To many who believe that Jawaharlal Nehru University has lost its old charm, this will come as welcome news. The new vice chancellor, Sudhir Kumar Sopory, says he will not only focus on university achieving global recognition but will also revive the students' union elections. Taking charge as 11{+t}{+h} VC at JNU, Sopory says that excelling in research, putting the university among top 100 in the world, rewarding best teachers and bringing back the tradition of students' union elections will be his priority in the next five years.

"I want to see the university among the top 100 in the world and this can be achieved only if we excel in research activities and knowledge generation. I want to bring a significant change in quality and quantity of research," said Sopory.

A plant molecular biologist, Sopory is no new face to the university as he started his academic career with JNU at School of Life Sciences. He worked in the university till 1997. In fact, he was the first ever warden of the university and also served as vice president of the JNU Teachers' Association.

The JNUSU elections are on hold for last three years due to alleged violation of Lyngdoh Committee recommendations. Currently, the case is pending with the Supreme Court. Though the administration plays a negligible role in these elections, Sopory said: "The JNUSU elections are unique and something that I don't want to lose. I don't know as the VC how much I can help. But I can assure students that I will do my best to revive the process. After all, good politicians should come from universities.''

The new VC also said that transparency in administrative policies, improvement in teaching and making campus life attractive are other areas where he will focus. The VC also said that he will consult the community before taking major decisions. "If I start enforcing my agenda then there will be only hurdles. I also want to improve facilities in hostels and make campus life more attractive," said Sopory.

On academics, the VC said: "We have to break the barriers between schools and centres and encourage more interdisciplinary research.''

An old-timer at JNU, on his homecoming Sopory said: "I was part of JNU during the tenure of its first vice chancellor G Parthasarathy. Things were completely different when I joined. This was barren campus then. But now I see lot of greenery. I was also offered the position of director of National Botanical Research Institute, but I chose JNU and I am happy to be back on the campus.''