Department Profile
The Department of Statistics, Sardar Patel University was established in 1961 with the M.Sc. Statistics programme. The growing need for faculty in the subject of Statistics led to the steady expansion of the department in terms of teaching staff, student strength, and infrastructure. By 1977, Prof. S. M. Shah, the first Head of the Department, had guided four faculty members across three major areas of research, thereby strengthening the academic foundation of the department.
In 2005, the department was allotted the entire third floor of the Mathematics Building, which significantly enhanced its physical infrastructure and facilitated the expansion of academic and research activities.
At present, the department has seven regular sanctioned positions and four ad hoc (self-finance) positions. Of these, four regular and three ad hoc positions are filled, while the remaining positions are in the process of recruitment.
Currently, the department is running three Master’s (PG) programmes, three Certificate courses, two PG Diploma programmes, and two Ph.D. research programmes, reflecting its continued commitment to academic growth and professional advancement in the field of Statistics.
In the year 1961 the department of statistics took its initiation in the Department of Mathematics. Prof. S. R. Patel, then joined as lecturer in the Department of Mathematics, initiated the M.Sc. programme in Statistics. In 1964 the university recruited Dr. S. M. Shah as a Reader in Statistics and under his headship established a separate Department of Statistics. Subsequently other faculties joined the department at different positions. The brief details are provided in the following table.
| Sr. No. | Name | Designation and Date of joining | Subsequent promotions/appointments etc |
| 1. | Dr. S.R. Patel | 1961, Lecturer | Joined as Reader in 1977 Promoted as a Professor in 1985 Head of the Department from 1987-1992 |
| 2. | Dr. S. M. Shah | 1963, Professor | Joined as Reader and Head in 1963 |
| 2. | Dr. D.N.Shah | 1969,Lecturer | Joined as Reader in 1978 Joined as Professor in 1992 Head of Department from 1992-1997 |
| 3. | Dr. P.N.Jani | 1977, Lecturer | Joined as Reader in the in 1985 |
| 4. | Dr. C.C.Gujarathi | 1978,Lecturer | Joined as Reader in 1987 Joined as Professor in 1998 Head of the Department from 1997-2003 |
| 5. | Dr. P.A.Patel | 1990, Lecturer | Joined as Reader in 1994 Promoted to Professor in 2003 Head of the Department from 2012-2016 Head of the Department (in-charge) from 2019-2020 |
| 6. | Dr. A. Shanubhogue | 1990,Reader | Promoted as Professor in 1998. Professor and Head 2003-2012, 2016-2019 |
| 7. | Dr. J.M.Divecha | 1991, Lecturer | Joined as Reader in 1998. Designated as Associate Professor in 2006 Promoted as Professor in 2011. |
| 8. | Dr. M.B.Bhatt | 1995, Lecturer | Promoted as Associate Professor in 2015 |
| 9. | Ms. R.P.Shah | 2003, Lecturer | Left in 2006 to join M. S. University of Baroda |
| 9. | Mr. M.V.Bhatt | 2006, Lecturer | Left in 2010 to join Administrative of SPU |
| 10. | Mr. D.Kumar | 2008, Lecturer | Left after few months |
| 11. | Dr. D.P.Raykundaliya | 2008, Lecturer | Promoted as Senior Scale Assistant Professor in 2015 |
| 12. | Dr. Khimya S. Tinani | 2021, Assistant Professor | Joined in the month of August |
Sr. No. | Head of the Department | Tenure |
1 | Prof. S. M. Shah | June 1963 – June 1987 |
2 | Prof. S. R. Patel | July 1987 – Nov 1992 |
3 | Prof. D. N. Shah | Dec 1992 – April 1997 |
4 | Dr. P. N. Jani (in charge) | May 1997 – June 1997 |
5 | Dr. C. C. Gujarathi (in charge) | July 1997 – July 1998 |
6 | Prof. C. C. Gujarathi | Aug 1998 – July 2003 |
7 | Prof. Ashok Shanubhogue | Aug 2003 – February 2012 |
8 | Prof. P A Patel | March 2012-June 2016 |
9 | Prof.Ashok Shanubhogue | July 2016- |
| 10 | Prof. P. A. Patel (in charge) | Oct 2019 – July 2020 |
| 11 | Prof. Jyoti. M. Divecha | July 2020 – July 2025 |
| 12 | Prof. Dharmesh P. Raykundaliya | July 2025 — |
- Prof. S.M. Shah
Prof. S.M. Shah was instrumental in the establishment of separate statistics department in the university. During his tenure he got sanctioned one professor, two reader and two lecturer positions. Prof.S.M.Shah himself being active researcher, encouraged research activities in the department. All the teachers during his tenure obtained their Ph.D under his guidance. He introduced three main branches of research, viz., Design of Experiments, Sampling Theory and Statistical Inference.
- Prof. S.R. Patel
Prof. S.R. Patel was able get one lecturer and one reader positions from the UGC. He introduced desk top computers in the department and established a small computer laboratory in the department. He initiated a course on computer programming for M.Sc statistics.
- Prof. D.N. Shah
Prof. D.N. Shah took initiative in introducing computer related course at B.Sc level in the colleges. He further enhanced the computer laboratory of the department by procuring more desk top computers.
- Prof. C.C. Gujarathi
Prof. Gujarathi took initiatives in computerizing statistics practical. He also revised the syllabi of M.Sc. programme as per the UGC modal curriculum. He was instrumental in introducing C++ programming language in the M.Sc. curriculum. He managed to get donation from daughters of Prof. S.M. Shah to establish the “Late Prof. S.M. Shah” Statistical Laboratory. During his tenure he enhanced the computer laboratory with then latest computers and procured Matlab, Lotus, Visual Basic and SPSS and other software. He also initiated campus recruitments by inviting companies Rajshree Yarns and Gujarat Glass.
- Prof. Ashok Shanubhogue
Prof. Shanubhogue, after joining as Head in the 2003, continued to follow the approach adopted by Prof. Gujarathi in the development of the department. He took the following initiatives.
- Revised the syllabi and introducing semester system in the department.
- Introduced two specialized branches- Biostatistics, Financial statistics.
- Introduced compulsory project work in the M.Sc. curriculum
- Brought out Placement Brochures and organizing campus recruitments.
- Started a new Master’s programme under UGC innovative programme scheme called Master in Quality and Productivity Management (M.Q.P.M)
- Established DST-FIST grant modernized computer laboratory.
- Established department student and research library.
- Introduced (a) Certificate Course in SPSS (b) Certificate Course in Biostatistics (c) Certificate Course in Financial Statistics.
- Formed Alumni Association.
- Organized “Career opportunities in Statistics” seminars regularly for student awareness about the subject Statistics.
- Organized training programmes at low cost for enhancing cocurricular skills.
- Prof. P. A. Patel
Prof. P. A. Patel in his tenure improved the curriculum design of M. Sc. programmes by exercising his in-depth understanding of the classical statistical inference. He emphasized on teaching statistics in a popularized way.
- Prof. Jyoti M. Divecha
Prof. Jyoti Divecha continued the mission of the Department of Statistics, Sardar Patel University to develop skilled professionals in Statistics by strengthening academic and infrastructural resources.
Under her leadership, the department started the Ph.D. in Applied Statistics and introduced two PG Diploma programmes—PG Diploma in Data Science and PG Diploma in Quality and Productivity Management. She also facilitated the development of the department auditorium with support from the RUSA grant and the Department Development Fund.
- Prof. Dharmesh P. Raykundaliya
Prof. Raykundaliya follows the footprint of all legends of the department, actively advocating the opportunities and prospectus of Statistics through motivational lectures and through departmental social media platforms officially started under his able leadership. Further, Dr. Raykundaliya with his colleagues in process of design and implementation the curriculum of M.Sc. Programme and new undergraduate programme B.Sc. Statistical Science under NEP-2020. Also, Dr. Raykundaliya believes in Quality publications stress on publishing research papers in SCOPUS and Web of Science indexed journals
The unreserved and whole hearted contributions by the superannuated teachers of the department have helped gain the recognition as one of the leading departments in the western region. It is considered as one of the best departments in terms of up-to-date teaching, present-day research and extension activities. Ours is the first department among UGC recognized statistics departments, which bring out placement brochures / e-brochures and conduct placement activities since 2004. Our teachers have done research in many leading areas of statistics, and have regularly organized Seminars, Symposia, Conferences, Workshops, Training programs. Our alumni are spread over various fronts, they are working in government sectors, corporate / financial sectors, educational institutes and abroad. To respect the efforts put forth by our predecessors, we have planned to expand the activities of the department further. Our first objective is to enhance Industry and Academic Linkage through industrial research and consultancy activities.
- Encourage teachers/students of the department to interact with nearby industries for M. Sc. integrated internship Projects.
- Implement 6 Sigma tools within the department so as to create a research-oriented environment in the department.
- Carry out M. Sc. projects on Government / Industry / India related data to understand the Indian scenario better.
- Engage in basic Statistical innovations and Research.