“I will not give any scope for sycophancy and I shall not get carried away by flattery. I do not belong to any political party and would never allow people to take undue advantage of my connections, whoever it may be.”
This was the message sent out by the new Vice-Chancellor of Madurai Kamaraj University, Kalyani Mathivanan, who took charge here on Monday.
After her meeting with the Governor and the Chief Minister, besides preliminary interaction with senior university officials, the university's first woman Vice-Chancellor seemed to have got an academic roadmap ready in mind .
“I will be fully available in university from Monday but I need some time to settle down. It is only good administration for MKU's academic excellence that matters to me,” Dr. Kalyani Mathivanan, who is now in Chennai to complete certain formalities, told The Hindu over phone on Wednesday.
Being the daughter of former Vice-Chancellor M. D. K. Kuthalingam and daughter-in-law of former Finance Minister V. R. Nedunchezhian, she already has an understanding of what administration is all about. Further, her experience as Head, Department of English, at Ethiraj College for Women, Chennai, gives the right push.
“I may have political connections but that does not come in my way of independent functioning. I will prove my ability and live up to the confidence reposed in me by the Governor and Chief Minister,” the Vice-Chancellor said.
On Monday, she met the Chief Minister before proceeding to Madurai to occupy the position which her father held in 1992-95. “The CM has said very encouraging words and expressed confidence that I would do a good job as VC,” she said.
Stating that the VC post was a huge responsibility that required lot of personal commitment, Dr. Kalyani Mathivanan assured that her only objective was to “be remembered for my achievements rather than my connections.”
