Rajeev Amarasuriya elected as Colombo Uni Alumni 10th President

1 July 2015 07:00 am Views - 2892

From left: Secretary Ruwandhi Thanthrige, Vice President Suranjani Wickramaratne, Competent Authority U of C Prof. Lalith Mendis, President Rajeev Amarasuriya, UGC Chairman Prof. Mohan De Silva, Immediate Past President Lakshman Keerthisinghe and Outgoing Treasurer M.K. Gnanasekera



Rajeev Amarasuriya was elected as the 10th President of the Alumni Association of the University of Colombo at its 33rd Annual General Meeting held recently at the College House premises of the University of Colombo, with the participation of a large number of alumni and academic staff of the university.

It was also a special occasion with a third generation alumni taking over the mantle of this association formed in 1982 by Prof. Stanley Wijesundera, the then Vice Chancellor, and Tissa Devendra as the founder President. The other Presidents have been the Late Sujata Jayawardena, the Late Yogendra Duraiswamy, the Late Dr. Dudley Gunasekera, J. Charitha Ratwatte, Thilak Karunaratne, Ramanee Amarasuriya, P.W. Senaratne and Lakshman Keerthisinghe.

The chief guest was University Grants Commission Chairman Prof. Mohan De Silva, whilst the guest of honour was University of Colombo Competent Authority Prof. Lalitha Mendis. Many deans and senior professors also participated.

Amarasuriya in his inauguration speech said that the alumni of the University of Colombo needs to be very grateful to this institution for all that they have received from it, by way of education, services, facilities and exposure, all provided to them free of charge with no bondage or prior stipulated conditions.

He further stated that the association gives Colombo Alumni the opportunity to give back to the university in whichever way they can and enables them to play a role in its development and pursuit of academic excellence while also ensuring continued interactions with the university and fellow alumni.

He also stated that although the University of Colombo is ranked highly both in Sri Lanka and in South Asia, its world ranking is less competitive. One of the most obvious issues that confront the university is that Sri Lanka is still a developing nation with a limited allocation of funding and resources directed towards higher education. This limits the extent of facilities, technology, research and other opportunities available to the university, being one of the reasons preventing it from rising in international ranking.

He also paid tribute to the staff and authorities of the university, who despite these barriers and deficits have worked tirelessly in attempting to provide students with exposure on par with other world-class institutions.

Prof. Mohan De Silva, who delivered the keynote address, whilst stating that an alumni association is a forum for discussion of both personal and professional issues, emphasised the importance of there being professionalism amongst graduates and went on to state that professionals are not oblivious to the environment and are equipped with emotional intelligence.

Prof. Lalitha Mendis stated there was much that could be done to improve the university system which would also result in improved world rankings.
Another special feature at this meeting was the launch of a brand-new website for the association, designed and presented by the leading web design company 3Cs for the association linking it to Facebook, Linkedin and other social media, enabling better communication with the membership and public as well. The website was formally launched by Prof. Mohan De Silva, Prof. Lalitha Mendis, Rajeev Amarasuriya, 3Cs Chairman and former University of Peradeniya Vice Chancellor Prof. Madduma Bandara.

The newly elected committee comprises President - Rajeev Amarasuriya, Vice Presidents - Vice Chancellor (Ex-Officio) and Suranjani Wickremeratne, Past Presidents as Advisors - Tissa Devendra, J. Charitha Ratwatte, Thilak Karunaratne, Ramanee Amarasuriya and P.W. Senaratne, Immediate Past President - Lakshman Keerthisinghe, Secretary -  Ruwandhi Thanthrige, Assistant Secretary - Nazima Kamardeen, Treasurer - J.M.S. Bandara, Assistant Treasurer - Jitendra Gunatilake, Editor - Mahesha Amarasuriya, Assistant Editor - Ajit Jayawardena and Executive Committee Members - Prof. Gihan Wickramanayake, M.K. Gnanasekera, Channa De Silva, Dayani Panagoda, Milton Arandara, K.D.R. Siriwardena, G. Wijemanna, D.H.W. Kirinde, Isuru Thilakawardena and Nayantha Wijesurendra.