Bhubaneswar: The Ministry of Education, Government of India, on Friday appointed Dr. Ajit Kumar Shasany as the Vice-Chancellor of the Central University of Odisha (CUO), Koraput.
According to an official communication issued by the Department of Higher Education, the appointment has been approved by the President of India in her capacity as the Visitor of Central Universities.
Dr. Shasany is currently serving as the Director of the CSIR–National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI), Lucknow. He has been appointed for a tenure of five years from the date he assumes office or until he attains the age of 70 years, whichever is earlier.
The ministry further stated that the terms and conditions of his appointment will be governed by the provisions of the Central Universities Act, Statutes, and Ordinances applicable to the institution.
The official order was signed by Shreya Bhardwaj, Deputy Secretary to the Government of India, and addressed to the Registrar of the Central University of Odisha.
Dr. Shasany was born in Redhakhol in Odisha’s Sambalpur district on March 1, 1967. He completed his schooling at Goura Chandra High School, Redhakhol, and later pursued higher education at Gangadhara Meher College under Sambalpur University (1984), Odisha University of Agriculture and Technology (OUAT), Bhubaneswar (BSc Agriculture, 1988), Assam Agricultural University, Jorhat (MSc in Agricultural Biotechnology, 1991), and the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi (PhD in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, 1996).
He also completed postdoctoral research at Purdue University, USA, during 2007–08. He has been serving as Chief Scientist at the CSIR–Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP), Lucknow, since 2014.
With his appointment, CUO is expected to enter a new phase of academic and administrative leadership.
