Prof. Datuk Dr. Mohd Fauzi Hj. Ramlan

Name: Prof. Datuk Dr. Mohd Fauzi Hj. Ramlan

Course: 

Current Position: Vice Chansellor, UPM

Profile: UPM Vice Chancellor Prof. Datuk Dr. Mohd Fauzi b. Hj Ramlan

The academic passion and character of Prof. Datuk Dr. Mohd Fauzi Hj. Ramlan, the new and 7^th Vice Chancellor of Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), should come as no surprise to anyone because he and his six other siblings were raised by a father, who was a headmaster of a primary school.

Born as the 2nd child to a housewife-mother in Kota Tinggi on 15^th Oct 1960, he started his primary education at Sekolah Kebangsaan Bukit Lintang, Kota Tinggi, Johor before entering the residential school of Sekolah Datuk Abdul Razak  (SDAR) in Seremban for his secondary education.

His illustrious journey in the academic world started with a Diploma in Agriculture from Universiti Pertanian Malaysia (UPM), followed by a Bachelor of Science in Agronomy from Iowa State University, USA, a Master of Science from Louisiana State University, USA and a PhD (Biology) from the University of York, United Kingdom.

As an academic, he has served as a Professor in the field of agriculture at Universiti Putra Malaysia where he started lecturing on 29^th April 1986.

Given his interest and active role on the question of student personality development, he was appointed the Director of the Student Affairs and Development Division of the Higher Education Department of the Ministry of Higher Education on 1^st Oct 2006.

From there, he returned to his alma mater as Deputy Vice Chancellor (Student Affairs and Alumni) on 16^th May 2010.

In recognition of his academic achievements, research and administrative experience, Prof Datuk Dr. Mohd Fauzi was appointed as the 7^th Vice Chancellor of UPM on 1^st January 2013 to lead the research university to greater height, given its vast expertise and niche, particularly in agriculture.

Research

Prof Datuk Dr. Mohd Fauzi is well known for his research work on food security.  Among them is The study of propagation, production and post-harvest on various tropical fruits; Eradication of noxious bamboo under high-tension power line; Evaluation of light harvesting mechanism of rice varieties and its implication on yield and Improvements in utilization and management of production resources (especially water and nutrients) for carbon dioxide enrichment production system of selected vegetables.

His contributions in the field agriculture have not gone unnoticed. Recognition came in the form of a Colombo Scholarship from the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) to undergo a year’s training at the Okinawa International Centre for which he was awarded the Certificate of Agriculture by the University of Ryukyu in 1998.

While in Japan, he made use of the opportunity to develop a strong network among the academics, which subsequently resulted in numerous invitations to present papers and attend seminars.

Contribution to Students

He was active on the question of the character and personal development of the students. He took deep interest in the activities related to students’ personality development as he believes that the university’s students are its invaluable assets.  His experience in developing students’ characters began with his appointment as a Residential Fellow, then College Principal, of the 2^nd Residential College of UPM.

During his stint as the Director of the Student Affairs and Development Division, he had led a group of academics in preparing a module tailored for developing soft skills. Currently, the module has been recognized by the public institutions of higher learning as a key training tool for soft skills.

His contribution to students’ development is based on the principle that, upon graduation, students should have acquired various skills and personality, and be of high employability. To him, the students should have good soft skills besides academic excellence.

As for the uniformed bodies, not only is he  the Commander of the Student Police Voluntary Corps or SUKSIS UPM, but he is also one of the pioneers who had pushed for the establishment of SUKSIS  which allows the students to develop their characters and personalities,  aside from academic accomplishments

SUKSIS is now made compulsory in all public institutions of higher learning (IPTAs) and in recognition of his contributions, Prof Datuk Dr. Mohd Fauzi was appointed the Chairman of the Permanent Secretariat of the IPTA SUKSIS corps.

As Deputy Vice Chancellor, he had also emphasised the need for sporting excellence by the students, leading many UPM athletes to represent the country, especially at the international level. It was during his term that UPM athletes bagged gold medals at the Asian Games, SEA Games, Commonwealth Games and the ASEAN University Games. In addition, UPM emerged overall champions of the Minister of Higher Education Games (SUKIPT) in 2012.

Administrative Experience

Besides the many posts he had held during his long career at UPM, Prof Datuk Dr. Mohd Fauzi is also a member of the Board of Directors of Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) and Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).

During his tenure as Deputy Vice Chancellor, he implemented the Key Performance Index (KPI) system which, among others, makes the issue of student development as one of the objectives of the university.

He also introduced the zakat institution by collaborating with the Selangor Religious Council as well as the Selangor Zakat Board. The zakat collection is in line with the awareness campaign that enables UPM and the Selangor Zakat Board to work together in their joint efforts to provide assistance to the poor and new converts.

With all his immense contribution to student development, management, research and sports, he was a deserving recipient of the Darjah Kebesaran Johan Setia Mahkota (J.S.M) award in 2009 and the Darjah Mulia Seri Melaka (D.M.S.M) in 2011 which carries the title of Datuk.

He is married to Datin Juradah bt Abu Bakar and they have three children, two girls and a boy. -- UPM