The Chancellor of the Arunachal University of Studies (AUS), Namsai has appointed Professor B. Mohan Kumar, a leading researcher in agroforestry, as the Vice-Chancellor of AUS. Currently, Prof Kumar is working as an ICAR Emeritus Scientist at Kerala Agricultural University, Thrissur. He held important positions earlier such as Assistant Director General, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, New Delhi; Professor/Dean, Nalanda University, Rajgir, Bihar; and Associate Dean (Forestry), Kerala Agricultural University.
Prof Kumar also held visiting professorships to a number of overseas universities, which includes: Scholar in Residence, University of Missouri, USA; CNRS visiting professor, University of Toulouse, France; Erasmus Mundus Visiting Professor, University of Wales, Bangor, UK; Visiting professor, University of Tokyo, Japan; Fulbright Scholar, University of Florida, USA; JSPS Visiting Professor, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Japan; and USAID visiting faculty, Utah State University, USA, besides visiting professorships to a number of Indonesian Universities.
Prof Kumar received the first Dr. KG Tejwani Award for Excellence in Agroforestry Research and Development in India (2008) and is an Elected Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences (India), National Academy of Agricultural Sciences (India), National Institute of Ecology and Kerala Academy of Sciences.
Spouse: Sheenu S Nair (Retired CDPO); Children: Dr. Maneesha (New Zealand) and Dr Mahesh (Manipal); Son-in-Law: Mr Neethesh (New Zealand)