Neeli Bendapudi | |
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![]() Neeli Bendapudi in 2024 | |
19th President of Pennsylvania State University | |
Assumed office May 9, 2022 | |
Preceded by | Eric J. Barron |
18thPresident of the University of Louisville | |
In office May 15,2018 –December 9,2021 | |
Preceded by | James R. Ramsey |
Succeeded by | Lori Stewart Gonzalez (interim) |
Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor of the University of Kansas | |
In office July 1,2016 –April 27,2018 | |
Preceded by | Jeffrey Vitter |
Succeeded by | Carl Lejuez (acting) |
Personal details | |
Born | 1962or1963(age 61–62) Visakhapatnam,India |
Education | Andhra University (BA,MBA) University of Kansas (PhD) |
Neeli Bendapudi is an Indian-American academic administrator who is the 19th president of Pennsylvania State University. [1] From 2018 until 2021,she served as the 18th president of the University of Louisville. [2] In December 2021,Penn State announced Bendapudi as the university's president;she succeeded Eric J. Barron following his retirement. [3] She assumed office in May 2022 and is the first woman and the first non-white person to serve as Penn State's president. [4]
Neeli was born in Visakhapatnam,India. Both her parents,T. Ramesh Dutta and Padma Dutta,were professors in English in Andhra University. [5] She attended Andhra University,where she earned an undergraduate and master's degree. [6] She moved to the United States in 1986 to attend graduate school at the University of Kansas,where she earned her Ph.D. in marketing. [7]
Neeli held teaching posts at both Ohio State University and Texas A&M University before returning to the University of Kansas to serve as the dean of the University of Kansas School of Business. From 1 July 2016,until her election as president at the University of Louisville,she served as provost and executive vice chancellor of the University of Kansas. [8] Following her tenure at the University of Kansas,her successor cut 150 faculty and staff positions in the midst of budget strains. [9]
Neeli was named president of the University of Louisville on 3 April 2018,and her first day was 15 May 2018. She replaced James R. Ramsey,who resigned after a 2015 sex scandal that implicated him. [10] She is the first non-white president of the University of Louisville and indicated an intention to develop a culture of openness. [11] On 13 July 2018,she,in response to Papa John's Pizza founder John Schnatter's use of a racial slur,announced that Schnatter's name would be struck from U of L's football stadium's name. She resigned as president of the University of Louisville on 13 December 2021,following her selection as the 19th president of the Pennsylvania State University. [12] She was succeeded by interim president Lori Stewart Gonzalez.
She also previously served as executive vice president and chief customer officer for Huntington National Bank. [13]