Governor MC Bhandare. Picture by Badrika Nath Das

Bhubaneswar, April 5: Governor and chancellor M.C. Bhandare today interviewed the three aspirants for the post of the vice-chancellor of Utkal University.

According to sources, Bhandare met each of the candidates for about 15 to 20 minutes during which he asked them about their vision for the university and how the standard of education could be enhanced in the prestigious institution.

The three candidates, who were interviewed by the chancellor, were R.C. Mohanty and P.K. Sahu of Utkal University and R.K. Chouhan, who is the secretary of the Union Grant Commission (UGC), New Delhi.

During the interview, the chancellor also stressed on reviving the glory of the university. “We were also asked to give a blueprint on how to achieve excellence in the academic field,” one of the candidates told The Telegraph.

Other aspects, including securing funds for conducting various UGC-sponsored programmes, were also discussed.

The trio was shortlisted for the final call following the recommendations of a search committee comprising former chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) P.C. Hota, governor’s representative Srinibas Sahu and professor P.N. Verghese.

Bhandare enjoys the right either to accept the recommendation or to pick a new candidate from the list of 90 odd-candidates who had initially applied for the post. Out of the applicants, the two names that figure in the final list are associated with Utkal University.

P.K. Sahu of the MBA department joined the university in 1976 and has held various key posts of the department including the chairman of the PG council of the University. R.C. Mohanty, a retired professor of botany department, is known for his research programme.

Earlier, Mohanty was also shortlisted for the V-C’s post in 2008 but his name was struck down at the last moment. The term of the present V-C, Binayak Rath, who was selected for this slot that year, ends this month.