Annamalai University
 | This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia. (March 2010) |
| File:Annamalai logo.png | |
| Motto | With courage and faith |
|---|---|
| Type | Public |
| Established | 1929 |
| Chancellor | Surjit Singh Barnala |
| Vice-Chancellor | Prof. Dr. M. Ramanathan |
| Location | , , |
| Campus | Rural |
| Affiliations | UGC |
| Website | www.annamalaiuniversity.ac.in |
Annamalai University is a state university in Annamalai Nagar, Tamil Nadu, India. The university offers courses of higher education in the arts and sciences.
The university provides around 380 courses under distance mode. The Directorate of Distance Education (DDE) of Annamalai University aims at offering education to those people who are unable to attend the campus but who desire to study.
History
Annamalai University owes its existence to the philanthropy of Dr. Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar. In 1920, he founded Sri Meenakshi College at the temple town of Chidambaram. In 1928, the Annamalai University Act was passed by the Madras State (government) with Sri Meenakshi College forming the nucleus of this unitary and residential university. The seat of this seminary of higher education came to be called Annamalai Nagar after its founder.
Dr.Rajah Sir Annamalai Chettiar donated to the Madras State (government) the sum of Rs.20 lakhs and 1,500 acres (6.1 km2) of land besides the buildings, hostels, library and playgrounds of Sri Meenakshi College, thus paving the way for establishing the university by the Madras Presidency in 1929. The founder was honoured by the Government with the Pro-Chancellorship of the university. He held the Pro-Chancellorship for two decades. It has opened in Canada, Toronto too.
Service
The university has 48t departments over 2,500 teaching staff. It has the record for most students studied through the postal route. The campus, including the colleges, hostels and playgrounds, occupies an area of about one thousand acres (4.5 km²).
Campuses
In 2005, Annamalai University opened a small campus in Toronto, Canada for teaching Indian fine arts. Other overseas centres include the Al Mihad Institute, Dubai and the Al Hilal Education Centre, Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates as well as the Al Noor Education Centre in Muscat, Oman.
Notable alumni
Guiness World Record Holders
- Girivasan Thirumazhisai Chakravarthy, Guinness World Record; For fastest Typing of English Alphabets A-Z (with space between each alphabet) - 4.71 seconds
External links
