The First Woman Vice-Chancellor of JNU

On 7 February 2022, Professor Shantisree Dhulipudi Pandit was appointed as the 13th Vice-Chancellor of JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University) in New Delhi. She is notably the first woman Vice-Chancellor of JNU. She has been appointed for a period of 5 years. It was President Ram Nath Kovind who approved her appointment.

Before being named as the Vice-Chancellor of JNU, Shantisree Dhulipudi Pandit was serving as a professor at Savitribai Phule Pune University. There, she taught in the department of politics and public administration.

Shantisree Dhulipudi Pandit was born on 15 July 1962 in St Petersburg of Russia. Her mother was a faculty at the Leningrad Oriental Faculty Department in Russia. Shantisree Pandit had done her master’s degree in political science from Presidency College in Chennai. She completed her PhD and MPhil courses in international relations from JNU School of International Studies between 1986 and 1990.

Shantisree Dhulipudi Pandit has many years of experience in teaching. She had also worked as a professor at Goa University before joining the Savitribai Phule Pune University. From 1985, she is associated with research and wrote her books such as ‘Parliament and Foreign Policy in India’ and ‘Environmental governance in Asia-Ethics and Policy’.

She has been associated with various reputed organizations such as the Indian Association of American Studies, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, the All-India Political Science Association, the Indian Secular Society, the Indian Council of Social Science Research, American Studies Research Institute among others.

Shantishree Pandit also was a member of the University Grants Commission and was a Visitor Nominee for Central Universities. She has provided a guide to a total of 29 PhD and held administrative positions in many institutions.

–Poorna Krishnan