The Chief Incumbent of the Kelaniya Rajamaha Viharaya, Senior Professor Kollupitiye Mahinda Sangharakkhitha Thero has been appointed as the Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya.
Prof. Kollupitiya Mahinda Sangharakkhitha Thero has been appointed as the Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya, replacing the late Most Ven. Welamitiyawe Kusaladhamma Thero.
Mahinda Sangharakkhitha Thero was born in Colombo Kollupitiya to Appuhamy Dasanayake and Podihamine Dasanayake.
He was the fifth in a family of four brothers and two sisters. Educated at Royal College, Colombo as a child, he holds excellent records in both education and sports.
He entered the Sasana in the 1960s under the patronage of the then Chief Incumbent of the Kelani Raja Maha Viharaya, Thalawela Vijitha Dhammarakkitha Thero. He studied Dhamma Granthi at the Hunupitiya Gangarama Temple and graduated in 1979 with a degree in Buddhist Philosophy and French from the Vidyalankara Campus of the University of Ceylon.
He then had the opportunity to obtain a Masters degree from the University of Delhi and a Doctorate in Postgraduate Studies in French from the University of Sorbonne.
Returning to Sri Lanka, Ven. Mahinda Sangharakkhitha joined the academic staff of the University of Kelaniya in 1993, where he was Professor (2006) of the Department of Buddhist Studies, Head of Department (2006 – 2008) and Acting Dean.
