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Professor Surabhi Banerjee (M.A. Cal et. Leeds), Ph.D. (Cal) bears many mantles of a successful educational administrator, an excellent teacher , and an eminent writer . Currently Professor Banerjee is the Vice- Chancellor , Netaji Subhas (State ) Open University, 1, Woodburn Park, Kolkata- 700 020. Formerly the Pro-Vice Chancellor, University of Calcutta , she was lauded as the harbinger of many useful academic reforms in the oldest University in India . At NSOU she works very closely with the industry, the Central and the State governments to formulate policies and strategies for the advancement of this sector (ODL) at the state as well as the national level. Prior to these assignments she was Senior Professor and Head of the Department of English , University of Calcutta . Professor Banerjee was educated at Presidency College, Kolkata, at the University of Calcutta and at the University of Leeds (U.K.). Prior to joining the Department of English, University of Calcutta , she was teaching English Literature at Presidency College (West Bengal Higher Education Service) a premier academic institution Calcutta. Dr Banerjee is the (Hony.) Founder Director of the Centre for Creative Writing and Translation Studies at the University of Calcutta.

Professor Banerjee is a prolific writer ; till date Professor Banerjee has written 22 books in English as well as in Bengali on various aspects of English ,European and Bengali Literature which have been published by firstrate premier publishing houses in India (such as Harper Collins India , New Delhi , Orient Longman India , Penguin (Viking) , Penguin India , Sahitya Akademi , New Delhi , Allied Publishers , New Delhi , UBSPD , New Delhi , Dey’s Publishing , Calcutta, Papyrus , Calcutta , West Bengal Book Board , Calcutta , University of Calcutta , Rupa & Co , Calcutta and Bangla Academy , Govt. of West Bengal and the University of Calcutta. ). Her books on Research Methodology , on E.M. Forster , on Walter Pater, on Charles Baudelaire and on Keats are studied by students of English literature, Bengali literature and Comparative Literature at the Post-Graduate and research and doctoral levels. She has also edited a large number of publications, and delivered many invited Endowment Lectures at major national academic institutions. Professor Banerjee writes regularly for various national and international academic journals. As an eminent educationist she also writes regular columns on educational and academic issues for many reputed national English dailies .

Professor Banerjee is widely acclaimed for her contributions to the field of Novel, Stylistics, Comparative Literature and Translation Studies.

AWARDS RECEIVED :

Professor Surabhi Banerjee has been selected for the prestigious Bhartiya Shiksha Ratan Award by The Economic For Health And Educational Growth, Delhi (Award Date: 30 March 2008)

Professor Surabhi Banerjee is the recipient of the prestigious Indira Gandhi Priyadarshini Award 2007, New Delhi on 19 November 2007.

Professor Surabhi Banerjee is the recipient of the prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award 2007 (Vidya Varidhi) from Lions Club of Calcutta Megacity (Lions Clubs International District 322B2) .

Professor Surabhi Banerjee was selected by the US Embassy for the prestigious International Visitors’ Leadership Programme (IVLP). The programme was sponsored by the US Department of States. In this programme Professor Banerjee visited select prestigious Universities in the United States and meetings were organized with apex bodies on Higher Education in the U.S.

Professor Banerjee is the recipient of the prestigious Lila Puraskar (2005) (Award ) from the University of Calcutta as the Best Woman Writer for original contributions to literary criticism .

Professor Banerjee as the Vice-Chancellor of Netaji Subhas Open University , Kolkata received the International Award titled “The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) Excellence in Distance Education Award (EDEA) (2006) for Institutional Achievement ” from The Commonwealth of Learning , Vancouver, Canada .
Award from the University of Calcutta in recognition and appreciation of services to the University of Calcutta as the Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic Affairs) – Award received on 24 January 2007 during the function of completion of 150 years of existence of the University of Calcutta

As a distinguished writer of serious literary critical books in her own merit, Professor Banerjee has been allotted a spacious entry as a reputed writer of books on literary criticism in “Who’s Who in Indian Writing” published by Sahitya Akademi, Govt. of India , New Delhi.

Professor Banerjee also contributed to the Roundtable on India-US Higher Education Initiatives with Allan Hubbard, Montek Singh Ahluwalia. Meeting was also organized with Mr. Sam Pitroda, Chairman, National Knowledge Commission, India from 15 September to 29 September .

Dr. Banerjee, a top-ranker in all public examinations viz. in Higher Secondary Examination, in B.A. (English Honours) from Presidency College, in M.A. Calcutta University through Presidency College and in M.A. Leeds University, England , has been the recipient of the State Scholarship, National Scholarship, British Council Grant-in-aid and Charles Wallace Trust Fellowships all through her academic career . For post-doctoral research work in Literary Critical Linguistics she visited the University of Cambridge and the University of East Anglia , U.K. and worked under the guidance of the world-renowned British Linguist Professor Roger Fowler . She had also worked on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night under the supervision of the eminent Shakespeare and Elizabethan literature scholars , Professor Andrew Gurr and Professor Graham Parry.

Besides, Professor Banerjee has published 104 (One hundred and four ) academic papers and innumerable articles in journals here and abroad.

She has delivered several prestigious Memorial Lectures and quite a number of Endowment Lectures on her subject (On Invitation) and Convocation Addresses and presented countless research papers (264) till date at various academic and administrative seminars and programmes at different Universities outside the state and abroad. As resource-person she has delivered till date more than 100 lectures on her subject. She has regularly been guiding many students of Ph.D. programmes in the Departments of English and Linguistics and Bengali Literature and adjudicating Ph.D. theses at national and international levels.

Professor Banerjee has given countless interviews at various television channels including the (BBC , CNN , ABC , NDTV , Star News etc.) on different aspects of education / literature and social issues .

Experience as an Educational Administrator :

Currently Professor Banerjee is one of the senior most Vice-Chancellors in India. Nine (9) years and six months (till date) at the University of Calcutta as Pro Vice-Chancellor and as Vice-Chancellor of Netaji Subhas Open University , Kolkata .

 

The first tenure of Professor Banerjee as Vice-Chancellor of Netaji Subhas Open University ended in end November 2005 . On the basis of her excellent performance in developing and building the University & taking it to great heights , she has been reappointed by the Governor Sri Gopalkrishna Gandhi , State of West Bengal (Chancellor , Netaji Subhas Open University ) for the second tenure of another four years from end November , 2005 .

Professor Banerjee as the Vice-Chancellor of Netaji Subhas Open University , Kolkata received the International Award titled “The Commonwealth of Learning (COL) Excellence in Distance Education Award (EDEA) (2006) for Institutional Achievement ” from The Commonwealth of Learning , Vancouver, Canada .

Currently , Professor Banerjee is the Vice Chancellor of Netaji Subhas Open University , Kolkata . During her tenure as Vice-Chancellor , she has transformed the cartographical lines of Open and Distance education in the State as NSOU witnessed a phenomenal growth in the number of students from 3422 to 95,000 within a space of five years during her tenure. The State University has done exceptionally well under her leadership as she has introduced the concept of a fully wired e-Campus, e-Governance at 150 Study Centres spread across the state ; she has also created the resource pools of the most talented academics in India and has made arrangements to provide firstrate facilities to the learners at NSOU.

Under her dynamic leadership Netaji Subhas Open University has now emerged as a leader in distance education not only in Eastern India but also in the entire country . The University has recorded a phenomenal growth both in terms of enrolment – which is a very impressive nearly 200% per year – and also in the prodigious variety of innovative and pioneering courses and programmes . Currently 120, 000 students are enrolled at 161 Study Centres of the University all over the state . The University’s formal collaborative MoU with CMI , Chennai , adds to the long list of collaborations at the national level with organizations like NASSCOM in the field of IT, the M S Swaminathan Research Foundation , Chennai , in the field of biodiversity initiatives . The University has been successfully running an Online Bangla course from March 2004 called ONLINE BANGLA in collaboration with CIIL ( Central Institute of Indian Languages ) , Mysore . The University has developed a highly advanced & well equipped state-of-the art audio-recording and transmission studio from where NSOU is running in partnership with Indira Gandhi National Open University , a 16-hour educational FM channel at 105.4 Megahertz called Gyanvani FM which attracts hundreds of callers everyday .

Development of the Green Campus ( on 15 acres of land ) and Bio-Village in Kalyani mainly for Biodiversity initiatives and Vocational Development Programmes

Instituted a highly sophisticated and e-enabled Evaluation and Admission System .

Set up a state-of-the art Computer Laboratory .

Professor Banerjee has instituted during her tenure several Memorial and Endowment Lectures , such as Srinivasa Ramanujan Memorial Lecture , Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Memorial Lecture , Endowment Lecture on Open and Distance Learning , Foundation Day Lecture . The First Acharya Jagadish Chandra Bose Memorial Lecture was delivered by Professor R.A. Mashelkar , FRS , Director General , Council of Scientific & Industrial Research and the second was delivered by Professor Goverdhan Mehta , FRS , Director , Indian Institute of Science , Bangalore the third was delivered by Dr. Mani L. Bhaumik , eminent laser scientist and President , Cosmogenics , Los Angeles , California , USA . The First Foundation Day Lecture was delivered by Dr. A.P. Mitra , FRS , the eminent scientist and Bhatnagar Fellow and the second was delivered by Dr. G.Madhavan Nair , Chairman , Indian Space Research Organisation , the third was delivered by Sri Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharyya, Mayor, Kolkata Corporation on “Kolkata— Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow.” The fourth was delivered by Professor V.N. Rajasekharan Pillai , Vice-Chancellor , Indira Gandhi National Open University and Chairman , Distance Education Council . The first Srinivasa Ramanujan Memorial Lecture was delivered by Professor. C. S. Seshadri, FRS, Director, Chennai Mathematical Institute (CMI) . The second was delivered by Dr. Bhalchandra Mungekar , Hon’ble Member , Planning Commission , Government of India . The Third was delivered by Professor R. Sridharan , eminent mathematician from Chennai Mathematical Institute (University ) , Chennai . The Endowment Lecture on “Extraordinary Education for Ordinary People ” was delivered by Sir John Daniel , President and CEO , Commonwealth of Learning , Vancouver , Canada . The Second Endowment Lecture on was delivered by Professor H. P. Dikshit, Former Vice-Chancellor IGNOU . The Third Endowment Lecture on “Open and Distance Learning ” was delivered by Professor Mahmood H. Butt , Vice-chancellor , Allama Iqbal Open University , Islamabad , Pakistan .

During her tenure the University has signed several significant MoUs for various collaborative partnership programmes both at the State and the National level .

Under the leadership of Professor Banerjee, NSOU has introduced many pioneering , innovative and need-based, demand-driven courses which are suited to the needs of the modern and particularly rural learners .

Professor Surabhi Banerjee is the Second Vice-Chancellor of the University and it is under her dynamic leadership the University has achieved national and international visibility during the last few years .

Introduction of the University Newsletter ASCENT and introduction of e-journal MUKTAYE

NSOU has won high accolades as a very successful University from Dr. A P J Abdul Kalam , The President of India , Sir John Daniel , President and CEO Commonwealth of Learning , Professor M.S. Swaminathan , Chairman , M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundations , Mr. Kiran Karnik , President , NASSCOM , Mr. Sudeep Banerjee , Education Secretary, Ministry of Human Resource Development , Government of India , Professor R.A. Mashelkar , Director-General , CSIR And Secretary , Dept. of Science, Government of India , Professor Goverdhan Mehta , Director, Indian Institute of Science , Dr. G. Madhavan Nair , Chairman , ISRO, Department of Space , Govt. of India , Dr. Mani L. Bhaumik , eminent laser scientist and President , Cosmogenics , Los Angeles , California , USA , Dr. Bhalchandra Mungekar , Hon’ble Member , Planning Commission , Government of India , Professor R. Sridharan , eminent mathematician from Chennai Mathematical Institute (University ) , Chennai . These dignitaries visited Netaji Subhas Open University during her tenure as Vice-Chancellor and highly appreciated the extraordinarily expansive and progressive activities of the University .

 

Administrative Leadership as Pro-Vice-Chancellor in Calcutta University :