GITAM welcomes three distinguished academicians to its Board of Management

As institution builders with immaculate credentials, Dr Viswanathan Raghunathan, Dr Meenakshi Gopinath and Dr VSRK Prasad bring valuable expertise in Engineering, Management and Social Sciences

Visakhapatnam, October 25, 2022: GITAM (Deemed to be University) has announced the addition of three eminent members to its Board of Management as the Chancellor’s nominees. Dr Viswanathan Raghunathan, Dr Meenakshi Gopinath and Dr VSRK Prasad bring decades of extensive experience in institution building, furthering the University’s strive for achieving international acclaim.

Speaking on the announcement, GITAM President Bharat Mathukumilli said, “We are thankful to have such exemplary individuals on our Board guiding the University in the right direction as we aspire to become a Global 100 University by 2040. Each member not only brings domain expertise in Engineering, Management and Social Sciences but all of them have been dedicated institution builders with impeccable integrity.”

Dr Viswanathan Raghunathan, an academic, author and CEO, was formerly Director of Schulich School of Business Hyderabad, started by York University in Toronto; he was heading its Hyderabad campus. He has been President of ING Vysya bank, Managing Director at GMR Industries and the CEO of GMR Varalakshmi Foundation for close to two decades. Before this, he was a professor of Finance and Accounting at IIM Ahmedabad. Dr Raghunathan said, “I am excited about joining GITAM, especially because I consider GITAM to be one of the earliest successful private initiatives in higher academia in India, presenting a high benchmark in the Indian academic space.”

Dr Meenakshi Gopinath is currently the Founder and Honorary Director of WISCOMP (Women in Security, Conflict Management and Peace), an initiative that seeks to promote the leadership of South Asian women in the areas of peace, security and regional cooperation. She is also Chair of the Board of Governors, Centre for Policy Research (CPR) and is Principal Emerita of Lady Shri Ram College, New Delhi, where she served as Principal for 26 years from 1988-2014. She has been a member of the University Grants Commission (UGC) in India. Dr Gopinath was the first woman nominated to India’s National Security Advisory Board (NSAB). She is a member of multi-track peace initiatives and people-to-people dialogues in South Asia.

In recognition of her contribution to the field of women’s education and empowerment, she has received several awards, including the Padma Shri Award.

Dr VSRK Prasad has had a long and distinguished career in academia. In his 38 years of teaching, he has served in different roles in many prestigious Universities. He began teaching at Andhra University in 1979 in the Chemical Engineering department, where he spent most of his early teaching career. He most recently completed a successful tenure as Advisor and, subsequently, Founding Director at the Indian Institute of Petroleum and Energy in Visakhapatnam, an institution of national importance.

Dr Prasad said, “I am thrilled to join GITAM University as a member of the Board of Management. It so happened that I was a member of the governing body of GITAM Engineering college under the leadership of Dr MVVS Murthy Garu. Now, as the new president is trying to lead the University towards global recognition, it’s much more thrilling to be associated with GITAM after gaining more academic experience, including experience as the former and founding Director of an institute of national importance. I’m confident that the positive vibrations of all the people at the helm of affairs will shape this institution into a highly reputed institute in national and international arenas.”

“We at GITAM are honoured to have these distinguished personalities on our board of management. With their insights and direction GITAM will soar to new heights,” GITAM President Bharat Mathukumilli added.