Architect, Urbanist and Scholar Dr Sanjeev Vidyarthi Joins Anant National University as New Provost

AHMEDABAD, India, May 7, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Anant National University is delighted to welcome Dr Sanjeev Vidyarthi as the new Provost. A distinguished architect, urban designer, spatial planner, scholar, author and leader, Dr Vidyarthi brings an exceptional breadth of expertise and leadership experience to the university.

On his appointment, Dr Vidyarthi said, "I am really excited to be part of Anant, India's first DesignX university, comprising bright colleagues and best-in-class infrastructure anywhere. Within a short span of time, Anant has established itself as an emergent leader, offering world-class design education via innovative pedagogy. Moving forward, we remain committed to driving innovation, championing sustainability and fostering interdisciplinary learning – all aimed at empowering the next generation of problem-solvers who would help fulfil the national aspirations of 'विकसित भारत' for everyone. 

Dr Vidyarthi's illustrious career includes leading the founding of neighbouring Rajasthan's first and only standalone school of architecture, the Aayojan School of Architecture. He served as the Director of Undergraduate Studies and the Head of the Department of Urban Planning and Policy at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC) — one of the largest planning schools in North America. He was also the Founding Director of Chicago's first Master of City Design programme at UIC, a position he held for six years.

A PhD and a Master of Urban Planning from the University of Michigan Ann Arbor, Dr Vidyarthi also earned an MArch from KU Leuven, Belgium and a BArch from Sir JJ College of Architecture, University of Mumbai.

Dr Vidyarthi has authored six scholarly books and numerous essays in leading academic journals. He has been recognised with special awards and grants for his pioneering work and has given talks and presentations at many prestigious forums globally.

Reflecting on Anant's transition to new leadership, Mr Ajay Piramal, President, Anant National University, said, "Dr Vidyarthi brings a wealth of expertise and a proven legacy of leadership, and I am confident that under his guidance, Anant will continue to scale new heights and make a lasting impact on the world."

Speaking at his farewell, the outgoing Provost, Dr Anunaya Chaubey, shared his warm wishes, saying, "I am delighted to welcome Dr Vidyarthi to Anant National University. His distinguished career, depth of expertise and visionary leadership make him the ideal person to take Anant's academic mission forward. I wish him great success as he embarks on this exciting journey."

As the Provost of Anant National University, Dr Vidyarthi will lead institution-building with a sharp focus on advancing the university's mission. He will be instrumental in steering Anant toward a long-term sustainability commitment to advancing the public good while positioning the university as a leader in design education.

Under Dr Vidyarthi's dynamic leadership, Anant will continue to foster transformative design education, nurturing solutionaries equipped to solve existing and emergent global problems.

About Anant National University

Anant National University, India's first DesignX university, is dedicated to training students to devise solutions for global problems. The X in Design X is the symbol drawn from mathematics, representing enhancement. This new learning approach multiplies traditional design pedagogy with liberal arts disciplines, emerging technologies and knowledge drawn from hands-on community experiences to help understand our world better and to devise impactful solutions.

Our multidisciplinary undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral programmes in design, architecture, climate action and visual arts harness knowledge from various disciplines and traditional practices to integrate it with cutting-edge technology to address diverse challenges. We train our designers to become solutionaries — revolutionary thinkers with a solution-oriented mindset.

Anant National University has been recognised as the Centre of Excellence by the Government of Gujarat, highlighting our efforts to provide our students with world-class education, innovative pedagogy, high employability and enhanced entrepreneurial and research opportunities. Earlier, Anant received the prestigious '5-Star Rating' in the category of Architecture and a '4-Star Rating' in the University category in the Gujarat State Institutional Rating Framework (GSIRF) 2023-24. These recognitions reinforce our commitment to creating a world-class institution of great eminence and excellence.

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