Bhubaneswar: More than a year after the govt brought in the Odisha University (Amendment) Act, 2024, governor Hari Babu Kambhampati on Monday appointed vice-chancellors (VC)s to 14 public universities in the state.Kambhampati, who is also the chancellor of universities, appointed Chandi Prasad Nanda as VC of Utkal University, while Arka Kumar Das Mahapatra will head Ravenshaw University. Santosh Kumar Tripathy will continue as VC of Fakir Mohan University for a second term, having first assumed office in 2021.Among other appointments, Sanjay Kumar Patro has been named VC of DD University; Byomkesh Tripathy (Gangadhar Meher University); Asima Sahu (Khallikote Unitary University); Pawan Kumar Agarwal (Maa Manikeshwari University); Sibaram Tripathy (Madhusudan Law University); Mahendra Kumar Mohanty (Maharaja Sriram Chandra Bhanjadeo University); Bibhuti Bhusan Mallik (Rajendra University); Jyotsna KB Rout (Ramadevi Women’s University); Prabhat Kumar Mohapatra (Jagannath Sanskrit University); Hrushikesh Senapathy (Vikram Dev University) and Satyanarayan Acharya (Odia University).There are 17 public universities under the department of higher education in the state. VC posts remained vacant after the previous BJD govt amended the Odisha Universities Act, 1989, through the Odisha Universities (Amendment) Act, 2020. The amendment, which was opposed by the University Grants Commission (UGC), was stayed by the Supreme Court in 2022 for violating UGC norms on VC appointments.This led to a halt in VC appointments across public universities. While some VCs were granted three to four extensions, others were managed by senior-most faculty members serving as in-charge VCs.Following the chancellor’s approval of the Odisha University (Amendment) Act, 2024, in April last year, the higher education department invited applications to fill VC posts in 13 universities. Sources said that with one more vacancy arising in recent months, appointments have now been made in 14 universities.Higher education minister Suryabanshi Suraj said steps are underway to appoint assistant professors, associate professors and professors before July against nearly 1,400 vacant faculty positions.
