Tamil Nadu Governor Banwarilal Purohit on Saturday appealed for significant contribution from the alumni in taking Alagappa College of Technology (A.C. Tech) to greater heights.
Addressing the inauguration of A.C. Tech’s platinum jubilee celebrations here, he said that the alumni contribution will be important with Anna University, of which AC Tech is a part, gaining Institute of Eminence tag recently from the union government.
Making a similar appeal, M.K. Surappa, Vice-Chancellor, Anna University, lauded the vision of late philanthropist Alagappa Chettiar and others in setting up the institution in 1944 that offered courses in fields like chemical, leather, and textile technologies that were novel at that time.
N. Srinivasan, vice chairman and managing director, India Cements, and chairman, Platinum Jubilee Celebrations Committee, said that though AC Tech later became part of Anna University, it has retained its unique character. He highlighted the importance given to both sports and education at the institution when he studied.
Distinguished Alumni
Twelve alumni of the institution were awarded Distinguished Alumni award. M.S. Ananth, who headed the jury that selected the awardees, said that they were chosen from among 52 nominations by taking various factors into consideration, including research, innovation, entrepreneurship, institution building, and social commitment.
The awardees included, Mr. N. Srinivasan, T. Ramasami, Ramanathan Vairavan, Lawrence Surendra, S. Abhaya Kumar, Srinivasan K. Swamy, Sundaresan Jayaraman, Venkat Venkatasubramanian, P.V. Sambasiva Rao, A. Shanmugavasan, Ramadas Iyer, and Sivaramakrishnan.
Special enclosure in IPL
Mr. Srinivasan, who owns Chennai Super Kings cricket team through India Cements company, said that a special enclosure will be provided at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium for the alumni of A.C. Tech during the upcoming Indian Premiere League season. He expressed hope that the stands that remained closed in the stadium for the past few years will be opened this time.
S. Meenakshi Sundaram, Dean, AC Tech, and Vidya Shankar, president, AC Tech Alumni Association, also spoke.
