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Before becoming the VC of Lucknow University, Rai was a professor of management at the Banaras Hindu University (BHU).
IIM-Calcutta had been without a regular full-term director for nearly two years. (Image: IIMC)
The Union Ministry of Education on Wednesday appointed Alok Kumar Rai, Vice-Chancellor of Lucknow University, as the full-time director of the Indian Institute of Management-Calcutta (IIM-Calcutta). The institute has been without a regular full-term director for nearly two years.
This appointment follows the arrest of a second-year student in a rape case. The President, acting as the Visitor of IIM Calcutta, approved Rai’s appointment, according to a letter from the ministry to the IIM Calcutta Board of Governors.
The letter from the ministry mentioned that after President Droupadi Murmu’s approval, Rai was appointed as the director under Section 16 (2) of the Indian Institutes of Management Act, 2017 (amended in 2023). The IIM-C Board must issue a copy of the appointment letter, and Rai’s acceptance letter must be sent to the ministry for records.
This marks the first time in the history of Lucknow University that a vice-chancellor is joining a central institute like IIM.
Before becoming the Vice-Chancellor of Lucknow University, Rai was a professor of management at Banaras Hindu University (BHU) and held various positions in high-level committees and panels.
Previously, Professor Uttam Kumar Sarkar joined IIM Calcutta as the new director in 2021. Sarkar was a professor at the Management Information Systems Group of the institute and held BTech, MTech, and PhD degrees in Computer Science and Engineering from IIT-Kharagpur.
After Sarkar’s resignation, Sahadeb Sarkar was appointed as the interim director but left in January. Following Sahadeb Sarkar’s departure in 2023, Saibal Chattopadhyay was appointed as the director-in-charge of the institute.
Meanwhile, a few days ago, a young woman was allegedly sexually harassed after being called to the IIM Joka boys’ hostel. When the woman went to the hostel, she reportedly consumed a drink laced with drugs, after which she fell unconscious. After she gained consciousness, she realised that she was raped. The accused has been arrested on the basis of an FIR lodged by the woman at Haridevpur Police Station, reported PTI citing officials.
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