Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/G. Balasubramanian

The following discussion is an archived debate of the proposed deletion of the article below. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.

The result was keep. ✗plicit 09:37, 1 June 2021 (UTC)[reply]

G. Balasubramanian

G. Balasubramanian (edit | talk | history | protect | delete | links | watch | logs | views) – (View log)

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The coverage (references, external links, etc.) does not seem sufficient to justify this article passing Wikipedia:General notability guideline and the more detailed Wikipedia:Notability (biographies) requirement. WP:BEFORE did not reveal any significant coverage on Gnews, Gbooks or Gscholar. PROD removed by Necrothesp who pointed to WP:NACADEMIC #6 but NACADEMIC talks about " a highest-level elected or appointed administrative post at a major academic institution or major academic society". Here, however, the post is vice-chancellor, with by the very virtue of vice is at best "second highest", and neither does Tamil University (est. 1981) looks like a "major academic institution". WP:SYSTEMICBIAS is an issue, but coverage in Dinamani (which I Google Translated) looks very poor. [1] reads like a press release about him being appointed, ditto for [2], [3] this mentions him in passing in one sentence, as does the other Tamil-lang ref. Gscholar suggests his research has no international impact (he should not be confused with Gopalakrishnan Balasubramanian who is much more widely cited). As such, I stand by my initial assessment - subject fails NPROF and NBIO. _{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here} 09:23, 25 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This discussion has been included in the list of Academics and educators-related deletion discussions. _{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here} 09:23, 25 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

Note: This discussion has been included in the list of India-related deletion discussions. _{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here} 09:23, 25 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

• Keep. I think maybe you should have read our article on vice-chancellors before nominating and not made assumptions based on the title! The VC in Commonwealth universities is the professional head of the university and does indeed hold the "highest-level elected or appointed administrative post". The chancellor is merely a figurehead, usually a well-known figure from public life, and has no responsibility for administration of the institution. Clearly meets WP:NACADEMIC #6, as I said. -- Necrothesp (talk) 10:10, 25 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]
  • Necrothesp, I don't think NA#6 was intended for such hydras, how many heads are notable then? You also ignore the issue of whether this institution is "major". _{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here} 11:52, 25 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]
    • It's very simple. The VC is the head of the university and the person very clearly covered by WP:NACADEMIC #6 at Commonwealth universities. The chancellor is not in any way the head and would not be notable per this criterion (although they are usually appointed because they are already notable public figures); their main function is to dress up in elaborate robes and present the degrees at degree ceremonies. They have no administrative responsibilities whatsoever. You seem fixated on the word "vice", which in this instance means absolutely nothing in practical terms. It's merely a traditional title. The deputy head of the university is called the deputy vice-chancellor or pro-vice-chancellor. The article is quite clear on this and anyone connected with a Commonwealth university would be fully aware of the VC's role. As to "major", this is entirely subjective of course, but I think a full-blown university in India (as opposed to the multitudinous colleges) qualifies. -- Necrothesp (talk) 13:46, 25 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]
      • I would also point out that the heads of some Commonwealth universities have started calling themselves "Vice-Chancellor and President" (not vice-president, you will note), adding the usual American title in an obvious attempt to clarify the same mistake that you have made that they are not the actual head of the university. The head of a Scottish university has long been known as the "Principal and Vice-Chancellor". -- Necrothesp (talk) 16:09, 25 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

        All well and good, and I'll concede that vice-chancellor qualifies for NA#6. But I am still not convinced the institution is "major" - that's a term I'd reserve for schools in the top 1000 in rankings plus ones with historical significance. His institution does not qualify. Given that he otherwise fails SIGCOV/NBIO, this is an issue worth discussing. _{Piotr Konieczny aka Prokonsul Piotrus| reply here} 04:49, 29 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]

• Keep, meets WP:NACADEMIC #6 as the vice-chancellor of a public (albeit small) university as pointed out by Necrothesp. The nominator seems to have misunderstood the role of a university vice-chancellor. SailingInABathTub (talk) 15:19, 25 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]
• Keep, WP:NACADEMIC #6 includes language to specifically cover the case of vice-chancellors: "Criterion 6 may be satisfied, for example, if the person has held the post of president or chancellor (or vice-chancellor in countries where this is the top academic post) ..." MoneciousTriffid (talk) 19:22, 25 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]
• Keep, per WP:NACADEMIC #6. --hroest 00:59, 26 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]
• Keep as per WP:NACADEMIC#6. Powerful Karma (talk) 10:05, 26 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]
• Keep as per #6 of WP:NACADEMIC. Vice-chancellor is the highest administrative post of public universities in India. -- Ab207 (talk) 15:01, 26 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]
• Comment So many keep !votes here, but can anyone figure out his first name? Dr. Universe (talk) 03:52, 29 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]
  • His given name is Balasubramanian. There is no surname. This is a standard format of names from some parts of India: Father's initial, followed by full given name. So unless he westernized it (as some Indians have done) by pretending that one part of the name is a surname when really it isn't, "G. Balasubramanian" is the correct and full form of his name. You could ask for the father's full name, which would be a different initial followed by something beginning with G., but that's as unnecessary here as asking for mother's maiden name would be in a western-named biography. —David Eppstein (talk) 06:45, 29 May 2021 (UTC)[reply]
• Keep occupies highest possible post within a university in the Commonwealth system. Regards,--Goldsztajn (talk) 00:21, 1 June 2021 (UTC)[reply]

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of the debate. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page (such as the article's talk page or in a deletion review). No further edits should be made to this page.