Permanent VCs in four out of 14 universities in Kerala: Dr P Raveendran appointed as Vice Chancellor of Calicut University 

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Dr P Raveendran, who was the interim VC of Calicut University for the past one and a half years, has been appointed as the permanent Vice Chancellor. Governor RV Arlekar, who is also the Chancellor, has issued the appointing order. The appointment is for a period of four years. With this, four out of the 14 universities in the state have permanent VCs.

The appointment of the VC of Calicut University was made after much controversy. The Senate met four times on the instructions of the Chancellor and the Senate representative was selected on the instructions of the High Court. Then, the search committee appointed by the Governor met with 35 applicants and submitted the five-member panel to the Governor. The members of the search committee personally met the Governor and handed over the panel. The government approached the High Court challenging the Lok Bhavan's decision to issue a notification accepting the application for the election of the VC, but could not get a favorable verdict. The Governor issued the VC appointment order in compliance with the court's verdict.

Dr. Raveendran, a native of Pulamanthol, Malappuram, was appointed as a reader at the University of Calicut in 2005 after completing his PhD from IIT Madras. Later, he became a professor in the Department of Chemistry. He has served as a postdoctoral visiting scientist at the University of Göttingen in Germany, as a postdoctoral research associate at the University of North Carolina in the United States, and as a scientist at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science & Technology in Japan. Pattambi Government College Principal Prof. M.R.Rashmi is his wife. His children are Lakshmi, a computer expert at IBM, Bangalore, and Gaurishankar, a student.