In an announcement made today by the Rector of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), Mr. Abdul Razak Dawood, the next Vice Chancellor of the university will be Dr. Sohail Naqvi who will assume office on July 1, 2013. Dr. Naqvi’s appointment follows the decision by the current Vice Chancellor, Dr. Adil Najam, to step down at the conclusion of the academic year.
Dr. S. Sohail H. Naqvi has served as the Executive Director of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) for 8 years. At the HEC he helped develop and implement a comprehensive strategy for the revival of the university education sector of Pakistan. With a PhD in Electrical Engineering and extensive teaching and research experience both in the US and Pakistan, Dr. Naqvi has a number of patents to his credit and has also worked with startups bringing high-tech inventions to the market place.
Dr. Naqvi earned his BSc, MSc and PhD degrees (all in Electrical Engineering) from Purdue University, USA. He served as an Assistant and Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering at the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, USA, before returning to Pakistan in 1995 to join the Faculty of Electronics at the GIK Institute of Technology. He remained at GIKI until end of 1999 as Professor and Dean. He joined the HEC in 2002 and became its Executive Director in 2004.
Dr. Sohail Naqvi, in a message to LUMS, said "I am delighted to have this opportunity to lead one of the finest institutions of higher learning in South East Asia. The founding fathers and leaders of LUMS have provided a superb platform to build a great university and I feel privileged and excited to be here in Lahore, at LUMS at this time when Pakistan can begin to reap the rewards of its investment in the talented youth of this country." He added that "it is my firm belief that people make an institution great and LUMS has the students, faculty and staff working in an environment to challenge the finest minds in the country to chart new pathways in the frontiers of human knowledge while also innovating to develop solutions to complex socio-economic, scientific and technical problems surrounding us. With hard work, discipline and an irreverent enthusiasm for accomplishing the hitherto impossible, I believe there are no limits to the standards of excellence this institution can attain."
In making the announcement and welcoming Dr. Naqvi to LUMS, Rector Abdul Razak Dawood said that the decision was made after a careful selection process and that "we all look forward to working with him and are confident he will further strengthen the vision and goals of LUMS.” Rector Abdul Razak Dawood added that “we all wish Dr. Sohail Naqvi a fruitful and successful stay at LUMS. We also wish to thank Dr. Adil Najam for his valuable contribution to LUMS and we wish him every success in his own onwards journey.”
LUMS Pro-Chancellor, Syed Babar Ali, echoed these sentiments and added that “Sohail Naqvi brings valuable experience and skills to LUMS and we are delighted to welcome him to the University. I look forward to working with him.” Dr. Adil Najam, the outgoing Vice Chancellor, also welcomed the appointment and said, “just as I have, Sohail will find LUMS to be a vibrant and fulfilling environment and will have an excellent faculty, outstanding students, and a highly dedicated staff to work with. I wish him the very best as he prepares to take this great University to even greater heights.”
