About 50 WOU staff gathered for the tea party to celebrate the conferment of Professorship on Dr Santhiram Raman, Dean of the School of Education, Languages and Communications (SELC).

PART OF THE ACADEMICS AT THE TEA PARTY.
The tea party at the main campus today also served as the platform for the presentation of certificates for completion of the in-house ODL Core Competency Training Programme.
In his congratulatory address, WOU Vice Chancellor Prof Dato’ Dr Ho Sinn Chye said that the reputation of a university is known by a few parameters. He added, “For an established University, usually one of the criteria is how many Professors and Associate Professors you have, as far as accreditation is concerned. It also tells that the University has matured over the years.”

THE NEW PROFESSOR OF WOU, PROF SANTHIRAM (CENTRE).
Prof Santhiram, in his speech, expressed “a sense of achievement and fulfilment that I have reached the top of the academic pack. That my peers have recognised my body of work as suitable enough to be conferred this Professorship. I am very happy, proud and honoured by that.”
He motivated the other academics that ‘age is just a state of the mind. You can achieve what you want if you set your mind to it and work towards it.”
Prof Santhiram stated that teaching has always been his passion and that his new goal now is to publish lots of materials in the ODL mode, adding, “I’ll stay here as long as the institution wants me, and after which if I move it is for permanent retirement, from work.”

ONG THENG THENG OF SELC CONGRATULATES HER DEAN.
Meanwhile lecturer Ong Theng Theng, representing her SELC colleagues, said, “We would like to thank you for your guidance, support and encouragement. You have been there to uplift us when we go into your room with our daily problems. You give us solutions to managing our course development, course presentation, and appointment of course writers and ECAs. And it’s done with such ease that it takes away our stress.”
Among those who attended the tea party were Acting Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academic) Prof Tham Choy Yoong, Assistant Vice Chancellor (Academic Support) Prof Mohandas Menon, Deans and the Heads of Department.