THERE will be an extra pair of hands to hand out scrolls at the Nanyang Technological University's convocation this year.

Former NTUC FairPrice chairman S. Chandra Das has been appointed the university's newest pro-chancellor.

The holder of such a post stands in for the chancellor, President SR Nathan, at official functions, mainly the annual graduation ceremonies.

Mr Das, 68, joins three other pro-chancellors at NTU - banker Wee Cho Yaw, retired civil servant Herman R. Hochstadt and former Housing Board chairman Hsuan Owyang.

Announcing Mr Das' appointment on Monday, NTU president Su Guaning said besides deputising for the chancellor, pro-chancellors are also role models for students.

Mr Das, with his extensive experience in the private and public sectors, is 'the kind of role model we'd like our students to have', said Dr Su.

Mr Das, a former MP, is now the non-resident envoy to Turkey, the managing director of NUR Investment & Trading and a director in companies such as Yeo Hiap Seng and The Ascott Group. He replaces NTU's first pro-chancellor, Dr A. Vijiaratnam, a prominent engineer who retired in April 2005.

He also chairs the fund-raising committee of NTU's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies.