the helm of affairs to take the University forward.

During the appointments to the teaching posts only the best and most deserving should be selected and only then can the University aspire to be in the top 20 or 10 in the country, unlike its present ranking of 54 which is not at all very good, he caustically remarked.

However, lauding Prof. Hemantha Kumar for his effort he said that he had come as a lecturer to the University and risen to the position of a Vice-Chancellor and the reason for that is style of functioning and taking everybody along with him.

Kuvempu University former VC Prof. P. Venkatramaiah said that Prof. Hemantha Kumar was discharging his duties as an educationist properly and also appreciated Prof. Rangappa for his signal contribution to the growth of University of Mysore.

Replying to the felicitation, Prof. Hemantha Kumar said that there is a huge responsibility on the current administration to take the University forward and also score well in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), raising from 54 to be in the top 20 at least. However, it is a difficult task as the Government has reduced the funds to the University from Rs.130 crore to Rs.110 crore. Hence, the support of the Alumni Association was very important, he said.

Prof. Rangappa said that as the General President of ISCA it was his duty to bring it back to the glory days as there was lot of criticism of its functioning and the happenings during the Science Congress with many scientists speaking unscientifically.

Prof. Mewa Singh said that though he had achieved so much as a researcher bagging Distinguished Fellowship awards including the present one, nobody in the University had recognised his achievements till now and it was only UMAA who had come forward to felicitate him.

UoM Registrar Prof. Lingaraja Gandhi and UMAA President Dr. Vasanth Kumar Thimkapura also spoke. UMAA Vice-President Prof. H. M. Vasanthamma welcomed. EC Member Prof. R.N. Padmanabha compered. Secretary Prof. S. Umesh proposed a vote of thanks.