Neeli Bendapudi is an Indian-American teacher. In December 2021, she made history by being named the first woman and first person of color to win the title of president of America’s prestigious Pennsylvania State University, taking office in spring 2022. Neeli is currently the 18th president of the University of Louisville, also making her the first woman and non-white person to serve in the role.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Neeli Bendapudi was born in 1963 (age 58; as of 2021) in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India. She earned her BA in English in 1983 and her MBA in 1985, both from Andhra University in India. The following year, Ella Bendapudi moved to the US to earn her PhD in marketing from the University of Kansas, which she completed in 1994.
Physical appearance
Hair Color: Black
Eye Color: Black
Family
Fathers and brothers
His father, the late Ramesh Dutta, was in the Kansas Jayhawks men’s basketball program at the University of Kansas.
Neeli Bendapudi with her parents
Neeli has two sisters.
Neeli Bendapudi with her sisters as a child
husband and sons
On February 8, 1984, Neeli married Venkat Bendapudi, a tenured professor at the University of Kansas School of Business.
Neeli Bendapudi with her husband
They have a daughter, Sirisha Bendapudi, who married Kyle Ladd in 2015.
daughter of Neeli Bendapudi
Career
early career
Dr. Bendapudi has been an Adjunct Professor of Marketing at Texas A&M University from 1994 to 1996 and an Adjunct Professor of Marketing at The Ohio State University from 1996 to 2002. She was then promoted to Associate Professor at The Ohio State University before assuming the full professorship from 2008 to 2011. She has also served as Director of Customer Service and Executive Vice President of The Hunt ington National Bank, which was a top 30 bank in the US at the time in 2007-2008. She has also consulted for some of the world’s largest companies and organizations, including AIG, Procter & Gamble, and the US Army.
University of Kansas
In 2011, the Indian-born professor returned to her alma mater, KU, and served as Dean and HD Price Professor of Business at the KU School of Business for five years. In July 2016, Bendapudi formally began her job as Chancellor and Executive Vice Chancellor at the U of K, where she served until 2018.
University of Louisville
In May 2018, Bendapudi made history by becoming the first woman and person of color to be named the 18th president of the University of Louisville by its Board of Trustees. She succeeded James Ramsey, who stepped down in 2016 after controversy. Under her presidency, the University enrolled its largest and most diverse freshman class, improved four-year graduation rates, achieved record enrollment levels, and increased research sponsored annually by nearly 80%. During his tenure, the U of L became a national leader in diversity, equity and inclusion, and was also named one of only three universities in the Top 101 Public Universities to receive an “A” for creating access for African American and Latino students.
Pennsylvania State University
Dr. Neeli Bendapudi, on December 10, 2021, was named the 19th President of the prestigious Pennsylvania State University. She will assume the role after current President Eric Barron retires, which will happen sometime before July 1, 2022. The decision was unanimously made by the Penn State Board of Trustees. In her acceptance speech, Bendapudi said:
I recognize the symbolic value of the appointment. But for me, what I really hope it does is inspire others to seek the highest office in their chosen field, no matter who they are… It’s a day of great joy for me, but it’s also one of realism. I recognize that I have a lot of work to do as the landscape of higher education continues to change.”
disputes
Bendapudi’s response to Papa John’s racial slur
On July 13, 2018, Bendapudi immediately responded to the use of a racial slur by Papa John’s Pizza founder John Schnatter, who admitted to using the n-word in a conference call, by announcing that Schnatter’s name would be removed from the name of the University of Louisville football stadium. Within 48 hours, Neeli officially changed the name of Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium to “Cardinal Stadium”, effective immediately. She wrote in a formal statement,
These comments were hurtful and unacceptable and do not reflect the values of our university. By taking this action, we renew our community’s commitment to speak up when it matters, to do the right thing, and to come together as one team, our Cardinal family, to heal and move forward. The brightest days for this university are yet to come.”
Called out for not being transparent
In December 2021, a media report denounced Neeli’s hypocrisy in not being transparent in her official decisions. According to the report,
On consecutive days, the president of the University of Louisville [Neeli Bendspudi] declined to explain how a board meeting met the legal requirements to be held behind closed doors and why sports director Vince Tyra’s no-compete clause was removed to make it easier for him to work with an Atlantic Coast Conference competitor.”
The article criticized her because before her appointment as president, Bendapudi had said in her speech that she “hoped to set the tone that she had to be transparent.”
Awards, Honors, Achievements
- In 1993, Bendapudi was honored with the University’s Distinguished Teaching Assistant Award, University of Kansas.
- In 1998, Neeli received the Pace Setters Undergraduate Teaching Award from the Fisher College of Business, The Ohio State University.
- In 1998 and 1999, Bendapudi was honored with the American Marketing Association’s Marketing Professor of the Year Award from The Ohio State University’s Fisher College of Business, OSU.
- She was felicitated with the 2001 Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award, which is the highest teaching award at The Ohio State University.
- He received the Outstanding Professor of Marketing Award from the Academy of Marketing Sciences in 2003.
- For her contribution to the MBA, she was honored with the Outstanding Elective Professor Award in 2000, 2001, 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2009. She was also named Best MBA Lead Professor in 2005.
- In 2009, Neeli’s contributions were recognized with the James Ginter Outstanding Marketing Professor Award.
Salary
Bendapudi’s annual salary as president of the University of Louisville was $725,000 and her annual bonus was $150,000 in 2019.
Facts/Curiosities
- When Neeli was around 5 years old, her father left for the US for three years to complete his PhD at KU. When she returned to India, her father was teaching English at a university in the country. Neeli said in an article,
My father was in the mystical land of Kansas. He would tell us all about this beautiful place called Lawrence and he would send us these cool pictures of things called Jayhawks. He was five or six years old and he was already in love with KU”.
- Neela and her husband are both native Indians who moved to the United States to pursue PhDs at KU. They both lived in an apartment on Stouffer Place at the time and were chosen by the then chancellor, Gene Budig, to be the host couple for the university.
- Bendapudi specializes in the study of consumer behavior in service contexts. In her nearly 30-year career in academia, she has taught at the undergraduate, MBA, Executive MBA, and doctoral levels, and has been honored with several college, university, and national teaching awards.
- Neeli’s research has been published in the Journal of Academic Medicine, Journal of Marketing, Journal of Marketing Research, Harvard Business Review, Journal of Retailing, Journal of Service Research, and in the proceedings of various national and international conferences. Her work has also been featured by various popular news outlets, including The New York Times, CNN, Fox News Network, CNBC, MSNBC, and WebMD.
- Bendapudi is also a highly sought after keynote speaker, having addressed national and international audiences for many organizations and companies.
- Neela is also a former member of the International Women’s Forum Leadership Foundation and Women’s Corporate Directors, one of only 27 women elected globally. Aside from this, she is also a member of various boards of non-profit organizations including the Louisville Healthcare CEO Council, Internet 2.0, the American Council on Education, and MRIGlobal, an independent research institute. Currently, she is on the Board of Directors of the Lancaster Colony Corporation.
- As president-elect of Pennsylvania State University with a five-year contract with the university, Bendapudi will receive a base salary of $950,000, annual supplemental compensation contributions of $350,000, and a termination pay of $1,250,000 at the end of the contract term. He will also receive two transition payments of $100,000 each in 2022 and 2023.
Categories: News
Source: dienchau2.edu.vn
