Dr. Vivek Bhandari has been appointed President of IIHMR University, Jaipur, India’s leading academic institution committed to research and professional development in the field of health management. He succeeds Dr. SD Gupta, the founding President of the university, who has led the institution for over two decades, and will now serve as Chairman of the IIHMR Board of Governors.
Professor Bhandari brings with him years of experience as a respected educator and an institution-builder. From early 2007 to 2011, Bhandari served as Director of the prestigious Institute of Rural Management, Anand (IRMA). Appointed at the age of 37, he was the youngest director of a premier business school at that time. Before joining IRMA, he was a tenured faculty member at Hampshire College in Amherst, USA for just under a decade, and worked closely with the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and the colleges associated with the prestigious Five College Consortium. In 2010, Bhandari spent a semester at the Center for the Advanced Study of India (CASI), University of Pennsylvania, as a visiting scholar.
Since leaving IRMA in 2011, Bhandari has worked as a consultant with India’s leading philanthropic trusts such as the Sir Dorabji Tata Trust (SDTT), the Sir Ratan Tata Trust (SRTT), and Reliance Foundation to provide strategic direction for their initiatives and to enable them to address the country’s myriad developmental challenges. He also works closely with the World Economic Forum, Geneva, and serves on the boards of numerous professional and academic institutions as well as committees convened by the Indian government. Bhandari was a founding faculty member of the Young India Fellowship Program (YIFP), associated with the recently launched Ashoka University, and has also served as Vice Chancellor of Auro University in Surat.
Professor Bhandari said, “I feel deeply honoured to have been given the opportunity to lead the students and faculty at IIHMR University, an institution that has pioneered the field of health management in the Indian subcontinent, and whose commitment to professionalising health delivery has remained undiminished for over three decades. It will be a privilege to work closely with the university’s institutional community and its many stakeholders to enhance the health and well-being of people everywhere.”
On Prof. Bhandari’s appointment, Prof. S.D. Gupta said, “Dr Bhandari’s joining as the President at the IIHMR University will bring new vision and future growth not only in health management research and education, but also other diversified disciplines related to human development.
Prof. Bhandari completed his B.A. (Honors) and M.A. from St. Stephen’s College, Delhi. He went on to receive a second M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. He has a distinguished academic record, and lectures at academic institutions in India and abroad. His scholarly writings in the fields of comparative history, rural management, sustainability, and peace studies have appeared in a variety of academic journals, and he writes regularly for publications in the mainstream media. In 2008, Business Today magazine included Prof. Bhandari in its list of “India’s Top 25 Young Executives under the age of 40.”
Vivek Bhandari,
Newly appointed President of IIHMR University
Newly appointed President of IIHMR University
Age: 46 years
Career: Former Director & Professor of Social Science, IRMA; Former Professor at various American Colleges and Universities in Amherst, USA; Former VC, Auro University; and Executive Director of Sandarbha Consulting Ltd.
Personal: Wife, Charu and two daughters , Barkha and Anika
Academics: University of Pennsylvania, Ph.D. History; University of Pennsylvania, M.A. South Asian Studies; University of Delhi, M.A. Modern History; St. Stephen’s College, B.A.
