Professor Suppiramaniam Vithiananthan (8 May 1924 – 22 January 1989) was a Sri Lankan writer, academic and 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

University of Jaffna The University of Jaffna ( ta, யாழ்ப்பாணப் பல்கலைக்கழகம், translit=Yāḻppāṇap Palkalaikkaḻakam; si, යාපනය විශ්වවිද්‍යාලය, ''Yāpanaya Viśvavidyālaya''; ...

Early life and family

Vithiananthan was born on 8 May 1924. He was the son of Suppiramaniam, a proctor from

Tellippalai Tellippalai or Thellippalai ( ta, தெல்லிப்பழை Tellippaḻai
Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. He was educated at

St. John's College, Jaffna '' , motto_translation = Light Shines in the Darkness , location = , streetaddress = Main Street, Chundikuli , region = , city = Jaffna, Jaffna District , state = , p ...

. After school he joined the

Ceylon University College Ceylon University College was a public university college in Ceylon. Established in 1921, it was Ceylon's first attempt at university education. The college didn't award degrees under its own name but prepared students to sit the University of Lo ...

in 1941. He graduated from the

University of Ceylon The University of Ceylon was the only university in Sri Lanka (earlier Ceylon) from 1942 until 1972. It had several constituent campuses at various locations around Sri Lanka. The University of Ceylon Act No. 1 of 1972, replaced it with the Univer ...

in 1944 with an honours degree. Vithiananthan married Kamala. They had five children (Arulnamby, Mahilnangai, Anbu Chelvi, Inpa Chelvan and Siva Mainthan).

Career

After university Vithiananthan worked as a lecturer at the University of Ceylon. He was sub-warden of Jayatileka Hall and

warden A warden is a custodian, defender, or guardian. Warden is often used in the sense of a watchman or guardian, as in a prison warden. It can also refer to a chief or head official, as in the Warden of the Mint. ''Warden'' is etymologically ident ...

of Wijewardene Hall at the University of Ceylon. Vithiananthan then joined

School of Oriental and African Studies SOAS University of London (; the School of Oriental and African Studies) is a public research university in London, England, and a member institution of the federal University of London. Founded in 1916, SOAS is located in the Bloomsbury are ...

for post graduate studies, obtaining 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 1950 after producing a thesis titled ''Pattupattu – a Historical, Social and Linguistic Study''. After returning to

Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

Vithiananthan re-joined the University of Ceylon. The Faculty of Arts and Oriental Studies moved to Peradeniya and Vithiananthan was made Professor of Tamil in 1952. He served as Head of the Department of Tamil at the university. He served as president of the Jaffna Campus of the

University of Sri Lanka The University of Sri Lanka ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා විශ්වවිද්‍යාලය, ta, இலங்கைப் பல்கலைக்கழகம்) was the public university system of Sri Lanka from 1972 to 1978. Est ...

between August 1977 and December 1978. The Jaffna Campus was elevated to university status on 1 January 1979 with the creation of the University of Jaffna and Vithiananthan was appointed the first vice-chancellor of the new university. He held the position until July 1988. During his tenure the university underwent serious difficulties due to the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polic ...

. Vithiananthan kept the university open during the 1987–89 JVP Insurrection which forced every other university in the country to close.

Death

Vithiananthan died on 22 January 1989.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Vithiananthan, S. 1924 births 1989 deaths Academic staff of the University of Ceylon Alumni of SOAS University of London Alumni of St. John's College, Jaffna Alumni of the University of Ceylon People from Northern Province, Sri Lanka People from British Ceylon Sri Lankan Tamil people Sri Lankan academics Sri Lankan Tamil writers Vice-Chancellors of the University of Jaffna