Vice-Chancellor

Professor Tomo Riba was born in a shifting cultivator’s family on 16 February 1961 at Disi Village, Basar, Lepa Rada district Arunachal Pradesh. He passed his pre-primary school in 1970 from his village school, Secondary education from Basar in 1978, Higher Secondary in 1980 from Aalo, graduation from Jawaharlal Nehru College Pasighat in 1982, and Postgraduation in Geography from North Eastern Hill’s University (NEHU) Shillong Meghalaya in 1985, B.Ed in 1989, Ph.D. in 1997 from Rajiv Gandhi University.

Prof. Riba served as Assistant Teacher-A in various schools for half a decade, as a Senior Teacher and College Lecturer before joining the Rajiv Gandhi University (RGU). He joined Rajiv Gandhi University in 1992 as an Assistant Professor, Promoted to Reader and finally became professor since 2009. He served the RGU for more than 32 years.

While in the university, Professor Riba served as Head of the department of the Geography, Dean Faculty of Faculty of Environmental Sciences, First Dean of Student’s Welfare, Hostel Warden, Director Distance Education, First Chief Vigilance Officer, First Coordinator Outreach Program, Coordinator of Woman Technology Park, the Controller of Examinations, the Finance Officer and Registrar
Professor Riba is specialised in Environmental Geography, Traditional Ecological Knowledge and Biography. Till today, he has guided 13 Ph.D. scholars, written 03(three) books, published more than 30 numbers of national and internals articles.
His international experiences include his visit to Japan twice as visiting professor to Research Institute for Humanity and Nature (RIHN) at Kyoto Japan in 2010 for three months. Another visit to Kyoto University Japan as a visiting professor for six months in 2012.

He worked as Consultant in International Labour Organisation (ILO)/United Nations Drug Program (UNCP), in the eradication of Opium Addiction in Arunachal Pradesh for one year two months in 2002 to 2003.
Currently, he is also the President of Bharatiya Shiksha Mandal (BSM) of Arunachal Pradesh and the members State Environmental Impact Assessment.

Prof Riba has multifarious Hobbies which include Photography, playing of musical instruments, house constructions, gardening (vermin-composting, mushroom cultivation, sericulture, propagation of plants), travelling, designing of logo. He has composed the university song of Rajiv Gandhi University.

Presently he is working as the first Vice-Chancellor of Arunachal Pradesh (state) university since March 2023.