Latha Ramchand will serve as the inaugural chancellor of Indiana University Indianapolis and lead the reimagined campus into a new era as one of the nation’s premier urban research universities. She will join IU’s Indianapolis campus from her current role as executive vice chancellor and provost at the University of Missouri, where she pioneered innovative approaches to improve enrollment and student success, while strengthening academic offerings and significantly expanding the university’s research enterprise.
Ramchand will assume the role of executive vice president and chancellor on Feb. 12. She will take the helm during a transformational time for the campus as it officially transitions from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis to IU Indianapolis in July 2024. The new chancellor will lead a campus with more than 20,000 students, more than 400 undergraduate, graduate, professional and certificate programs, and an extensive and growing research portfolio.
“Latha Ramchand will provide the bold, visionary and entrepreneurial leadership necessary to advance our ambitious vision for IU’s Indianapolis campus,” said Pamela Whitten, president of Indiana University. “Her expertise will accelerate our momentum at this critical time, firmly establish IU Indianapolis as one of the nation’s premier urban research universities, and expand the university’s impact in central Indiana and beyond.”
In addition to her executive leadership role, Ramchand will serve on the Indianapolis faculty of the Kelley School of Business as professor of finance.
“The energy and momentum around this campus is palpable, and impressive,” Ramchand said. “From the focus on student success to the impactful research led by IU faculty in Indianapolis, it is clear to me that this campus is poised to become one of the most vibrant urban public research universities in the country. The opportunity to serve as the inaugural chancellor for an institution such as IU Indianapolis at this point in its history is truly special. I cannot wait to get started.”
As executive vice chancellor and provost at the University of Missouri, Ramchand serves as chief academic officer and leads the development, implementation, and improvement of all academic programs for 31,000 students at the flagship campus of the University of Missouri System. In addition to driving enrollment growth, her focus on student success included an emphasis on undergraduate research and expansion of the university’s Honors College. She also led the implementation of the University of Missouri’s strategic plan and oversaw efforts to strengthen the university’s resource allocation model to foster greater collaboration between schools and units and expand resources to support faculty research and student programs.
Ramchand previously served as dean of the C. T. Bauer College of Business at the University of Houston, where she focused on expanding enrollment and improving program rankings by growing connections between the business school and the business community. She received her doctoral degree in finance from Northwestern University and both her master’s and bachelor’s degrees in economics from the University of Mumbai.
“Following a comprehensive national search and a robust review by our internal stakeholders, we’ve selected a leader with a proven track record of impact,” said W. Quinn Buckner, chair of the IU Board of Trustees. “Together with President Whitten, I’m confident Dr. Ramchand’s leadership will position our Indianapolis campus to expand its extensive academic and research portfolios, enhance talent attraction and retention, and shape crucial investments in our campus while driving the economic and social vitality of communities in Indiana and beyond.”
For more than a century, IU has shaped the future of central Indiana. Under Ramchand’s leadership, the Indianapolis campus will build on this legacy and advance an array of new academic and research initiatives that will continue to drive student success, life-changing research, and state and global impact.
In October, Whitten announced that IU will invest more than $250 million to strengthen the university’s and state’s leadership in biosciences, including two new research institutes at IU Indianapolis: the Convergent Bioscience and Technology Institute and the Institute for Human Health and Wellbeing.
Building on the university’s plans to invest $111 million to shape research in microelectronics and contribute to the nation’s burgeoning semiconductor sector, the Indianapolis campus will double enrollment in its Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering — the nation’s first school of informatics.
Drawing on funds appropriated by the Indiana General Assembly, the campus is investing $60 million to significantly expand and renovate research and laboratory space as part of a new Science and Technology Corridor and $10 million to expand the ranks of its STEM faculty.
To shape talent pipelines in central Indiana, the IU Kelley School of Business in Indianapolis is launching a new and innovative co-op program to further strengthen the link between its students and leading Indiana companies. Currently, nearly 90% of the university’s Indianapolis graduates build careers in Indiana.
Ramchand succeeds Carol Anne Murdoch-Kinch, who has served as interim chancellor since June.
