Dr. C. Swaminathan, known well for his institution-building abilities and keen interest in the field of higher education, was born to Thiru. A. Chinnappan and Thirumathi C. Ponnammal at Thingalur near Erode. Coming from a family of farmers, he had his schooling at Thingalur Government HSS. He then went on to do his B.A. at C. N. College, Erode and M.A. at Pachaiappa’s College, Chennai. Continuing his studies, he obtained M.Phil. from the University of Madras after which he took up a faculty position as Lecturer in History at CBM College, Coimbatore in 1980. The researcher in him would make no allowance for any rest inspite of a demanding teaching career and he went on to get his Ph.D. in 2000.

Dr. Swaminathan, a natural leader who prefers his responsibilities to grow and become greater, decided to accept the challenge of building up an institution from scratch. Taking over as Principal, Kongu Arts and Science College, Erode he successfully transformed a fledgling college with a strength of 100 students and a mere 7 for faculty into a mega institution. A model for others, with 2300 students and 136 members of faculty, the college as it stands today speaks for the visionary and goal-achieving drive in him. During his stint, he secured the Grade I status for the college, got the ISO 9001:2000 certification, obtained UGC recognition and brought in funds for various projects from the UGC and Ministries of the Government of India. Accredited with B++ grade by the NAAC under his leadership, the college now offers 14 undergraduate and 7 postgraduate programmes.

With a highly successful mission completed, Dr. Swaminathan then took over as Principal and Secretary of Bharathidasan College of Arts and Science in 2008. In a span of less than two years, he ensured that the student strength will take a quantum leap from a meagre 240 to 1000. Before leaving to take over the reins of Bharathiar University as its Vice Chancellor, he got University affiliation for seven new undergraduate and three new postgraduate programmes.

Dr. Swaminathan has served as a Member of the Senate and Syndicate of Bharathiar University and his contribution to the development of the University is highly significant. The combination of academic excellence and administrative acumen is a rare phenomenon and in him we have a fine blend of these two qualities. Apart from building institutions, he has been actively guiding research at the M. Phil. and Ph.D. levels. He has also been steadily publishing research papers. His being a member in numerous governing councils and professional bodies show how sought after his expertise and opinions are. He has visited Singapore, Hong Kong, China and the UAE to study the educational practices there and seek avenues of collaboration.

Precise, shrewd, astute and systematic, he is also compassionate and considerate. His experience both as an institution builder and a teacher-researcher in Humanities makes his talents a synthesis of scientific rigour and humane considerations. Affability, easy accessibility, calm demeanour, composure and handling pressure with ease are his forte. Not one content to rest on his laurels, he is determined to take higher education in India to greater heights. His multi-faceted talent set and the broad spectrum of his experience will no doubt help him in realizing his goal.

Dr. Swaminathan is married to Dr. Ranjitham who works as a Professor of English at Vellalar College for Women, Erode. Their daughter Ms. Divya is a software engineer based in Bangalore.