Y. C. Simhadri

Yedla C. Simhadri (1941 – 22 May 2021^[1]) was an Indian academic and administrator. He served as the vice-chancellor of several Indian universities including Banaras Hindu University, Patna University, Andhra University, and Acharya Nagarjuna University.^[2]

Yedla C. Simhadri
Prof. Simhadri in 2017
21st Vice-Chancellor of Banaras Hindu University
In office 31 August 1998 – 20 February 2002
Appointed by	K. R. Narayanan
Preceded by	Hari Gautam
Succeeded by	Patcha Ramachandra Rao
Personal details
Born	1941
Died	22 May 2021 (aged 79-80)

Education

Simhadri obtained a Master's degree in Social work and Bachelor of Laws from Andhra University. Later he was awarded scholarships by Indiana State University in the US for a Master's degree in criminology and Sociology.^[3] He completed his PhD in Sociology from Case Western Reserve University.^[4] He obtained his post-doctoral research degree from the Commonwealth Institute, London. He also obtained a degree in Youth Work from West Germany.^[3]

Academic career

In the 1980s, Simhadri worked as a Professor of Sociology at Andhra University. He was a visiting professor at a number of universities in India and abroad. He published over half a dozen books and over 50 articles.^[5] He also worked for the United Nations, UNESCO, and United Nations University.^[4]

He became the vice-chancellor (VC) of Andhra University in 1991 and served there for the next four years.^[6] He was appointed the VC of Banaras Hindu University (BHU) in 1997 when the university was suffering from violence within the campus. He stayed in BHU until 2002^[7] and contributed towards making the university campus safer and conducive to academic activities.^[8]

Later in that decade, he served as the Vice-Chancellor of Patna University^[9] twice - from 2006 to 2008 and 2014–2017.^[10]