Prof. Ranjan Kumar Bal
M.Com., M.Phil., Ph.D., FDPM (IIM – Ahmedabad)
Vice Chancellor
Prof. Ranjan Kumar Bal holds the distinction of being the first Ph.D. in Business Administration from Utkal University. He has successfully completed the year-long Faculty Development Programme in Management (FDPM) from the internationally acclaimed Indian Institute of Management (IIM) – Ahmedabad. Earlier, he had earned M.Phil. and M.Com. Degrees from Utkal University. He was awarded the University Gold Medal for having secured the first position in his M.Com. Examination with a new record.
Dr. Bal has three and a half-decade of rich experience in teaching at Utkal University including long eighteen years as a Professor. Earlier he had worked for three years with Reserve Bank of India and Andhra Bank.
Prof. Bal has been a Visiting Professor at a number of institutions including the North Eastern Hill University (NEHU), Shillong; S P Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR), Mumbai; and XIM University, Bhubaneswar. He has also been a Resource Person for programmes conducted by UGC-NET Workshop, New Delhi; Research Funding Council, UGC, New Delhi; Tribhuvan University (Nepal); Pokhara University (Nepal); Confederation of Indian Industry (CII); Gopabandhu Academy of Administration, Government of Odisha; SLET, Government of Chhattisgarh etc.
During his 35-year tenure at Utkal University, Prof. Bal has gained a lot of experience in academic administration such as Acting Vice-Chancellor, Chairman of the Post Graduate Council, Dean of the Faculty of Commerce and Management, Head of the Department of Commerce, Director of the UGC-HRD Centre, Director of Distance and Continuing Education (DDCE), Comptroller of Finance, Chairman of the Board of Studies, Member of the Executive Council (Syndicate), Member of the Academic Council and so on. He has also been associated with other universities and institutions as a Member of their Governing Bodies, Executive Councils, and Boards of Studies.
Dr. Bal has been closely associated with the quality movement in education. He steered the Internal Quality Assurance Cell (IQAC) in Utkal University as its Director and earned A + grade for the University from NAAC. He was involved in monitoring the implementation of the World Bank Project in five districts of Odisha. He has also mentored the IQAC in other universities and institutions. He visits different academic institutions as a member of the NAAC peer review team.
Prof. Bal was a Member of the State Level Committee appointed by the Government of Odisha for the formulation of Higher Education Policy in the State. He was on the Core Team of the Government of Odisha tasked with the formulation and implementation of the Choice-based Credit System (CBCS) in graduate and post-graduate courses in the State.
Prof. Bal has published 84 research papers in international and national journals and has co-authored seven books in the areas of Financial Accounting, Cost Accounting, Business Mathematics and Statistics. He has worked as the Editor-in-Chief of the Orissa Journal of Commerce and as the Managing Editor of Utkal Business Review. He is on the Editorial Board of different academic and professional journals including the Indian Journal of Accounting. He also contributes popular articles to magazines and newspapers.
He has participated in around thirty international conferences/ congresses and more than a hundred national conferences and has presented research papers. He is a popular speaker on subjects related to finance, management and commerce and delivers lectures regularly.
Dr, Bal has successfully supervised 32 research scholars for Ph.D. (26 in Commerce and 6 in Business Administration) and 47 research scholars for M.Phil. He has completed a number of Departmental Research Projects and three Research Projects of UGC.
Prof. Bal is actively associated with the Indian Accounting Association and was its President in 2006-07. He was also the President of the Odisha Commerce Association.
He takes pleasure in social development and is actively involved with the Learning Community (for poor commerce students), the MAN Trust (for autistic children), and Art of Living (for AoL schools in the tribal areas of the state of Odisha).
Prof. Bal has received many awards and accolades including the Outstanding Researcher Award instituted by the IAA (Indian Accounting Association) Research Foundation, Kolkata. He was adjudged by the Interview Times as one of the Top 30 Most Inspirational Personalities of Odisha in the year 2017.