Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 23 Jul: Professor Naveen Chandra Lohani has been appointed as the new Vice-Chancellor of Uttarakhand Open University (UOU), Haldwani. The appointment has been made by Governor Lt Gen Gurmit Singh (Retd), in his capacity as Chancellor of the university, on the basis of a panel recommended by the Search Committee constituted under relevant rules.
Lohani’s term as Vice-Chancellor shall be for three years from the date he assumes office, or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
A native of Pachar village in Bageshwar district, Professor Lohani is currently serving as Senior Professor and Dean of the Hindi Department at Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut. Recognised as a seasoned academician and capable educational administrator, Professor Lohani is expected to bring renewed momentum to, both, the academic and administrative functioning of the university. With over 35 years of teaching experience and having served as Professor since 2007 and Senior Professor from 2019 onwards, his academic journey is marked by distinguished roles such as Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Director of Open and Distance Education and Online Education, and Coordinator for NAAC and IQAC at Chaudhary Charan Singh University. His prior roles also include Registrar and Professor In-charge at Shanti Devi Government College, Jewar, a constituent college. He has authored 12 books, published 85 research papers, and supervised 26 PhD and 99 MPhil scholars, along with completing five major research projects. His department was recognised as an ‘Outstanding Study Centre’ twice by the Government of Uttar Pradesh.
Internationally, he has held visiting professorships at the Rabindranath Tagore Chair at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland, and the ICCR Chair at Shanghai International Studies University, China, both deputations sponsored by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations. He has been a nominated member of the Uttarakhand Bhasha Sansthan, Dehradun. He has also been recently honoured with the Shabd Shilpi Samman by the Uttar Pradesh Bhasha Sansthan. He has also participated in academic events in countries including the UK, Switzerland, Hungary, Spain, USA, China, and South Africa.
