USP appoints Professor Chandra as new Vice-Chancellor

Hon. Fiame N. Mata’afa on behalf of the USP Council to formally announce the appointment of Professor Rajesh Chandra to the position of Vice-Chancellor of the University of the South Pacific.

Prior to becoming the Foundation Vice-Chancellor of the University of Fiji, Professor Chandra served USP for close to 30 years, where he held a number senior positions including Acting Vice-Chancellor, Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic) and Director of Planning and Development.

Over those years, he also made significant contributions to the international academic community. Professor Chandra was Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Commonwealth Universities’ Study Abroad Consortium (CUSAC) from 1999-2003 and he was also a member of the Technical Advisory Committee exploring the feasibility of a Virtual University for Commonwealth Small States. Within the Pacific region, Professor Chandra was part of the Pacific delegation to the World Summit on Sustainable Development and he has attended the Pacific Island Leaders’ Meeting, the Commonwealth Education Ministers Meeting, the Forum Economic Ministers meeting, the Pacific Islands Forum and the General Meeting of the Association of Commonwealth Universities.

In this our 40th year, Professor Chandra becomes the first USP graduate to be appointed Vice-Chancellor. In noting his contributions and achievements and in making this appointment, the USP Council is confident that Professor Chandra will provide bold leadership and drive decisive change in dealing with the suite of long-standing issues that need to be addressed.

On behalf of the USP Council, I am pleased that Professor Chandra has accepted the appointment and I look forward to working with him in the coming years to take the University through the many challenges that lie ahead. Professor Chandra’s appointment is for six years and he is expected to take up the position in early August 2008.

Source: www.usp.ac.fj