CHANDIGARH: Manjit Singh Kang, 59 , a professor of quantitative genetics at Louisiana State University, USA, was Monday appointed Vice Chancellor of  Punjab Agricultural University.

The Board of Directors of PAU at a meeting held at Chandigarh cleared the name of Kang from among panel of three eminant scientists including S.S.Bains former Director of Punjab agriculture department. The post of VC had fallen vacant after resignation of K.S.Aulakh.

The PAU Board of Directors had in the last meeting nominated three member committee comprising Chief Secretary Ramesh Inder Singh, Financial Commissioner Development G.S.Sandhu and Director Agriculture Balwinder Singh.

It is considered that Kang has a global experience and view of agriculture and his appointment is expected to help Agriculture university regain its lost glory. The PAU had lost track of research work and as result not even a single variety of wheat and rice was given by the university during last over twenty years except for improving certain old varieties.

Kang immediately after hearing about his appointment said that his first priority would be to realign a few things at PAU itself. We need to review the courses and re-structure them. Agriculture education, research and extension services need to be reviewed and re-aligned. At the same time, problems of agriculture need to be seen as socio-economic problems and not just as economic problems. "The state is looking at diversification and we need to go that very way, he added.”

Kang was called by Chief Minsiter Parkash Singh Badal on Sunday for a personal meeting and his appointment was cleared by Badal before PAU board of directors considered it.

Kang is a batch-mate of well-known PAU scientists Dr Lal Singh Brar, Zora Singh Brar and  G.S. Hira. Apart from teaching at the US university,  Kang is also a Fellow, Crop Science Society of America, a Fulbright Senior Scholar to Malaysia (1999), president of Association of Agricultural Scientists of Indian Origin (AASIO), president of Louisiana State Conference of the American Association of University Professors, senior editor of Journal of Crop Improvement, senior editor of Journal of New Seeds, associate editor of Crop Science and associate editor of Agronomy Journal.