Mumbai University alumni association now gets official stamp

Representation pic

Ignoring criticism and questions over propriety, the Mumbai University's management council meeting on Tuesday recognised the University of Mumbai Alumni Association (UMAA). The idea that MU is hiring a third-party organisation to run its alumni affairs for two decades has not gone down well with many academics from the varsity. The agenda note that was tabled before the management council read, "There has been no structured way of raising funds from alumni and to get in place a transparent and organised platform UMAA is developing the alumni management platform from a service provider which will be used for collecting funds in the form of donations, endowment, sponsorship, etc."

UMAA now has nine founding committee members with prominent figures from the educational community, including Vice-Chancellor Suhas Pednekar. Before its recognition, UMAA had already invited tenders to appoint technical and marketing partners to develop the alumni association's web portal for raising donations and grants. Criticising the move, a management council member said, "The matter came for discussion on Tuesday while the said body has already started inviting bids. The contract clause clearly states a revenue-sharing model, which is unknown in an alumni committee. The director of students' affairs too was unaware of these developments. All this looks very suspicious."

A few university officials wondered how UMAA started work even when it was yet to be recognised as an official university body. "UMAA has already been allocated a place on the university campus in Kalina," said a senior university senate member, adding that there is no structure or statute for the alumni association yet. What has raised more eyebrows in the varsity circle is that the tender document states that the appointed agency will share part of revenue for services like "fund management" and for growing "fund value".

MU unit named after Dighe

In another development, the university's management council approved a proposal for naming the varsity's Thane Sub Centre after the late Anand Dighe, a local Shiv Sena leader. Dighe was considered Sena's powerful muscleman in Thane and a close aide of party supremo Bal Thackeray. Minister Eknath Shinde had proposed the idea.