Sr. Prof. Sampath Ameratunge, the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura was appointed as the Chairman of the University Grants Commission by His Excellency the President Hon. Gotabaya Rajapakse a Thursday (02).

Sr. Prof. Sampath Amaratunge being the twice appointed Vice-Chancellor of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura has taken the University to great heights. During his period as the Vice- Chancellor, he was responsible for the inception of three new Faculties: Faculty of Technology, Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of Allied Health Sciences. He is also responsible for laying the foundation for the Faculty of Urban and Aquatic Bio Resources.

Furthermore, he was the driving force behind uplifting the University’s standard in terms of research. During his period, he upgraded the Research Committee to a Research Council under which 25 Research Centers function conducting timely research that is beneficial for the development of the nation and all of humanity.

Within his period as the Vice-Chancellor he was appointed as the Chairman of the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Directors Sri Lanka (CVCD) 2019. Furthermore, he was elected as the member representing Constituency II of the Association of Commonwealth Universities, United Kingdom (ACU) in 2019.

In recognition for his services to the society and Buddhism as a religion he was awarded two Doctor of Letters (D.Litt): His contribution was acknowledged first by the Dharma Buddhist Institute Malaysia where he was awarded for his contribution to society and Buddhism in 2017. He was also presented with an honorary degree (Sammanopadhiya) an equivalent of a D.Litt by the unanimous agreement of the Vidyadara Sabhava of the Vidyodaya Pirivena, Maligakanda on the occasion of the 107th commemoration of the Most Ven. Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thero. He is reputed to be the only Vice-Chancellor who has been awarded this honour.

Sr. Prof. Amaratunge gained his, BA (Hons.) in Economics from the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, MA in Economics from the University of Colombo, MSc. in Economics of Rural Development from Saga National University and PhD from Kagoshima National University in Japan. An authority in Rural Economic Development, Sr. Prof. Amaratunge has won several awards including the prestigious Research Excellence Award (2002) of the Kyushu Society of Rural Economics, Japan. He has over 75 refereed publications to his credit, both locally and internationally.