Dr Patrick French, who penned the authorised biography of Nobel Laureate in Literature, V. S. Naipaul, has been appointed as the first Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences at Ahmedabad University.

An eminent writer, global researcher and historian, French will be responsible for building the divisions of humanities and languages, social sciences, mathematical and physical sciences, biological and life sciences and performing and visual arts at the private university.

“We were looking for someone who could re-imagine what a 21st century school of arts and sciences should be,” said Professor Pankaj Chandra, Vice-Chancellor of Ahmedabad University. “As someone who knows India well, he brings multiple sensibilities that will help us craft unique research and learning domains.”

In addition to being the Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, Dr French will also hold the position of Professor for Public Understanding of the Humanities.

Dr French is a multiple award-winning historian and biographer, with a PhD in South Asian Studies and an MA in English Literature, both from the University of Edinburgh.

Currently, he is writing the authorised biography of Nobel Laureate Doris Lessing.

Dr French is a Visiting Fellow at the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities at Cambridge University, and in 2018 will be the Derek Brewer Visiting Fellow at Emmanuel College, Cambridge.

Ahmedabad University is a private, non-profit university dedicated to rigorous academic pursuit with a focus on building enquiry as a value through interdisciplinary learning. Established in 2009 by the Ahmedabad Education Society, it offers programmes across its four schools and three centres at the bachelors, masters, and doctoral levels.