Newcastle University has appointed Anant Ambani, heir to India's largest oil and gas fortune, as a professor of practice in sustainability. The university cited his work in conservation, biodiversity protection, animal welfare and environmental stewardship as grounds for the appointment.
The move has drawn criticism from conservationists. Ambani is the son of Mukesh Ambani, India's richest person. He also operates a large private zoo that conservationists have described as controversial.
The university's citation of Ambani's sustainability credentials contrasts sharply with both his family's core business in fossil fuels and the disputed nature of his conservation efforts. No details about the nature of the controversy surrounding his zoo were provided in the announcement or the university's rationale for the appointment.
The appointment appears to reflect a broader pattern in which universities grant prestigious academic titles to wealthy individuals from industries with environmental stakes, regardless of potential conflicts of interest or the substantive record of their claimed conservation work.