Keladi Shivappa Nayaka University of Agricultural and Horticultural Sciences of Shivamogga will hold its eighth convocation at the university campus at Iruvakki in Sagar taluk on July 21. Rajya Sabha member and Dharmadhikari of Dharmasthala D. Veerendra Heggade has been invited to deliver the convocation address. Governor and chancellor of the university Thaawarchand Gehlot will preside over the occasion.
R.C. Jagadeesha, Vice-Chancellor of the university, in a press conference in Shivamogga on Tuesday, said the university invited Mr. Heggade to deliver the convocation.
When asked why a religious personality had been invited to deliver the address, the Vice-Chancellor maintained that Mr. Heggade’s contributions to agriculture and rural development had been significant. “We have not invited him considering a religious personality, but his contributions to agriculture. Through his organisations, he has been working towards rural development. His address will inspire people,” he said. Minister for Agriculture N. Cheluvarayaswamy will take part in the convocation as chief guest.
The university, established in 2013, will present degrees to 409 graduates, 101 postgraduates, and 23 candidates who completed their PhD. As many as eight degree students, 14 postgraduates, and seven PhD students will get gold medals, the V-C said.
Vacancies
In the last 10 years since its establishment, the university recruited 101 assistant professors recently. Even after filling them, there are currently 124 vacancies. Within the available staff, the university had been taking up research and extension activities, besides teaching, he said.
The university has developed three varieties of paddy - Sahyadri Siri, Sahyadri Jalamukti, and Sahyadri Saptami - suitable to different conditions in the Malnad region. Four students of the university were selected to study at Kansas State University in the United States and similarly six students were chosen to study at Eberhard Karls University in Germany as part of their degree programme, the V-C said.
K.C. Shashidhar, Registrar, and other officers were present at the press conference.
