Jindal Global Law School (JGLS) Appoints 103 New Full Time Faculty Members and Expands Law School Faculty to 425 Nationally and Internationally Qualified Academics

Main highlights

• 103 New Faculty Members Join JGLS in the 2020-21 Academic Year     
• JGLS continues to maintain a stellar Faculty-Student Ratio of 1:9, four times more than the regulatory requirements of the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the Bar Council of India (BCI) 
• 57% of JGLS faculty are women and 68% of the newly hired JGLS faculty are women     
• 76% of JGLS faculty have at least one international qualification    
• Nearly 11% of JGLS faculty is international from 24 countries and regions of the world

JGLS Expands Law School Faculty to 425 Nationally and Internationally Qualified Academics

Jindal Global Law School (JGLS) of O.P. Jindal Global University has hired 103 new full-time faculty members, which includes, 42 Academic Tutors & TRIP Fellows taking the total full-time faculty members to 425 in the academic session 2020-2021. This is in addition to and independent of the 12 Senior Advocates of the Supreme Court of India and 11 Corporate Law Firms Partners who are offering 21 specialised elective courses to the students of JGLS under the aegis of the Lawyering Excellence for Advocacy Development (LEAD) Programme and the Corporate Lawyering Advancement through Immersion and Mentoring (CLAIM) Programme. 

Professor (Dr.) C. Raj Kumar, Founding Vice-Chancellor, O.P. Jindal Global University and Founding Dean, Jindal Global Law School observed, “This is an incredible milestone for a young law school, which will be celebrating its 11th anniversary at the end of this month. We have recruited some of the most outstanding individuals from India and around the world to be part of a vibrant intellectual community of scholars and researchers. Notwithstanding the COVID-19 crisis and the global pandemic, we are working towards fulfilling our institutional responsibilities and shared commitment to our students and to the larger cause of legal education, research and social transformation. JGLS continues to maintain a faculty-student ratio of 1:9, which is an impeccable achievement at any point of time, but more importantly, during these most difficult and challenging times. It is notable that the full-time faculty members that JGLS has is four times more than the regulatory requirements of the University Grants Commission and the Bar Council of India considering the number of students studying in the law school.”  

JGLS has made a huge commitment through these new faculty hires of 103, including 42 Academic Tutors. This has substantially expanded its faculty and will give more opportunities for learning to the students of JGLS. The decision to hire such a large number of faculty members, scholars and practitioners across different disciplines and backgrounds is a testament to JGLS’s commitment to establishing a world-class institution of excellence in India. In March 2020, JGLS was recognised as India's Number 1 Ranked Law School by the QS World University Rankings 2020 and among the top 101-150 law schools in the world.  

Professor Raj Kumar, while outlining the vision for the rationale of the recruitment of new faculty members at JGLS said, “Within a short span of eleven years, JGLS has been able to attract and retain faculty members from across the world by focusing on the five core principles: first, providing academic freedom, autonomy and independence to the faculty members; second, promoting pluralism and celebrating diversity; third, promoting collegiality and teamwork; fourth, focusing on the faculty development programmes to emphasize on knowledge creation, research, publications, and citations; and fifth, maintaining highest ethical standards in professional and personal behaviour.”  

Professor Dabiru Sridhar Patnaik, Registrar, O.P. Jindal Global University observed, “JGLS has sustained the process of hiring faculty members who have outstanding educational qualifications, global orientation, impeccable publication record, relevant work experience, including in the world of practice and those individuals who have a strong commitment to institution building. It is also a proud achievement for JGLS that 76% of its faculty members have at least one international qualification from the leading universities of the world.”  

JGLS’s focus on global orientation for promoting diversity is unparalleled among universities in the world. “JGLS has nearly 11% international faculty among its full-time faculty members from 24 different countries and regions,” added Mr Jitu Mishra, JGU Senior Director HR and Chief Operating Officer. “While organizations across the world are struggling to maintain a healthy gender diversity ratio, 57% of the full-time faculty members in JGLS are women and nearly 43% of the academic leadership positions are held by women faculty members across all the schools of JGU. Moreover, 68% of the new faculty members joining JGLS in this academic session are women. There are very few universities in the world, which ensures this level of gender diversity among its faculty. However, we need to set our own standards and work towards promoting gender and other forms of diversities among JGU and JGLS faculty. This will always be our institutional commitment and we will continue to make sincere efforts in the years to come,” said, Mr Jitu Mishra.  

JGLS offers a competitive salary, research benefits comparable to the top international universities along with comprehensive health and accidental insurance coverage, accommodation near the University Campus, staff development allowance, research grants, research rewards for publications and other benefits.   

The focus on global orientation for promoting diversity is further strengthened from the fact that nearly 11% of the full-time faculty members in JGLS are international, coming from 24 different countries/regions such as Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Iceland, Indonesia, Nepal, The Netherlands, Nigeria, Philippines, Poland, Slovakia, South Korea, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America and Zimbabwe.  

 Among those 103 newly hired, 33 faculty members are graduates from 11 different NLUs, which takes the total NLU graduates in JGLS to 143, comprising nearly 34% of total faculty members. 

Professor (Dr.) S.G. Sreejith, Executive Dean of JGLS observed: “JGLS appoints faculty members mindful of, among other relevant things, the vision and philosophy of its programmes and courses. For example, world-class researchers and scholars for supervising PhD students; outstanding faculty possessing specialized knowledge for teaching postgraduate programmes; faculty with rich academic and professional experience for honours and elective courses and; highly qualified, accomplished and well-published faculty for core courses. This approach not only helps JGLS to provide the best and the most broadening learning experience to its students but also evinces our deep commitment to the University Grants Commission and the Bar Council of India regulations regarding faculty appointments”.    

It is also remarkable that 24 graduates and post-graduates of Jindal Global Law School (JGLS) have joined their alma mater to teach and research after completing their higher studies from the world’s leading law schools. Among the new hires, 7 JGLS graduates have joined the University to pursue full-time teaching and research roles and contributing to make it the centre of excellence of legal education in Asia. 

Notwithstanding the global pandemic and the COVID-19 public health crisis in 2020, it was a remarkable year for JGU and JGLS. JGU is not only amongst the 21 Indian Universities to have made it to the QS World University Rankings 2021 but has also climbed up an impressive 100 ranks and positioned itself in the Top 651-700 universities in the world. JGU is also recognised in the QS WUR 2021 as India's Number 1 Ranked Private University. JGU is also the only private university from India and the only university with a focus entirely on social sciences, arts and humanities to be featured in the Top 150 universities in the world in the QS Young University Rankings 2021.