With the Panjab University’s (PU) senate elections concluded, the university is expected to convene the first meeting of the newly elected senate in December, followed by the process to elect a new syndicate. However, the university has yet to finalise a date for the meeting, while the appointment of a regular vice-chancellor (V-C) remains uncertain.
Registrar YP Verma said the university had not fixed dates for the next steps but expected the constitution of the new governing bodies to be completed by the end of the year. The appointment of the regular V-C, he clarified, was not within the university’s control.
“There are no specific dates at present, but the processes will be completed before December 31. The appointment of the regular V-C is not in our control,” Verma said.
The first senate meeting will be a key step towards restoring the university’s elected governance structure. The senate is the university’s supreme governing body, responsible for the overall management and supervision of its affairs. Its members deliberate on important academic, administrative and policy matters.
Once the new senate is constituted, the next major step will be the election of the syndicate, the university’s principal executive body. Its composition includes the V-C as chairman and elected fellows, among other members, as prescribed under the Panjab University Act and relevant regulations. The election process will follow the notification of the new senate’s constitution.
Meanwhile, the appointment of a regular VC remains a separate concern. According to the report, the selection process had already reached the interview stage before former V-C Renu Vig’s tenure ended on July 28. A three-member search-cum-selection committee, headed by Lt Gen Madhuri Kanitkar (retd), shortlisted 28 candidates, of whom 25 appeared for interviews in the first week of July.
Meenakshi Goyal, dean of university instruction, has been discharging the V-C’s responsibilities since July 29 under an interim arrangement. Despite the completion of interviews, a regular appointment had not been announced as of October 6.