V.G. Talwar: A man of wide experience At last, it has happened after a prolonged wait for more
than a year! The news is that Dr. V.G.Talwar, Professor
of Library and Information Science, University of Mysore,
has been appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of
Mysore. The academic and administrative profile of the
man who is going to head, lead and manage the affairs
of the University of Mysore for the next four years is
proof enough to indicate what the new Vice-Chancellor
is capable of.
Humility and down to earth temperament endowed
with practical wisdom are the hallmarks of the
personality of the new Vice-Chancellor. All those who
know him personally would agree with one voice that
it is indeed a great gesture that a man of simplicity
and self-effacement committed to quality-oriented
higher education has been elevated to the post of a
Vice-Chancellor of a prestigious University struggling
at the moment to keep up its reputation.
He has an uphill task in setting right certain irregularities
committed in the recent past. Harnessing pulls and
pressures of different sorts would be one of the
real challenges awaiting him as he takes up his new
assignment. Looking for and having right people as
part of his team management could go a long and
effective way in meeting the challenges ahead of him.
Having been an insider for many years could be a
great aid.
A man with a heart of wisdom derived from vast and
wide experience as teacher and administrator,
Prof.Talwar, known as VGT in the shortened version
of his name, is a well-known name in the academic and
administrative circle within and outside the University
of Mysore. There is no department that he is not familiar
with. He is aware of the ins and outs of almost all the
Sections at Crawford Hall by virtue of having served as
Registrar of the University for four years and four months
and being a Chairman or a member of one committee or
the other till date.
Prof.Talwar is also known for his outreaching sensitivity.
His friendly and helpful nature could be a great source
of strength and problems as well. A fine sense of a
compassionate worldview, thanks to his humble origin
and family background, pervades his reasoning and
discernments. Free from coterie culture, kitchen cabinet,
and mean and mud-slinging politicking, he has the art of
cultivating the spirit of accommodativeness lest ego
clashes and ghetto interests and conflicts should
overpower the management of academic and administrative
matters of the University.
As an aspirant for the post, he has shared his vision for
the development of the University of Mysore with some
of his friends besides formulating the same in a more
organised manner in his profile documentation made
available to the search committee that selected him as
one of the three persons recommended for the post.
If only politics and interventions of people with vested
interests do not bother him too much, we could count
on his intellectual acumen, dialogic imagination,
team-building spirit, practical wisdom for smooth
management of the University that has been blessed
with a special grant of one hundred crore by the
Government of India besides the other usual budget
already made available by the State Government
and the budget to be generated from local resources.
— A.S. Dasan, University of Mysore Bio-data • Born on 1st June, 1950; Son of a farmer, hailing
from Jikanur village in Belgaum District.
• Pursued higher education in Bangalore University
and passed out with a Gold Medal in 1978; started
his career in Bharat Electronics Ltd. Bangalore
( 10 + years), served Mangalore University for
6 + years before joining the University of Mysore
where he has been for the last 17 years;
• Important positions held in the University of Mysore:
Director of UGC – Academic Staff College ( 4 + years);
Registrar of the University ( 4 + years);
• Experience in Research Guidance: has successfully
guided 13 students till date for PhD;
• Publications: 10 books one of which is Legacy of
learning (2002), a comprehensive and significant
reference book on the history of development of
the University of Mysore with a vision for its future,
46 monographs, and 50 articles;
• Has been recognised and honoured by the Govt.
of Karnataka for his meritorious services in the field
of higher education, especially in the field of
library science and digital libraries.
