Dr Neeli Bengapuli Set To Bet First Woman President Of Penn State University

The Pennsylvania State University of the United States created history by announcing its first woman and a person of colour president. Indian-origin Dr Neeli Bendapudi was elected to the post unanimously by the Penn State Board of Trustees.

Dr Neeli Bendapudi begins her term as the 19th president of Penn State University in the spring of 2022. She will be succeeding Eric J Barron, who is going to retire next year, after holding the post since 2014.

A member of the Presidential Recruitment and Selection Committee Nina Jablonski said, "The qualities of a 21st-century academic leader --commitments to excellence, equity and opportunity--are second nature to Dr Bendapudi."

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Dr Bendapudi thanked the board members for her selection while expressing her excitement about the upcoming challenges and endeavours. She said, "...I couldn't be prouder and more excited to join this vibrant community of outstanding students, faculty, staff and alumni throughout the commonwealth and beyond."

She is currently serving as the 18th president for the University of Louisville in Kentucky and specialises in marketing and consumer behaviour.

Who is Dr Neeli Bendapudi

Born in Visakhapatnam in India, Dr Bendapudi came to the United States in 1986. At the time she was pursuing her higher education. Dr Bendapudi did her PhD in marketing from the University of Kansas and has also taught at Texas A&M University and the Ohio State University. She is also known to have served as the president of the University of Louisville.

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In her 30-year career as an academician, she taught marketing and has been part of administrative roles including provost and executive vice chancellor at the University of Kansas. In the same university, she was also the dean of the School of Business. Other than that, she is also the founding director for the Managing Services at the Ohio State University.

Her work has been featured by media outlets like The New York Times, CNBC, CNN, MSNBC, WebMD, amongst others. Other than being a professor and having an administrative role, she was the chief customer officer of The Huntington National Bank and is part of the Board of Directors of Lancaster Colony Corporation, which is a publicly held company.

Image Credit: Penn State University