G. Viswanathan, the Founder and Chancellor of VIT University in India, was born on December 9, 1940 in a remote village in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. He has also served as a Member of the Legislative Assembly of Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu is one of the 28 states of India. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu lies in the southernmost part of the Indian Peninsula and is bordered by the union territory of Pondicherry, and the states of Kerala, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh...

. He was elected to the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly as an Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam candidate from Anaicut constituency

Anaicut (State Assembly Constituency)

From 1977-2006, Anaicut is a constituency in the legislative assembly, that includes the city, Anaicut. It is part of the Vellore , until the Election in 2006.-Members of the Legislative Assembly:...

 in 1980 election

Tamil Nadu state assembly election, 1980

The seventh legislative assembly election to Tamil Nadu was held on May 28, 1980. Election was held two years before the end of the term of M. G. Ramachandran administration as it was dissolved by the then President of India Neelam Sanjiva Reddy. Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam allied with the Indian...

 and from Arcot constituency

Arcot (State Assembly Constituency)

Arcot is a constituency in the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly, that includes the city, Arcot. It is part of the Arakkonam .-Madras State:-Tamil Nadu:AssemblyDurationName of M.L.A.Party Affiliation...

 in 1991 election

Tamil Nadu state assembly election, 1991

The tenth legislative assembly election of Tamil Nadu was held on 24 June 1991. The Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam - Indian National Congress alliance won the elections in a landslide and ADMK leader J. Jayalalithaa became the chief minister. This was her first term in office...

.

Dr. G. VISWANATHAN (GV)

Dr. GV, the founder-chancellor of VIT University, India, was born on December 8, 1938 in a remote village in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu. GV’s journey has influenced generations of people who came across him at every stage of his life.

Dr. GV - the Student

Dr. GV completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School as late as 2003. This is a pointer to his urge to be an eternal student and learn. He excelled in academics right through childhood and went on to obtain Masters Degree in Economics from the prestigious Loyola College, and completed Law from Madras University. His leadership skills were instantly noticed and his party chose him to contest the elections in 1967. He entered the Indian parliament carrying the hopes and aspirations of around 500,000 people of his constituency.

Dr. GV – the leader of the people

A student leader in his twenties entering Indian parliament was something unthinkable, especially in 1960s. He championed people’s issues in the parliament and they, in turn, reposed faith in the leader who fulfilled their expectations. They re-elected him by a bigger margin in the next election for another five-year term. He travelled to different parts of the world as a member of parliamentary delegations and appreciated issues in a global perspective. Dr. GV wanted to play a bigger role in the provincial politics so that he can make a direct contribution in bettering the lives of the people in the region. He was elected to Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly for ten years. During this period, he served as a Minister for two years.

Dr. GV – the educator

He established Vellore Engineering College in 1984 at Vellore. He envisaged that his institution would offer world class education to students who would be influencing the industry in future. The engineering college that started with an intake of 180 students in 1984 has grown as a university of over 14,000 students in 45 undergraduate and graduate programs with nearly 10,000 residing on the campus. It has attracted students from Europe for internships and professors across the continents for delivering lectures. It houses more than 1000 international students on the campus. For the past two years, VIT University was ranked #1 private engineering institution in India. ISO Certification from Holland, accreditation from United Kingdom and the highest accreditation grade from the Government of India reflect the University’s standing as a premier institution on the global front.

Dr. GV – the institution

Dr. GV helped women and unemployed youth in the region train on vocational aspects and encouraged them to be self-reliant. His initiatives have helped their standard of living. Dr. GV offers scholarships to students from disadvantaged sections of the society to pursue higher studies. He has adopted number of villages in an effort to improve the quality of their lives. He has embarked upon making Vellore - a city of around 500,000 population - greener and cooler by planting one million saplings. His vision reaches beyond the defined horizons.

"Chancellor Viswanathan is an institution by himself"