Prof Succeeds IAS Officer As AMU VC

New Delhi, May 18 (UNI) Prof P K Abdul Azis has been appointed Vice Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University to fill a vacancy caused when incumbent Naseem Ahmad resigned a month before he was to retire, it was announced this evening.

Dr Azis, who has been VC of Cochin University of Science and Technology since 2004, will have a five-year term from the day he assumes charge of his office, the announcement said.

His appointment has been approved by President A P J Abdul Kalam in his capacity as the AMU Visitor, it said.

He was picked from a shortlist of five which included four academic professionals and an army officer.

They were Prof S M Ilyas, Director, National Academy of Agricultural Research Management, Hyderabad, Lt Gen Zameeruddin Shah, Deputy Chief of the Army Staff, Guwahati University Professor Monirul Hasan and Nagpur-based Rashtrasant Tukovoji Maharaj University VC S N Pathan.

His predecessor, a Haryana cadre officer of the Indian Administrative Service, resigned five weeks ago-- April 7-- following a controversial campus visit by then Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav.

The visit triggered complaints to the Election Commission by political parties about possible political overtones in the context of the Assembly polls.

Holder of D Sc in Ecology, Prof Azis took several initiatives at Cochin University. These include setting up a Modern Marine Engineering Campus, an Aerospace Technology Department, M Sc in Nano Science, Rajiv Gandhi Chair in Contemporary Studies, the announcement said.

It said he has 77 research publications to his credit.

UNI