Dr. Neeli Bendapudi works to make the University of Louisville a great place for students to learn, for faculty and staff to work, and for alumni and the community to invest. Under her leadership, the university celebrates diversity, fosters equity, and strives for inclusion. She is the first female President of the university and the first person of color to lead the University of Louisville.

She joined UofL in April 2018 as President. Before becoming President, Bendapudi came to Louisville from the University of Kansas where she served as Provost and Executive Vice-Chancellor. She earned her Ph.D. in marketing from the University of Kansas and has teaching experience at Texas A&M University and the Ohio State University specializing in the study of consumer behavior in service contexts.

As President, she leads a university committed to being a premier anti-racist metropolitan research university. The University of Louisville plans to do this by teaching diverse undergraduate, graduate, and professional students to develop engaged citizens, leaders, and scholars, as well as practicing and applying research, scholarship and creative activity.

She is married to Venkat Bendapudi and has a daughter named Sirisha.

For more about her and the work of the University of Louisville, visit louisville.edu/.