Ravindra Dattatray Kulkarni appointed vice-chancellor of Mumbai University

A senior professor at the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT), Kulkarni had served as the pro-vice chancellor of MU during the tenure of former vice-chancellor Dr Suhas Pednekar.

Pednekar, who was appointed as MU VC in 2018, stepped down from the post on September 10, 2022. Even though he was yet to complete his five-year term, Pednekar stepped down after reaching the retirement age of 65 years. Dr Digambar Tukaram Shirke, the vice-chancellor of Shivaji University, Kolhapur, was appointed in-charge vice-chancellor of MU.

A list with the final five names was submitted to the Governor on May 19, the day when interviews of 20 shortlisted candidates were conducted by the Mumbai University VC search committee headed by former UGC chairman D P Singh.

Meanwhile, Dr Suresh Wamangir Gosavi has been appointed as the vice-chancellor of Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), which did not have a full-time VC for almost a year. Gosavi is a senior professor at the Department of Physics at the SPPU.

The Governor has also appointed Dr Sanjay Ghanshyam Bhave as the new vice-chancellor of Dr Balasaheb Sawant Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli. Bhave is the head of the Department of Agricultural Botany at the same university.