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Rajesh Chandra is a Fijian academic. In February 2005 he was appointed the first
Vice-Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth and former Commonwealth nations, the chancellor is ...
of the newly founded University of Fiji. He served as Vice-Chancellor and President of
The University of the South Pacific The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a public research university with locations spread throughout a dozen countries in Oceania. Established in 1968, the university is organised as an intergovernmental organisation and is owned by the gov ...
(USP) ending his term in December 2018. Chandra was born in Maro in Nadroga Navosa
Province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...
. He completed his
Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...
degree at
The University of the South Pacific The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a public research university with locations spread throughout a dozen countries in Oceania. Established in 1968, the university is organised as an intergovernmental organisation and is owned by the gov ...
with distinction. and holds a
PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper ''Piled Higher and Deeper'' (also known as ''PhD Comics''), is a newsp ...
in Industrial/Development
Geography Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, a ...
, which he completed between 1981 and 1985 at the
University of British Columbia The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...
. He is the author of more than 45 articles in
academic journal An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as permanent and transparent forums for the presentation, scrutiny, and ...
s and books. He is also the author or editor of five books, including ''Industrialization and Development in the Third World'' and ''An Atlas of Fiji'', which is used as a textbook in all Fijian secondary schools.


USP career

Chandra served on the staff of the
University of the South Pacific The University of the South Pacific (USP) is a public research university with locations spread throughout a dozen countries in Oceania. Established in 1968, the university is organised as an intergovernmental organisation and is owned by the gov ...
(USP), the South Pacific Islands regional university, from 1975 to 2005, before taking up the Vice-Chancellorship of the new University of Fiji. He was Deputy Vice-Chancellor at the USP for nine years, and also served for three years as Acting Vice-Chancellor, Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Academic), and Director of Planning and Development. From 1987 to 1988, he was Head of the School of Social and Economic Development, and from 1994 to 1996, of the Geography Department. In early June 2013, USP's council cleared Chandra of allegations (based on a petition circulated by a group called USP-devoted IE for Justice) of corruption and abuse of authority. After retiring from USP in December 2018, Chandra's successor, Professor
Pal Ahluwalia Pal Ahluwalia is Kenyan academic and Vice-Chancellor of University of the South Pacific. Ahluwalia was born in Nairobi, Kenya, and educated at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada and Flinders University in Australia. He worked as a professor ...
, alleged he had found evidence of significant abuse of office during Chandra's tenure. This included the promotion and overpayment of favoured managers and the systematic abuse of allowances and privileges, amounting to millions of dollars. The matter was investigated by New Zealand accounting firm BDO, which substantiated many of the allegations but th
report
was suppressed by the USP Council. The subsequent scandal over poor governance and mismanagement was widely documented in the international media. The University Council decided to move the headquarters of USP from Fiji to Samoa in protest at the Fiji Government's interference in the management of the regional institution.


International roles

Chandra served as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the
Commonwealth Universities Study Abroad Consortium A commonwealth is a traditional English term for a political community founded for the common good. Historically, it has been synonymous with "republic". The noun "commonwealth", meaning "public welfare, general good or advantage", dates from the ...
(CUSAC) from 1999 to 2003. He has been a visiting professor or research fellow at numerous institutions, including
McGill University McGill University (french: link=no, Université McGill) is an English-language public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1821 by royal charter granted by King George IV,Frost, Stanley Brice. ''McGill Universit ...
, the Macmillan Brown Centre for Pacific Studies at
Canterbury University The University of Canterbury ( mi, Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha; postnominal abbreviation ''Cantuar.'' or ''Cant.'' for ''Cantuariensis'', the Latin name for Canterbury) is a public research university based in Christchurch, New Zealand. It was f ...
, the National Centre for Development Studies of the
Australian National University The Australian National University (ANU) is a public research university located in Canberra, the capital of Australia. Its main campus in Acton encompasses seven teaching and research colleges, in addition to several national academies and ...
, and the Pacific Islands Development Program, East-West Center, in
Honolulu Honolulu (; ) is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, which is in the Pacific Ocean. It is an unincorporated county seat of the consolidated City and County of Honolulu, situated along the southeast coast of the islan ...
.


Personal life

Chandra is married with a son and a daughter.


References


Sources

The University of the South Pacific website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chandra, Rajesh People from Nadroga-Navosa Province Living people University of the South Pacific alumni Fijian Hindus Year of birth missing (living people) University of British Columbia alumni University of Fiji faculty Vice-chancellors of the University of the South Pacific Fijian expatriates in Canada