TO BE A LEADER YOU MUST
LEAD FROM THE HEART
HAVE A COMMITMENT TO YOUR DREAM
AND HAVE CONVICTION FROM THE START
Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which one has overcome while trying to succeed. An ancient Chinese proverb says: ‘Great souls have wills, feeble ones have only wishes.’ While idle ones wait and wish, those with push and pluck go ahead, giving their best to the world and achieve success in return. As it has been said, “Great men are not born great, they grow great.” There is also one such name who thinks leader is not the person who produces followers but leaders and believes that virtues of humbleness and compassion are the keys to success. Dr. Muhammad Mudasar Ghafoor, Director Punjab University Jhelum Campus (the sub-campus of PU Lahore) is the man behind the wisdom revealed above.
Belong to Gujranwala city; he got his early education from Government Iqbal High School, Gujranwala. Realizing his bent of mind in the field of Commerce, he did his Bachelor in Commerce and then moved on to obtain his MBA from University of Agriculture, Faisalabad. Ended up formally in getting M.Phil from NUML, Islamabad and Ph.D. from the world’s 180th ranked varsity named University of Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom. He was familiar with the fact that the journey of success is endless, so he continued through his prophetic profession of teaching to adore the people with the beads of knowledge and wisdom and that started particularly from his regular appointment as lecturer of Commerce at PU Gujranwala Campus in 2005 to 15th March, 2017 the day when he took the charge as Director Punjab University Jhelum Campus.
Having extensive administrative as well as academic experience i.e. from being the member of interview panel of subject specialist for BPS-17 under PPSC to working with the Commissioner, Gujranwala as member board of directors, and then to the member Senate PU Lahore to the member for Accreditation/Inspection/Monitoring of Public Private Partnership Campuses of Public Sector Universities in Punjab Province by Higher Education Commission (HEC) till now as Director Jhelum Campus. The purpose behind putting pen to paper is to accolade his marvelous services that he has rendered to PU Jhelum Campus since the day he held the office of the Director Campus. Below, light has been thrown on some of his achieved goals.
On 15th March 2017, the day when he took the charge as Director Campus, there were four departments working in PU Jhelum Campus. These were Business Administration, Commerce, Information Technology and the department of Law. Realizing his broad vision and keeping in view the importance of the below mentioned academic program, he got approval of the fifth new department named Administrative Sciences from the then Vice Chancellor of PU, Lahore Dr. Zafar Mueen Nasar. The foundation of this new department was laid down by the Dean of Administrative Sciences Prof. Dr. Nasira Jabeen (current VC PU) by visiting Jhelum Campus along with her faculty members.
Secondly, working on his agenda of expanding the number of departments as well as students, he sought official sanction to double the number of students so that more and more students could be academically entertained in this neck of the woods. Now the students’ number is double that started from nine hundred to eighteen hundred and which will be multiplied in the coming year.
Third important goal achieved was the approval of an overhead bridge by the Chairman NHA in front of PU Jhelum Campus on which construction is in progress. As Campus is situated on the fast track main GT road Jhelum on which several severe cases of accidents have already been reported. Dr. Mudasar kept this need on his priority tasks list to provide security and protection not only to the students but the public at large.
Fourth significant task was the setting up of e-Rozgaar Centre at PU Jhelum Campus through which people can earn money online by sitting even in their homes – an initiative of the Punjab Government to minimize the growing unemployment within the country and for this to set up an e-Rozgaar Centre in each district of the Punjab province. The Director PUJC, Dr. Mudasar Ghafoor talked to the then VC PU and he agreed to give space to this program in PU Jhelum Campus. Therefore, the memorandum was signed at PU Jhelum Campus between Vice Chancellor Information Technology University, Lahore Dr. Umar Saif and then Vice Chancellor, PU Lahore, Dr. Zafar Mueen Nasar in the presence of Dr. Mudasar Ghafoor according to which three to four month training will be given to the selected students at PU Jhelum Campus and after the end of each session, new advertisement will be given for new induction.
Next important development he ushered in PU Jhelum Campus was the installation of first IT Software house in the Information Technology department by the competent IT teachers and their team. On his proposal, IT teachers setup a team of most competent IT students headed by the department HoD himself to work on the establishment of new software house. The aim to establish it is to aware the IT students to the latest and most advanced form of technology and its multiple use benefitting in computerized data keeping, enhancing security measures and the students IT skills simultaneously.
Though there are many other goals which have been achieved and those yet to be achieved, last but not the least is his plan to organize Entrepreneurship Gala at the end of each semester session. For this, a mega Entrepreneurship Gala was organized by the Business Administration department very recently to acquaint the students with the new business skills in order to address the growing menace of unemployment within the country.
History is evident on the fact that excellence was achieved by dedicated hard work and perseverance because there is no shortcut to success. We all must remember that the most important question in our lives is what we are doing for others because the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others. And for the grace of presence, one must be grateful.
Dr. M. Mudasar Ghafoor proved to be a blessing for Punjab University Jhelum Campus. He knows how to use human potential for the benefit of another human being particularly when he says that the most important thing for a human being is another human being, and further said that there is only one thing certain. And that is one’s own inadequacy. One must start from that. He with his entire team of proficient faculty members has set off to take the campus on the heights of dignified glory of knowledge and wisdom, and for this they all are leaving no stone unturned. Briefly, the thematic message behind the valuable career of Dr. Mudasar Ghafoor is lucid when he said which Mevlana Jalaluddin Rumi had said centuries ago, “With life as short as half taken breath, don’t plant anything but love.” May the Campus prosper by leaps and bounds!
The writer is a Lecturer of Law at Punjab University Jhelum Campus. He can be reached at Email: [email protected]