Koraput: Dr Ajit Kumar Shasany, former Director of the National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI) under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), on Thursday assumed charge as the Vice-Chancellor of the Central University of Odisha (CUO), Koraput.

Dr Shasany joined the university on the morning of August 6 after being appointed by the President of India as the Vice-Chancellor for a five-year term. His appointment was notified on July 2, 2026.

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He formally took over the charge from Prof N.C. Panda, Dean of Schools and Head of the Department of Sanskrit, who had been serving as the acting Vice-Chancellor.

The charge handover ceremony was attended by Registrar-in-Charge Dr Sanjay Kumar Pradhan, Finance Officer Duryodhan Sethy and other university officials. Following the ceremony, Dr Shasany interacted with students, research scholars and faculty members of the university.

According to the Ministry of Education, Dr Shasany has been appointed for a tenure of five years.

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A distinguished scientist and academic administrator, Dr Shasany has held several key positions during his career. Before joining CUO, he served as Director of the CSIR-National Botanical Research Institute (NBRI). He also headed the ICAR-National Institute for Plant Biotechnology in New Delhi and worked as Chief Scientist in the Biotechnology Division of the CSIR-Central Institute of Medicinal and Aromatic Plants (CIMAP), Lucknow.

Established under the Central Universities Act, 2009, the Central University of Odisha is among the 15 new central universities set up by the Government of India during the UGC XI Plan period to improve equity and access to higher education, particularly in underserved regions.

University officials expressed confidence that Dr Shasany's extensive experience in scientific research, innovation and academic leadership would further strengthen the institution's teaching, research and outreach activities.