Professor Uda Hettige at the Department of Archaeology has been appointed as the Chairman of the Art Council of the University of Kelaniya.

This appointment has been made by Senior Professor Nilanthi de Silva, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya. Professor Hettige assumed her duties on the 15^th of August 2023. 

Professor Uda Hettige is a nationally and internationally renowned scholar specializing in Archaeology education. She has shown great expertise in the field of Archaeology. She is one of the most senior scholars in the Sri Lankan university setting in her academic discipline.

Professor Uda Hettige is an academic in Archaeology and Anthropology. Her bachelor’s degree is in Archaeology, and she has done research on Sri Lankan paintings for her M.Phil. and Ph.D. She has participated in several radio and television programs and owns the co-authorship and authorship of several books, research reports, journal articles, and editorship of several journals. 

Professor Hettige’s notable field experiences are field training conducted by the Central Cultural Fund, training at the Excavation Unit of the Archaeological Department, Ravana Ella, Archaeological Excavations as an Excavation Officer, Pottery Analysis of Sigiriya as a Sectional Head, Research Leadership for the Kelaniya Pilapitiya Project conducted by the Archaeological Department in collaboration with French Research Institute, and acting as an Assistant Director for the Survey of Archaeological Monuments in Kurunegala. 

Amongst the most outstanding artistic works of the Professor, still photography, archaeological photography, video and filming, songwriting, and poetry books are significant. She has received numerous prizes and certificates for her photography skills and filming.

Professor Hettige was a council member (2011-2017), Hon. Librarian and the Vice President of the Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka, Faculty Board Member of the University of Buddhist and Pali, Director of Central Cultural Fund, Gampaha Project Office (2017-2020), Head of the Department of Archaeology from 2015 – 2018 and a Visiting Professor of the Department of History and Archaeology at the University of Ruhuna from 2000 – 2004. She is also a fellow of the Sri Lanka Council of Archeologists (FSLCA).