By IANS,
Kolkata: Renowned professor of philosophy Amita Chattopadhyay Monday became the first vice chancellor of Presidency University, housed in the erstwhile Presidency College here.
“To enhance the quality of the university we will appoint good professors and try to attach good professors with the university,” said Chattopadhyay, herself an alumnus of Presidency College, and former professor of Jadavpur University.
Earlier this year, the West Bengal assembly passed a bill upgrading the famed 193-year-old Presidency College to a university.
The institution, with around 2,500 students, still churns out talent, but has been criticised for its falling standards due to politics in teacher recruitment and frequent student unrest.
Founded in 1817 as Hindu College, the institution was christened Presidency College in 1855 and cradled the 19th century Bengal Renaissance.
The college’s alumni include nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore, social reformer Swami Vivekananda, freedom fighter Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, filmmaker Satyajit Ray, Marxist leader and former West Bengal chief minister Jyoti Basu, economist Amartya Sen and scientist Satyendranath Bose.
The country’s first president, Rajendra Prasad, and present West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee too were students of the college.