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MICHAEL RAO
President of Central Michigan University
Since 2000, Central Michigan University President Michael
Rao has been focused on raising academic performance at all
levels at the university; expanding research, clinical care,
and creative work; strengthening the undergraduate
experience with opportunities for students to engage
themselves in their fields of study and study abroad;
developing a focused core of master’s and doctoral degree
programs; and making progressive improvements to CMU’s
living/learning environment with a focus on increased
sustainability and environmental responsibility.
The president plays a major role with constituents who help
shape the future of the university by engaging in external
partnerships, fundraising, and promoting higher education
funding reform in Michigan.
With a committed
Board of Trustees, he is leading an effort to study the
possibility of opening a much-needed medical school in the
region—just one of the many national-scale achievements for
regional benefit that Rao encourages in the CMU community.
Perhaps most importantly, a new medical school would help
address physician shortages in the mid- and
northern-Michigan regions and improve healthcare overall.
These and other initiatives are guided by the university’s
strategic plan, CMU 2010,
which focuses efforts on
five
priorities to promote regional leadership and attain
national eminence.
Rao came to CMU from Montana State University Northern,
where he served as chancellor. Previously, Rao served as
president of Mission College, where he also served as dean.
In the late 1980s and early 1990s, Rao served in the private
sector. Prior to his extensive work in California higher
education, Rao worked with and then led a team to develop
academic master plans for five new branch campuses of the
University of Washington and Washington State University.
Rao earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of South
Florida and a Ph.D. from the University of Florida. At UF,
he served as an assistant to the president with duties that
included acting as a liaison to the state and providing
leadership in matters of university governance, university
relations, budgeting, and affirmative action.
The president’s spouse,
Monica Rao, serves as the University Outreach Liaison
and is a professional watercolorist and graphic designer.
She is a graduate of an Indian polytechnic university and
Central Michigan University. They have one son, Miguel. The
Rao family is engaged regularly in community activities
including civic, cultural, social, and athletic events.
President Rao is a member of the Strategic Economic
Investment and Commercialization Board, part of a $2 billion
job creation plan, and recently was appointed chair of the
Measures of Success subcommittee. He is also a director of
the Michigan Educational Trust. Rao is a member of the board
of the American Association of State Colleges and
Universities (AASCU) and serves on committees of the
National Association for State Universities and Land Grant
Colleges (NASULGC). He also was a member of a subcommittee
of the Cherry Commission on Higher Education and Economic
Growth. Rao serves as chair of the Mid-American Conference
Council of Presidents and has chaired an NCAA Membership
Certification Peer Review Team. The president chairs the
board of the Central Michigan University Research
Corporation and is a past member of the Mount Pleasant Area
Community Foundation Board of Trustees.
