P. K. Abdul Aziz

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 and Aligarh Muslim University. He is also the former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Science and Technology Meghalaya. 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.

He was a professor at Kerala University and Kerala Agricultural University before becoming Vice-Chancellor of the Cochin University of Science and Technology.

He was the Vice-Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University from 11 June 2007, 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. During his tenure, he initiated a plan to upgrade CUSAT to the status of IIEST (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 Aligarh Muslim University (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 announced the launch of the centres in his 2009 Budget speech. The AMU Malappuram Centre has been functioning since 2010, AMU Murshidabad centre has been functioning since March 6, 2011 and AMU Kishanganj 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. At the end of his term, Aziz said he had "no regrets" about the decisions he had made during his tenure at the university.