A three-member committee is scheduled to meet here on April 21 to short-list candidates for the post of vice-chancellor of Fakir Mohan University (FMU). Around 70 academics have applied for the post. The three-year tenure of incumbent VC Kumar Bara Das ends on May 8. Fakir Mohan UniversitySources said the search-cum-selection panel, which comprises of Arun Rath, (former secretary, Union ministry of human resources development), Surbhi Bannerjee (ex-VC of Central University of Orissa, Koraput) and Aditya Padhee (former VC of Berhampur University), will meet at the Governor’s House and short-list the candidates. After interacting with the short-listed aspirants, the panel will recommend three names to the governor and chancellor of universities S C Jamir for appointment of one of them. Sources said outgoing VC Kumar Bad Das is also among the applicants seeking a second term of three years. Several professors from Utkal University including Samsung Maharana, (commerce), Satyaban Jena (chemistry), Prafulla Mishra (Sanskrit), Kshiti Bhusan Das (commerce), Ranjan Bal (commerce), LN Sahoo (statistics) have applied for the coveted position. Other applicants include Amarendra Mishra (Jharkhand University), Uma Ballav Mishra (director, SCERT) and Nihar Ranjan Patnaik (director, higher education). Notably, hunt for VCs of FMU, Utkal University and North Orissa University (NOU) is on as tenure of incumbents in these three campuses end in May. Another governor-appointed panel comprising R K Chauhan (former UGC secretary), Dinesh Singh (VC, Delhi University) and Kailash Chandra Mishra (VC, Sri Sri University), has short-listed eight names for the VC post of Utkal. The three-member panel will interact with the candidates here on April 28 and recommend a panel of three names to the chancellor for final selection. Three-year tenure of current VC P K Sahoo ends on May 1. Source: Education News