Michael Rao is an American

academic administrator Academic administration is a branch of university or college employees responsible for the maintenance and supervision of the institution and separate from the Faculty (academic staff), faculty or academics, although some personnel may have joint ...

who is the current president of

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virgini ...

, a public university in downtown

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

. During his time as president, Rao has overseen hiring and expansion of the university's facilities. Rao previously served as the president of

Central Michigan University Central Michigan University (CMU) is a public research university in Mount Pleasant, Michigan. Established in 1892 as the Central Michigan Normal School and Business Institute, the private normal school became a state institution and renamed Cen ...

Mount Pleasant, Michigan Mount Pleasant is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located in Central Michigan, the city is the county seat of Isabella County. The population was 21,688 as of the 2020 United States census. It is surrounded by Union Township but is politic ...

and Mission College in

Santa Clara, California Santa Clara (; Spanish for " Saint Clare") is a city in Santa Clara County, California. The city's population was 127,647 at the 2020 census, making it the eighth-most populous city in the Bay Area. Located in the southern Bay Area, the cit ...

. Additionally, he served as the Chancellor of

Montana State University–Northern Montana State University–Northern (MSU–Northern or Northern) is a public college in Havre, Montana. It is part of the Montana University System and was Northern Montana College prior to the restructuring of Montana's public university syste ...

Early life and education

Rao, the son of a physician from

Mumbai, India Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

, was born in Boston, Massachusetts. At age eight, he moved with his mother to rural

Pasco County, Florida Pasco County is located on the west central coast of the U.S. state of Florida. According to the 2020 census, the population was 561,691. Its county seat is Dade City, and its largest city is Zephyrhills. The county is named after Samuel Pasco ...

, after the early death of his father, Suresh Rao. He received his bachelor's degree in Chemistry from the

University of South Florida The University of South Florida (USF) is a public research university with its main campus located in Tampa, Florida, and other campuses in St. Petersburg and Sarasota. It is one of 12 members of the State University System of Florida. USF is ...

and his doctorate in Higher Education Administration from the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

Academic career

Rao has been an administrator for more than 20 years. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Rao served in the

private sector The private sector is the part of the economy, sometimes referred to as the citizen sector, which is owned by private groups, usually as a means of establishment for profit or non profit, rather than being owned by the government. Employment The ...

as a higher education academic program planner. In this role, he created master plans for the

University of Washington The University of Washington (UW, simply Washington, or informally U-Dub) is a public research university in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1861, Washington is one of the oldest universities on the West Coast; it was established in Seattle a ...

system and the

University of California The University of California (UC) is a public land-grant research university system in the U.S. state of California. The system is composed of the campuses at Berkeley, Davis, Irvine, Los Angeles, Merced, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, ...

. He also served as assistant to the president at the

, a member of the

Association of American Universities The Association of American Universities (AAU) is an organization of American research universities devoted to maintaining a strong system of academic research and education. Founded in 1900, it consists of 63 universities in the United States ( ...

(AAU). In 1992, Rao became a dean at Mission College in

, and became president of the college two years later. This move gave him the distinction of being the youngest college president in the country at that time. In 1998, he became chancellor of

, in Havre. Rao was chosen to be president of

(CMU), a large public, research university in the year 2000. His work at Central Michigan University focused on interdisciplinary academic program development, economic development through commercialization of research, fundraising for the university, and outreach to the Central Michigan region. During his tenure and despite state budget cuts, CMU significantly increased faculty positions and research productivity, developed academic programs and improved performance. Under Rao's leadership, CMU gained approval to establish a medical school and M.D. degree program, partnering with large healthcare systems. When he left CMU in 2009, Rao was one of the three longest-serving presidents among Michigan's 15 public universities.

Virginia Commonwealth University presidency

Rao was selected to be the president of

in 2009. He was selected for ''honoris causa'' membership in

Omicron Delta Kappa Omicron Delta Kappa (), also known as The Circle and ODK, is one of the most prestigious honor societies in the United States with chapters at more than 300 college campuses. It was founded December 3, 1914, at Washington and Lee University in ...

at VCU in 2015.

Inauguration

Michael Rao was officially installed as VCU's fifth president on October 14, 2011 in an inauguration ceremony at the

Siegel Center The Stuart C. Siegel Center is a multi-purpose facility on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, United States. The facility's main component is the 7,637-(expandable to 8,000) seat E.J. Wade Arena. It also serve ...

. The event was marked with two weeks of activities designed to highlight the urban university's commitment to student success, academic excellence, research and human health. VCU hosted a Presidential Inauguration Research Lecture Series, a university-wide food drive, and events highlighting VCU's commitment to sustainability. VCU also launched a new tradition recognizing the inaugural class of “University Scholars,” undergraduate students who have completed 54-84 credits and have attained outstanding academic achievement. In December 2011, VCU extended Michael Rao's contract through June 30, 2017, with automatic renewals allowing for a possible extension until 2020. Rao's VCU salary is the highest among all employees of the Commonwealth of Virginia, at $1,020,828 for the 2018-2019 fiscal year, a 109% increase from his 2009 annual salary of $488,500.

Protests

While president, Rao overlooked a series of protests by adjunct faculty at VCU. The coalition behind the protests critiqued Rao's salary while many adjuncts made poverty level wages. Ahead of the 2018-19 budget, $4.2 million was allocated to increase adjunct faculty funding from $800 to $1,000 per credit hour, about $1,000 less than what the coalition was demanding.

Ghostwriting scandal

In September 2019, it was reported that Rao had signed as the sole author of an opinion piece that he had not written. The January 2019 op-ed, printed in the

Richmond Times-Dispatch The ''Richmond Times-Dispatch'' (''RTD'' or ''TD'' for short) is the primary daily newspaper in Richmond, Virginia, Richmond, the capital of Virginia, and the primary newspaper of record for the state of Virginia. Circulation The ''Times-Dispatc ...

, supported a private development in that city but had been ghostwritten by an employee of the private development. The executive editor of the

stated that the newspaper would not have published the piece if it has known of its true origin. Rao's actions were also criticized by independent ethics experts.

Personal life

Rao is married to Monica Rao, a professional watercolorist and graphic designer from Bangalore. They have two sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rao, Michael Virginia Commonwealth University administrators Presidents of Central Michigan University University of Florida College of Education alumni University of South Florida alumni Living people Montana State University–Northern American academics of Indian descent 1967 births Indian American American people of Indian descent