JNU to confer Professor Emeritus title on Amitabh Mattoo
The title will be awarded to the Dean of the School of International Studies after his voluntary retirement in February 2027.
The Executive Council of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has decided to confer the title of ‘Professor Emeritus’ on Amitabh Mattoo, the Dean of the School of International Studies (SIS), according to The Hindu.
The title will take effect after Mattoo's voluntary retirement on February 28, 2027. His name was recommended by SIS professor Rajesh Rajagopalan.
Mattoo, a former Vice-Chancellor of the University of Jammu and a Padma Shri awardee, previously served as Chair of the Centre for International Politics, Organisation and Disarmament at SIS before becoming Dean in 2024.
Speaking to The Hindu, Mattoo said JNU has been his intellectual home and the crucible of his ideas. He expressed gratitude, stating that the honour comes from an institution to which he has given a great deal of himself.
JNU currently has 16 professors with the ‘Professor Emeritus’ title, including Romila Thapar, Asis Datta, Prabhat Patnaik, H.S Gill, and Zoya Hassan.
University guidelines state that nominees must have made significant contributions to the development of JNU, served as a professor for at least 15 years, and be a scholar of national or international eminence.