Monica Rao serves as the university outreach liaison,
working part-time for the CMU Board of Trustees in four key areas:
- alumni relations
- fundraising
- community relations
- student recruitment
Nationally she has served on the spouses
planning committee for the American Association of State
Colleges and Universities, on the board for spouses of the
National Association of State Universities and Land Grant
Colleges, and the board of the local United Way.
She also has a number of duties in support of the president’s office and residence such as planning and organizing events and other activities that support fundraising and external relations.
Monica Rao came to CMU in 2000 with her husband, President Michael Rao, and son, Miguel. Monica is a professional watercolorist and graphic
artist. She is a graduate of an Indian polytechnic university and Central Michigan University.
Art Reach
Monica Rao serves on the board of
Art
Reach of Mid Michigan, a non-profit community arts council
dedicated to bringing a better understanding and enjoyment
of the arts to the people of Mid Michigan. It
coordinates and presents all forms of art for all ages to
study and experience. Art Reach serves as a central
location for collecting, supporting and sharing information
about the arts and provides a support system for local
artists.
International initiatives
Monica Rao occasionally
travels on behalf of CMU to develop faculty, student and
program exchanges with international colleges, universities
and organizations and to assist with recruiting
international students to CMU. Her current initiatives
include exchanges with universities such as JNTU and Swami
Vivekananda Yoga Research Institute in India, Beijing
University of Chinese Medicine and a Nagoya area co-ops and Iwate
universities in Japan. She is also a supporter of the
International Spouses
Club to assist international CMU students in their
transition to living and learning in the United States.
Michigan Story Festival
Along with Dean Sue Ann Martin,
Monica Rao is a founding member of the
Michigan Story
Festival Board, helping to launch this award-winning
festival for CMU. The Michigan Story Festival is a two-day
showcase of the power of storytelling in all its art forms.
It has been honored as one of the 30 Outstanding Events by
the Michigan Humanities Council and has received the
Imagining Michigan Award for excellence in community/campus
partnering by Imagining America.
Women’s Connection
CMU Women’s Connection events provide alumnae and friends of
CMU with the latest academic updates, information, and
programs for personal and professional growth. This years
Women's Connection events will showcase CMU's
biological station at Beaver Island in 2007-2008.
The CMU
Women’s Connection also raises funds to support a
scholarship for students. This scholarship was established
in 2007 by donors. It is a renewable award for a CMU
student who is either a single parent or from a single
parent household.
