Penza, 16 April 2015. PenzaNews. Oleg Kukharev, D. Sc. in Engineering, professor of the department of Organization and Information Support of Industry, vice-dean of the Economy faculty of the Penza State Agricultural Academy (PSAA), has been elected new PSAA dean during the university conference attended by professorial staff, regular staff and students on Wednesday, April 15.

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98 out of 99 invited have attended the event.

For a candidate to be elected, one of them should have received the overall majority of the votes, but no less than 50% plus one vote out of the total number present.

The first tour of the vote failed to establish the winner.

Oleg Kukharev received 44 votes for and 53 against; Vladimir Varlamov, dean of the PSAA Technology faculty – 42 for and 55 against; Sergei Kshnikatkin, director of “Innovation Technologies for Forage Crops Seed Industry,” – 11 for and 86 against.

Following that, the second tour’s competition was between Oleg Kukharev and Vladimir Varlamov.

As a result, Oleg Kukharev received 50 votes for and 47 against, while Vladimir Varlamov received 47 votes for and 50 against, thus securing the victory for the former with a three-vote advantage.

The vote was preceded by speeches of the candidates.

On his turn, Oleg Kukharev stated he aims to continue gradual development of the academy as an innovative multidisciplinary educational research center that provides actual help to the social-economic and cultural development of the region.

“To achieve this mission, we need to develop our lines of research, upgrade our educational provedures, expand the list of bachelor’s, specialist’s and magister’s degrees we offer. These should include veterinary and sanitary expertise, veterinary, economic security and more, postgraduate study programs for new professionals the market demand,” he said.

One of his tasks, Oleg Kukharev said, is to create a supervisory board from heads and experts of leading enterprises that would direct the development of all educational programs.

“Management of study and work internship, new equipment and materials, joint development of education programs and evaluation of the results of education, increased cooperation with real economy enterprises, creation of a continuous ‘school-college-academy’ education system and agricultural classes in schools. I will also place special emphasis on using modern technologies in education,” he noted.

After the vote, Oleg Kukharev thanked the delegates who voted both for and against him.

“Thank you for coming, for expressing your opinions. Let us work together starting tomorrow. Let us forget who voted for whom, because we have a united future: our academy. I would like all of you to continue working on it. And to authorities, I would like to remind we are always open for cooperation and ready to work with you,” he concluded.

Following the decision of November 26, 2014, the dean of the Penza State Agricultural Academy has been elected for a five-year turn on the conference through ballot vote after the discussion of proposals.

The chosen candidate enters the office starting on the date designated in the labor contract with the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia and the relevant order of the Ministry.

If the Ministry of Agriculture of Russia denies the candidate employment, the process is repeated.