Prof. Datuk Dr. Mohd Harun Abdullah
Fourth Vice Chancellor of UMS (June 2012 – June 2017)
Prof Datuk Dr. Mohd Harun Abdullah was born on 1st January 3th October 1961 in Kampung Gudon, Menggatal, Sabah. He is the eldest of 5 siblings. He received his early education his early educatin at St.Catherine's Primary School Inanam in 1966-1967 and then at GEPS (Government English Primary School) Tanjung Aru from 1968-1973. He got his secondary education at Sabah College Secondary School from 1974-1978 and passed M.C.E (Malaysia Certificate of Education) in Form Five in the Science Stream. After that, he continued his studies at Universiti Pertanian Malaysia until he graduated with a B.Sc in Environment. He obtained his M.Sc degree from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) while his PhD degree was obtained from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Skudai.
Prof Datuk Dr. Mohd Harun Abdullah started his career as a civil servant in 1980 at the Sabah Town and Regional Planning Department before continuing his studies at UPM as a Sabah State Government Scholarship recipient. After graduating, he served as an Environmental Research Officer at the Sabah Ministry of Tourism & Environment from 1987-1993. While serving in the ministry, he was the recipient of the training of the Institute of Hydraulic & Environmental Engineering) Delft, Netherlands in the field of Applied Ecology. Then he embarked on a career in education as a Tutor in 1994 and then a Lecturer in 1995 at the Faculty of Science and Natural Resources, UKM Sabah Campus. He then moved to UMS in 1996 when the UKM Campus in Sabah was closed. Before his appointment as Vice-Chancellor, he was Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research and Innovation.
In addition to publishing books and articles in international journals, he is active in research and has led many research grants whether sponsored from within the country or abroad. Among the research led by him has been funded by funds from Japan's Kurita Water and Environment Foundation Research Grant (KWEF), Grants from UNU (United Nations University), IERC (International Environment Foundation Research Center) Korea Joint Program on Science & Technology for Sustainability 2008-2009; Sciencefund grant from the Malaysian Ministry of Higher Education. He also pioneered a research group on water resources from an environmental perspective in small islands in Malaysia called SIRG (Small Islands Research Group).
As a recognition of his services and contributions to education in UMS throughout his tenure, he was honored this award:
- Panglima Gemilang Darjah Kinabalu (P.G.D.K.) in 6 October 2012.
Prof Datuk Dr. Mohd Harun Abdullah was appointed as the fourth Vice Chancellor of Universiti Malaysia Sabah in June 2012. He served and led the university until June 2017.
Reference:
- Majlis Amanat Sulung Naib Canselor 2012
- Amanat Naib Canselor Tahun 201
- Vice Chancellor Website