"Caltech Provost, Jio Institute Dean depart within four months."

Less than a year after taking office, Dr. Raveendra Chittoor, the dean of the Jio Institute, announced his resignation. This is the second high-profile departure from the Reliance-backed organization this year.

Chittoor has taught international business and strategy at the University of Victoria's Gustavson School of Business in Canada. Along with working at IBM, CRISIL, and the Rajan Raheja group, he has also taught at the Indian School of Business and the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta.

Less than four months have passed since one of the institute's most well-known hires, Dr. G Ravichandran, left as Provost well in advance of his term ending in March. Ravichandran, who had been the Division of Engineering's Otis Booth Leadership ChairThe two departures coincide with Jio Institute's ongoing wait for official registration as a "Institution of Eminence (IOE)" by the Union government, and the organization has no idea how it will proceed in the future if it does not receive this designation. This results in the vacancy of two important academic positions.

The deshaurduniya contacted Chittoor and Palak Sheth, Project Director at Jio Institute, for comments, but none of them responded.

In a press release dated October 30, 2023, Jio Institute revealed Chittoor's appointment as dean and professor of management. "Dr. Chittoor is a valuable addition to the Jio Institute team, bringing with him nearly three decades of distinguished academic and industry expertise," the press announcement had stated.

"I am delighted to welcome our new Dean, Dr. Ravee Chittoor, to the Jio Institute family," stated Dr. Dipak Jain, Vice Chancellor of the Jio Institute, according to the statement. His extensive background in both the Eastern and Western worlds will be very helpful as we work to create a world-class university that combines the finest teaching practices from both traditions. I'm excited to collaborate with him to develop capable leaders.

An expert panel constituted by the government chose Reliance's Jio Institute in 2018 to be considered for the designation of "Institution of Eminence," which would grant it more administrative and academic freedom. Jio Institute is currently little more than an All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE)-affiliated campus, one of almost 5,000 that only offers certificate and diploma programs. However, more than five years have passed and it still awaits this classification.

It accepted 120 students in its initial batch for two programs, digital media and marketing communications and artificial intelligence and data science, in 2022–2023. It only accepted a smaller group of about 60 students in 2023–24. A far cry from the supposed Institution of Eminence.