Row over BU VCs open letter to Infosys founder

BANGALORE: The Bangalore University (BU) has approached Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy to be the Chairman of Board of Governors of University Visvesveraya College of Engineering (UVCE). This time, however, the University authorities have chosen to interact with the former honcho through “direct means of communication”.  BU Vice-Chancellor Dr N Prabhu Dev has written an open letter to Murthy, requesting him to be part of the Board.In his letter, V-C has requested Murthy to guide and transform the college into an institute of excellence before of the Centenary year of the College (2017).  He mentions that presently he is serving as the chairman of the Board and he would voluntarily relinquish the post in favour of Murthy for the  development of UVCE. For a project aided by World Bank, UVCE has been sanctioned Rs. 22.5 crore and BU has been directed by the World Bank to appoint an outsider as the chairman of the Board of Governors. It maybe recalled that Prabhu Dev who had constituted the Board, had appointed himself as the chairman. A senior professor from UVCE told The New Indian Express that following Murthy’s comments on the quality of students at IITs, V-C decided to use the opportunity and added that while Murthy might be a simple human being, inviting him through an open letter is not a good gesture. “Is V-C expecting Narayana Murthy to read his open letter through media and  stand in front of him the next day,” the professor questioned. He opined that a person like Murthy should be given personal invitation.When contacted, UVCE Principal K R Venugopal said he is happy on hearing about the invitation  and is looking forward to work under Murthy. “Under his chairmanship, UVCE will progress,” he added.  Dr N Prabhu Dev was unavailable for comment.