Professor Yedla .C. Simhadri , presently vice-chancellor of Patna University, is being sounded to head Acharya Nagarjuna University (ANU).
Sources in the Higher Education Department said Prof Simhadri’s name was being considered as one of the options as the State Government wants to clean up ANU, which has been facing flak in the aftermath of the suicide of M. Rishiteswari, a student of architecture, last month.
If appointed to ANU, Dr. Simhadri would have to cut short his assignment at Patna University where has been VC since 2014.
Dr. Simhadri was invited to take over Patna University, one of the oldest universities in the country, in 2014 to streamline the administration.
A senior administrator who in the past had served as Vice-Chancellor of ANU (1991-1993), Banaras Hindu University, Andhra University and Patna University, Dr. Simhadri, 74, is likely to find himself in the thick of things at a time when ANU is at a crossroads.
Academic credentials
A professor of sociology, Dr. Simhadri has outstanding academic credentials but what sets him apart are his firm leadership and a ruthless streak that helped him to put many a university back on track.
Prof. Simhadri was probably the only VC to have stayed on the ANU Campus during his two-year term, instilling a sense of responsibility in staff. He was credited with streamlining admission process and exam schedules.
Later, his administrative abilities came to the fore at Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, where Professor Simhadri was ruthless in cracking down on anti-social elements and politically affiliated student unions.
It was Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu who put him at the helm of affairs at Andhra University in 2002. Later, he served as VC of Patna University but his term came to an abrupt end owing to differences with the then chancellor.
