Photo Credit: JoeLodge
This week the Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD) should announce the name of the person who will hold fort at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, between the time the present director Dr Samir Barua ends his term March end and the appointment of the new director.
The new director will be announced within the next three months. Names of three candidates have gone to the MHRD on Saturday. They are Prof Ashish Nanda, Robert Braucher Professor of Practice at Harvard Law School, Prof Rakesh Basant, Professor of Economics at IIM-A and Prof G Raghuram whose forte is Public systems Group, also at IIM-A. The names of the candidates were sent in that order of preference, sources told PaGaLGuY.
The meeting that went on for a couple of hours, also discussed other names such as Arvind Sahay, Ravindra Dholakia, G Raghuram, Shailendra Mehta, Sebastian Morris and Rekha Jain – all high-up faculty from IIM-A. However, eventually, the selection committee along with the Board members came to a consensus with the three names. Though, not without drama.
Apparently, those present at the meeting had their preferences in place. For instance, many at the meeting felt that Dr Ashish Nanda is the better man to take reins since he has the right international exposure. Prof Nandas name was met with little resistance. However, there was a tussle between Prof Dholakia and Prof Basant. Prof Dholakia was a clear choice for some prominent people in the selection committee, however not all. Many preferred Prof Basant over Prof Dholakia. Finally, Prof Basant won in a show of votes.
The MHRD will now hold discussions over the names, after which they will go to the Cabinet for approval.
Whoever among the three make it to the top post, one thing is clear that that Dr Samir Barua will not get another extension. He has already got two extensions since officially ending his tenure on November 7, 2012. He was awarded the second extension on February 7, 2013 and was asked to stay on the post till March 23, 2013, the date fixed for the IIM-A convocation.
Barua, who has been teaching at IIM-A for more than 30 years is the first director to get an extension, that too, twice. Sadly, the search for the new director became ugly when professors within the institute protested against the extension given to Dr Barua. A memorandum signed by some 20 professors was sent to the MHRD against the extension. The memorandum, among other things, suggested that no extensions should be given to the IIM-A director as it was against the practise at IIM-A.
It was believed then that Dr Barua himself had asked the MHRD for a second term. This information was however negated by the director to PaGaLGuY.
This could probably be the reason that despite being a member of the IIM-A governing council, Dr Barua did not attend the crucial meeting on Saturday.
Meanwhile, at IIM Bangalare, the search continues. Both, IIM-A and IIM-B had inserted advertisements in international publications to seek a director with international exposure. That is how Prof Ashish Nandas name came into the reckoning at IIM-A.
With regards to IIM-B, while a few senior faculty members have expressed a desire to take over from Prof Pankaj Chandra (who is also on an extension), broadly, many think that Prof Chandra should be bestowed a second term. Chandra holds a Bachelor of Technology degree from Banaras Hindu University and a PhD from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, USA and has the right mix to take the institute forward on an international scale, it is believed.
Chandra’s name was also cleared for appointment as Chairman of the University Grants Commission (UGC) at the time his tenure at IIM-B was nearing an end in 2012. But that ran into litigation problems and the matter is still in the court.
News on the IIM-B front is also expected anytime soon.