M.V. Narayanan appointed Sanskrit University VC

Position was vacant since predecessor completed tenure

M.V. Narayanan has been appointed as the Vice Chancellor of the Sree Sankaracharya University of Sanskrit. He is currently professor in the Department of English and Director of the School of Languages, Calicut University.

Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, who is also the Chancellor of the university, issued orders on Monday appointing Dr. Narayanan as Vice Chancellor for a period of four years.

The position has been lying vacant since his predecessor, Dharmarajan P.K. (Dharmaraj Adat), completed his tenure in November last. Calicut University Vice Chancellor M.K. Jayaraj has been officiating in the absence of a full-time appointment.

A native of Thrissur, Dr. Narayanan (60) has an extensive teaching experience of over three decades, including 13 years of service as professor. He has also been associated with the theatre since 1985. Among other positions, he has been a member of the curatorial committee of the International Theatre Festival of Kerala.

The selection of the Vice Chancellor for Sanskrit University had put the Governor and the government at loggerheads. Mr. Khan had found fault with the search-cum-selection committee’s move to submit a unanimous recommendation rather than a shortlisted panel of candidates.

The committee was convened by State Planning Board vice chairperson V.K. Ramachandran (as government’s nominee) and included Kavikulaguru Kalidas Sanskrit University Vice Chancellor Shrinivasa Varakhedi (University Grants Commission nominee) and State Higher Education Council vice chairperson Rajan Gurukkal (Sanskrit University nominee).

It “unanimously and unequivocally” recommended Dr. Narayanan for the post, the notification issued by the Raj Bhavan stated. Notably, he had been considered for the Vice Chancellor’s post at Calicut University two years ago.