Indian Origin Professor Neeli Bendapudi Becomes First Female President of UPenn

Born in Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, Neeli immigrated to the US in 1986 for her higher education.

FREMONT, CA: Indian-American marketing and consumer behavior specialist Neeli Bendapudi was appointed as the president of Pennsylvania State University in the US. She became the first woman and person of color to hold this position. She is currently the president of the University of Louisville, Kentucky. Neeli will succeed Eric J Barron, who has served the university for three decades.

The Girl from Vishakhapatnam

Born in Vishakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, Neeli immigrated to the US in 1986 for her higher education. After earning her Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Kansas, she was a teacher at Texas A&M University and the Ohio State University. She also served as the executive VP and Chief Customer Officer for Hunting National Bank. She consulted for some world’s largest enterprises, such as Proctor & Gamble, AIG, and the US Army.

Neeli is known in the community as a dynamic and innovative individual who has dedicated the lion’s share of her professional life to higher education for helping the universities advance and support their students, serve society, and inspire young people to gain knowledge.

Accomplishments and Accolades

Neeli Bendapudi’s work has been featured several times in popularly daily newspapers, magazines, and big new media outlets, including The New York Times, CNBC, CNN, MSNBC, Fox News Network, and WebMD.

About Pennsylvania State University

Pennsylvania State University is a public land-grant research institution supported by the state government of Pennsylvania. The university has campuses and facilities across the state. PSU was founded in 1855 as the Farmer’s high school of Pennsylvania, Penn State.

Around 90 Olympic athletes, 11 past and present congressional representatives, and several other accomplished professionals have graduated from the college. Some famous names include writer and producer Adam McKay, president and CEO of Nike Mark Parker, television personality Lara Spencer, actor Ty Burrell, and the first African-American to travel to space, Guion Bluford.