Sampath Amaratunge

Sampath Amaratunge (born 1 November 1964) is the chairman of the University Grants Commission, Sri Lanka. He was appointed by the president on 2 January 2020, and assumed the role the following day. Amaratunge was previously the vice-chancellor at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Sri Lanka, and the chairman of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Directors (CVCD). He was elected as a member of the Association of Commonwealth Universities United Kingdom as a member representing constituency II.

Early life and career Sampath Amaratunge was born on 1 November 1964 in Battaramulla, Sri Lanka, to Priyadarshani Atthanayake and Sarath Chandrasiri Perera Ameratunge. He enrolled at Ananda College Colombo in 1970,

Vice-chancellor Amaratunge is currently the twice-appointed vice-chancellor of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. He first assumed the position in November 2014 when he was appointed by Mahinda Rajapaksa. In November 2017 he was re-appointed as vice-chancellor to serve a second term by Maithripala Sirisena. During his first term he formulated two new faculties for the University of Sri Jayewardenepura: the Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of Technology.

He introduced a number of new departments including: Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Department of Sociology, Department of Anthropology, Department of English Language Teaching, Department of Philosophy and Psychology, Department of Sports Science, and the Department of Polymer Science.

He reorganised the Research and Publication Committee of the university to the level of a council with twenty five research centres.

In 2018, Amaratunge founded the Invention Innovation and Venture Creation Council (IIVCC) at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura to bridge the link between the university and the industry. At present the IIVCC has 50 start-ups registered and over 15 patent holders. The IIVCC operates as a council where students and university staff work collaboratively to develop new inventions and innovations. In early 2019 an exhibition, Innovate 2019, was held to showcase the inventions, innovations, and ventures.

Amaratunge signed more than 60 MoU's collaborating with many locally and internationally acclaimed institutes. The hostel occupancy of the university has been increased by over 50% and several infrastructural developments have been made.

CVCD Chairman Amaratunge was appointed chairman of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Directors for 2019. During his time as the head of FUTA, Amaratunge received death threats in response to measures taken to obtain said increment.

Sports Amaratunge continued playing sports as an undergraduate, and he founded the university's first cricket team and was repeatedly awarded the best sportsman award at the university's Colours Night.

Upon joining the academia, he contributed to developing the sports section of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura and the sports of all state universities in the country. During his term (2004–2008) as the president of the Sports Advisory Board of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, he reconstructed the university swimming pool, which is one of the largest in the country with a donation from Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Amaratunge was appointed president of the Sri Lanka University Sports Association (SLUSA) in 2008. In his term of one year he organized a mini-Olympic Games event at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura.