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The former president of Western University has landed a new job halfway around the world.

Amit Chakma, who has an engineering building at Western named after him, will take over as vice-chancellor at the University of Western Australia in July 2020, the university announced Tuesday.

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“I am honoured to have been given the privilege of leading … one of the world’s great institutions,” Chakma said in a statement.

As vice-chancellor, he will lead the university in the city of Perth that was established in 1911 and has nearly 24,000 students.

Chakma was chosen for the post because he has “a proven track record ” and “the necessary combination of experience, skills and capacity to lead the university,” Robert French, chancellor of the University of Western Australia, said in a statement.

“Professor Chakma comes to UWA with demonstrated success in developing high quality teaching and learning while building research capability and important partnerships across academic, government and industry sectors,” French said.