Penn State President

Neeli Bendapudi, Ph.D., leads an inspired community of Penn State students, faculty, and staff. Driven by a commitment to fostering student success and a sense of belonging for all Penn Staters, President Bendapudi advances the University’s values and land-grant mission of teaching, research, and public service.

President Neeli Bendapudi

Neeli Bendapudi began her tenure as the nineteenth president of Penn State in May 2022. With a nearly thirty-year career in higher education and business, Bendapudi leads Penn State’s presence across the state and top-ranked online World Campus with a focus on advancing excellence and creating opportunities for students, faculty, and staff to thrive. 

Her is one where all students have the opportunity to succeed, interdisciplinary research excellence is encouraged and supported, and the University’s land-grant impact is felt deeply within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and beyond. Within the foundation of these efforts, she is committed to fostering belonging for all Penn Staters and enabling innovative ways of operating to best serve students, faculty, and staff. 

With students as her north star, Bendapudi is investing in transformation to: 

• Reimagine the student experience and prepare students for success after graduation 

• Prioritize excellence in teaching, learning, and research 

• Support employees in their career paths 

• Establish an agile operating model that encourages innovation and growth  

Among her leadership experiences, Bendapudi served as president of the University of Louisville, provost and executive vice chancellor at the University of Kansas, and dean of the School of Business at the University of Kansas. In addition to consulting for some of the world’s largest companies and organizations, she was the executive vice president and chief customer officer for Huntington National Bank. With a research background in the study of consumer behavior in service contexts, she has taught marketing at a variety of higher education institutions and been honored for contributions in her field at both the national and university level.