Directions: Read the following information carefully and answer the question that follows.

Eight members — K, T, U, V, W, X, Y, and Z — hold eight distinct academic designations in a university: Chancellor, Vice-Chancellor, Dean, Department Head, Senior Professor, Associate Professor, Assistant Professor, and Lecturer. The order of seniority is from Chancellor (the senior-most) down to Lecturer (the junior-most).

K is the Lecturer of the university.
Three persons hold designations between K and T.
X holds a designation senior to Dean, but X is not the Vice-Chancellor.
The number of persons senior to V is equal to the number of persons junior to W.
Two persons hold designations between V and U.
Z is senior to Y, but junior to Vice-Chancellor.

Which of the following designations is held by Z?

The correct answer is Dean.

Step 1: Understand the designation hierarchy
The eight academic designations in order of decreasing seniority (from senior-most to junior-most) are:
1. Chancellor (Senior-most)
2. Vice-Chancellor
3. Dean
4. Department Head
5. Senior Professor
6. Associate Professor
7. Assistant Professor
8. Lecturer (Junior-most)

Step 2: Determine the positions of K and T
• K is the Lecturer of the university, so K is at Position 8.
• Three persons hold designations between K and T. Moving 4 positions senior to Position 8 gives Position 4.
Thus, T is the Department Head (Position 4).

Step 3: Determine the position of X
• X holds a designation senior to Dean (Position 3), which leaves Position 1 (Chancellor) and Position 2 (Vice-Chancellor).
• Since X is not the Vice-Chancellor, X must be the Chancellor (Position 1).

Step 4: Determine the positions of V, W, and U
• The number of persons senior to V is equal to the number of persons junior to W.
If the numerical rank of V is denoted by:

$r$

then W must be at rank:

$9-r$

• Placing V at Position 2 (Vice-Chancellor):
- There is 1 person senior to V. Therefore, there must be 1 person junior to W, placing W at Position 7 (Assistant Professor).
- Two persons hold designations between V (Position 2) and U, which places U at Position 5 (Senior Professor).

Step 5: Determine the positions of Z and Y
• The remaining unassigned designations are Position 3 (Dean) and Position 6 (Associate Professor).
• Z is senior to Y, but junior to Vice-Chancellor (Position 2).
Position 3 is junior to Vice-Chancellor (Position 2) and senior to Position 6, so Z must hold Position 3 (Dean) and Y must hold Position 6 (Associate Professor).

Final Designation Schedule:
1. Chancellor: X
2. Vice-Chancellor: V
3. Dean: Z
4. Department Head: T
5. Senior Professor: U
6. Associate Professor: Y
7. Assistant Professor: W
8. Lecturer: K

Hence, the designation held by Z is Dean.