P.K. Abdul Aziz (born 18 January 1947), also known as P. K. Abdul Azis, is a scientist in ecology and biodiversity and an academic from India who has published 77 research papers,. He has been the Vice-Chancellor of

Cochin University of Science and Technology Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) is a state government-owned autonomous university in Kochi, Kerala, India. It was founded in 1971 and has three campuses: two in Kochi (Kalamassery and Ernakulam) and one in Kuttanad, Alapp ...

and

Aligarh Muslim University Aligarh Muslim University is a Collegiate university, collegiate, Central university (India), central, and Research university, research university located in Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India, which was originally established by Sir Syed Ahmad Kh ...

. He is also the former Vice-Chancellor of the

University of Science and Technology Meghalaya A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Univ ...

. He is also the chairman of the Expert Committee for Revision of Curriculum for School Education, appointed by the Kerala government.

Early education and career

He received a D.Sc in Ecology (2002) and a PhD (1978) from the Department of Aquatic Biology & Fisheries,

University of Kerala University of Kerala (formerly known as University of Travancore) is a state-run public university in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital of Kerala, India. It was established in 1937 by a promulgation of the Maharajah of Travancore, Chithi ...

. He led the Department of Ecology and Marine Biology at the

Saline Water Conversion Corporation Saudi Water Authority (SWA), formerly the Saline Water Conversion Corporation, is a Saudi Arabian government authority responsible for regulating and monitoring water sector business and services to enhance water sustainability across the Kingdo ...

Research and Development Centre,

Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...

as chairman during 1993–2002. He was a professor at

Kerala University University of Kerala (formerly known as University of Travancore) is a state-run public university in Thiruvananthapuram, the state capital of Kerala, India. It was established in 1937 by a promulgation of the Maharajah of Travancore, Chithira ...

and

Kerala Agricultural University Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) is a State university (India), state university for agricultural education, recognised as a State Agricultural University by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). It is situated in Vellanikkara ...

before becoming

Vice-Chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth of Nati ...

of the

. He was the Vice-Chancellor of

from 11 June 2007, to 17 January 2012. During his term he initiated a "crackdown" against squatters and put into place ID cards for all students. The university also signed MoUs with Wisconsin University, Cleveland University, Atlanta University, Johns Hopkins University and New York University and began clearing a backlog of PhD submissions. ''India Today'' cited his efforts as leading to a "remarkable turnaround" for the university.

Vice-Chancellorship

Prof Azis first served as the Vice Chancellor of

(CUSAT) from 2004 - 2007. During his tenure, he initiated a plan to upgrade CUSAT to the status of

IIEST Indian Institutes of Engineering Science and Technology (abbreviated as IIEST) was a planned group of academic institutions in India for research and education in engineering, originally proposed by the Government of India in 2007 to meet the incr ...

(Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technology), but the project could not materialise due to a lack of understanding with the successive state governments and eventually, had to be shelved. Prof. Azis then served as the Vice Chancellor of

(AMU) from 2007 - 2012. He was widely credited with bringing a turnaround in the academic fortunes of the university and got AMU to the 5th spot in the India Today rankings. He was instrumental and the key initiator in the launching of AMU centres in Murshidabad (West Bengal), Malapparum (Kerala) and Kishanganj (Bihar). The former President of India and the then Finance Minister Shri.

Pranab Mukherjee Pranab Kumar Mukherjee ( ; born, 11 December 1935 – 31 August 2020) was an Indian statesman who served as the president of India from 2012 until 2017. He was the first person from West Bengal to hold the post of President of India. In a pol ...

announced the launch of the centres in his 2009 Budget speech. The AMU Malappuram Centre has been functioning since 2010, AMU

Murshidabad Murshidabad (), is a town in the Indian States and territories of India, state of West Bengal. This town is the headquarters of Lalbag subdivision of Murshidabad district. It is located on the eastern bank of the Hooghly river, Bhagirathi Riv ...

centre has been functioning since March 6, 2011 and AMU

Kishanganj Kishanganj is a city and district headquarters of Kishanganj district in Purnia division of Bihar state in India. History Kishanganj, which was previously part of Purnia district, is part of the Mithila region. Mithila first gained prominen ...

Centre was inaugurated in January 2014 by UPA Chairperson Smt. Sonia Gandhi. During his tenure as VC of AMU, Prof Azis courted controversy, and was under the CBI scanner for alleged financial impropriety related to 'travel concession for family, income tax payment from University funds and purchase of luxury cars". He was later cleared of all charges by the CBI with submission of its closure report at the Patiala House Court. Abdul Aziz's departure was cited by ''India Today'' as evidence of the "waning influence" of the "Malayali lobby" in Delhi. Even when the investigation had started, Abdul Aziz had refuted all the charges and had said that "the truth would eventually come out". At the end of his term, Aziz said he had "no regrets" about the decisions he had made during his tenure at the university.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Aziz, P. K. Abdul 1947 births Living people Scholars from Kerala Academic staff of Aligarh Muslim University Mappilas Vice-chancellors of Aligarh Muslim University People from Idukki district University of Kerala alumni 20th-century Indian biologists