New Delhi, Sept 2: The Delhi government has initiated the process to appoint a new Vice-Chancellor of the Delhi Sports University, nearly five years after Olympic medallist Karnam Malleswari was appointed as the institution’s first head.
The Directorate of Higher Education has invited applications for the post, with candidates required to submit their applications by October 16.
The Vice-Chancellor will have a five-year tenure and may be considered for another term, subject to the prescribed rules.
According to the eligibility criteria, applicants can include distinguished sports scholars, sportspersons of international standing, internationally recognised coaches and professors associated with reputed sports institutions or academies.
Candidates applying under the professor category must have at least 10 years of relevant experience.The broader eligibility provisions were incorporated through the university’s First Statutes, which were notified in January 2022.The Delhi Sports University Act, 2019, provides that the Vice-Chancellor should be a sports scholar or a sportsperson of international eminence.
The subsequent statutes laid down additional qualifications for the position.The selection process will be overseen by a search-cum-selection committee comprising senior sports and government officials as well as a sportsperson of international stature.
The committee will include a former or serving Director of the National Institute of Sports, Patiala, a former or serving Director of the Sports Authority of India or the Delhi government’s Director (Sports), a distinguished international sportsperson and the Principal Secretary or Secretary of Higher Education, Delhi, who will act as the member-secretary.
The committee will recommend three candidates to the Chancellor for consideration for the Vice-Chancellor’s post.Malleswari, who won a bronze medal in weightlifting at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, was appointed the university’s first Vice-Chancellor in 2021.
Her Olympic achievement made her the first Indian woman to win an Olympic medal.Established under the Delhi Sports University Act, the university is mandated to promote sports education and training, identify and nurture sporting talent and encourage teaching and research in sports science and related areas.
The appointment of a new Vice-Chancellor is expected to provide fresh leadership to the institution as it continues to develop its academic and sports-related programmes.
