Academic and Administrative Profile
Prof. V. Bharathi Harishankar is the Vice Chancellor of Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women (Deemed University), Coimbatore which is a Women’s University with a NAAC grade of A++ (3.65/4 CGPA). Before assuming charge as Vice Chancellor, she was Professor of English and Founding Head of the Department of Women’s Studies, University of Madras.
Prof. Bharathi’s research interests include Postcolonial Studies, Gender Studies, Literary Theory, Translation, Web Based Pedagogy and Open Educational Resources. She has 126 publications including books, edited volumes, textbooks, articles and translations in National and International journals. She has presented invited talks in over 100 conferences, most notably at Cambridge University, UK and La Pietra Dialogues at New York University, Florence. She has successfully guided 18 M.Phil and 16 Ph.D scholars. She has completed National and International Projects for IDRC Canada, National Commission for Women, UGC, ICSSR and Erasmus +.
Prof. Bharathi is the recipient of the following Awards and Honours
- Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, London, UK
- International Visitor’s Leadership Programme of the US Department of State
- MHRD’s Leadership for Academicians Program (LEAP) at Jamia Millia Islamia and University of Virginia
- Humanities Research Centre Travel Grant, Australia
- Visiting Fellowships to Universities in New Zealand
- Shastri Indo-Canadian Faculty Enrichment Fellowship
- Shastri Indo-Canadian Collaborative Course Development Grant with Dr. Evelyn Ellerman
- Honorary Adjunct Professorship at Athabasca University, Canada
- Nominated Member of Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), Australia
- Consultant Author for Commonwealth of Learning and UNESCO
- Member, Editorial Board of the International Journal Communication and Culture
- Peer Reviewer for the International Journal, Sexualities
Prof.Bharathi has been nominated to the following at National and International Levels:
- Nominated South Zone Coordinator for Viksit Bharat initiatives by UGC / MoE. Coordinated 33 Universities across five States and one Union Territory
- Special Guest and invited speaker at Vice Chancellor’s Conference held in June 2024 at Raj Bhavan, Ooty.
- Invitee to G20 deliberations at IIT Madras
- Preliminary Panel Adviser for Sahitya Akademi Award in English
- Member, AIU’s Core Committee to formulate the National Policy on Blended Learning
- Member, UGC Committee for Admission Regulations
- Member of UGC’s National Committee for Choice Based Credit System
- NAAC Assessor and have completed six Peer Team Visits as Chairperson
- Member of the CII Southern Regional Committee on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
- Member of the CII Southern Regional Committees on Affirmative Action
- Member of Selection Committee for India Studies Chairs for Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR)
- Member, Reviewer Committee to select project proposals under IoE scheme, University of Hyderabad
- Member of the School Board of Humanities at University of Hyderabad
- Member, Selection Committee of Golden Jubilee Conference and Lecture Series Grant for Ministry of Education and Shastri Indo-Canadian Institute
- Secretary – University Women’s Association Madras
- Treasurer – University Women Asia
- Treasurer – SAARC Graduate Women International
Prof. Bharathi’s Administrative contributions include the following:
At the University of Madras, she has been the Dean Student Affairs, Director IQAC, Director International Centre, Coordinator RUSA, Director UGC HRDC and Member Syndicate as well as the Convener of the Committee to discharge the duties of the Vice Chancellor in his absence. She was the founding Head and Coordinator of the Department of Women’s Studies and Centre for Web-Based Learning respectively. Prof. Bharathi was instrumental in setting up a Gender Lab, the first of its kind in the country, to offer online workshops on gender sensitization, in collaboration with Sutherland Global Services.
At Avinashilingam Institute for Home Science and Higher Education for Women (Deemed University) her contributions as Vice Chancellor include:
- Pro-actively implementing the NEP including the registration of all incoming students inthe ABC portal, translation of textbooks into Tamil, implementing the LOCF for all courses, etc.
- Initiating the AIU supported Academic and Administrative Development Centre, the first of its kind in the country
- Successfully completing the fourth cycle of NAAC reaccreditation with A++, NIRF Rank of 98 and NBA Accreditation for two Engineering Departments
- Clearing about 500 pending Audit paras
- Forging collaborations with leading institutions such as IITM Research Park
- Establishing the Centres for Online Learning and Continuous Education Programmes
- Formulating institutional level policies and guidelines including E-Waste Management Policy and Software Installation and Usage Policy