First woman director of IIM-C quits amid tiff with faculty members

Kolkata, Mar 24: First woman Director of Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIM-C) Anju Seth has stepped down from her post in the backdrop of confrontation with a section of faculty members.

She resigned from the post one year before the end of her tenure in the premier management institute.

She has sent a letter to the Union Ministry of Education asking it to relieve her of the responsibilities.

"Yes, I have sent in my resignation letter on Sunday.

I am not well right now. I'm disappointed as I'm leaving a dream only partially fulfilled; it is not what I had sought," she told PTI.

She had taken two days sick leave before putting in her papers.

On Tuesday evening, the institute in a statement said, "The Board has received Prof Anju Seth's resignation and is meeting in a few days to deliberate on the next steps."

Seth, the first woman Director of the prestigious IIM-C, had taken over the charge in 2018.

Dean of External Relations Prashant Mishra will be helming the institution temporarily, sources in the IIM-C said.

Her decision to quit came amid a tiff with the teaching faculty of the institution.

A section of teachers of the 60-year-old IIM-C had recently complained to the Union Ministry of Education about Seth's conduct.

Seth had countered the accusation, saying that the faculty was trying to curb her powers as the director of IIM- C, a source in the institute said.

The source said in her resignation letter Seth had stated that certain groups in the premier B-school were resisting her bid to improve governance, bring reforms in the existing academic matters and encroaching on her executive powers.

"A majority of the faculty had turned against her accusing her of high handedness and she also lost the confidence of many in the board," the source said.

In her letter, Seth hoped for a bright future of the institute.

"I'm proud that I tried my best and that I have disrupted the conventional barriers that were holding back the opportunity for IIM Calcutta to emerge as a world-class institution," she said.

Hoping that in the future the institute will "continue to build on a culture of transparency and accountability as core values," Seth said, "I have been privileged to work with many dedicated and talented people and wish them the very best for the future".

Indicating she won't nurture any bitter memories, Seth concluded, "I continue to be a proud alumnus of IIM Calcutta and shall always be."

Seth had served as the Professor of Management at Virginia Tech, US and also held the position of Professor of Business Administration at the University of Illinois.