Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit becomes JNU's first woman Vice Chancellor

Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit is also an alumna of JNU where she did her MPhil and PhD in International Relations. (Image credit: All India Radio/Twitter)

Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Monday welcomed its first woman Vice Chancellor professor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit.

She joins JNU from the Department of Politics and Public Administration, Savitribai Phule Pune University.

Announcing her new tenure, former university Vice-Chancellor M Jagadesh Kumar tweeted, "My hearty congratulations to professor Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit. I am handing over the charge to her today and wish her success in her new role."

JNU congratulates Prof. Santishree Dhulipudi Pandit for being appointed as the new Vice Chancellor of JNU for a period of five years.@EduMinOfIndia @ugc_india pic.twitter.com/PMzdDyZ6mV

— Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) (@JNU_official_50) February 7, 2022

Kumar was on February 4 appointed chairperson of the University Grants Commission (UGC). His five-year term as JNU Vice Chancellor had ended in January last year, but he was asked to stay on till his successor was selected.

Pandit was born in St Petersburg, Russia (USSR), on 15 July, 1962. Her father Dr Dhulipudi Anjaneyulu is an author, journalist and retired civil servant, and her late mother Mulamoodi.Adilakshmi was a professor of Tamil and Telugu at the Leningrad Oriental Faculty Department (USSR).

Pandit holds a diploma in social work from California State University, Longbeach, USA, BA in History and Social Psychology and – MA in Political Science from Presidency College, Madras. She is also an alumna of JNU where she did her MPhil and PhD in International Relations.

She  has been teaching for 33 years, in India and other countries such as Sri Lanka and Singapore.

The 59-year-old has also authored books such as Parliament and Foreign Policy in India and Restructuring Environmental governance in Asia-Ethics and Policy.

Pandit is also fluent in Tamil, Telugu, Hindi, Sanskrit, Marathi and English, and  can understand Kananda, Malayalam and Konkani.