Ravi V. Bellamkonda named executive vice president and provost

Ravi V. Bellamkonda named executive vice president and provost

Renowned biomedical engineer, higher education leader to begin tenure in January

Ohio State President Walter "Ted" Carter Jr. announced today that highly accomplished scientist and higher education administrative leader Ravi V. Bellamkonda has been selected to serve as the university's next executive vice president and provost.

Pending approval by the Board of Trustees, Bellamkonda, who is currently provost and executive vice president for academic affairs at Emory University, will begin his tenure at Ohio State effective January 14, 2025.

"We couldn't be more pleased to welcome Dr. Bellamkonda and his exemplary record of research, teaching and service to the Ohio State community," Carter said. "In searching for a chief academic officer, it was critical that we find the exact right individual - someone who exemplifies our commitment to excellence in academics as well as collaborative leadership."

"Dr. Bellamkonda is that person, and I look forward to working with him to help shape our strategic vision for the future of our university and its impact on Ohio, the nation and our world."

As Ohio State's provost, Bellamkonda will oversee a university-wide portfolio of programs and initiatives in the Office of Academic Affairs that support faculty and student success across the university's campuses. The deans of all 15 academic colleges and University Libraries report to the provost, who also serves as a member of President's Cabinet, which includes leaders of The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and key administrative units, including the Office of Student Life; Office of Human Resources; Enterprise for Research, Innovation and Knowledge and more.

At Emory, Bellamkonda has launched and led several major initiatives, including faculty recruitment and retention efforts focused on arts and humanistic inquiry, as well as artificial intelligence in service to humanity across areas such as medicine, business, law and more. In addition, he helped lead the ambitious Student Flourishing initiative, which included curricular innovations as well as the Emory Purpose Project focused on well-being and ethics.

Prior to his tenure at Emory, Bellamkonda served as the Vinik Dean of the Pratt School of Engineering at Duke University. During his tenure, annual extramural research increased from $68 million to more than $100 million each year. He also helped launch two interdisciplinary institutes - the Duke Quantum Center and the Center for Advanced Genomic Technologies - and the Wilkinson Engineering Building was conceived, designed and built.

"I believe deeply in the noble mission of higher education and the excellence of higher education in the United States, especially its impact on research, shaping the future through the education of our students, and our responsibility to engagement in our communities," Bellamkonda said.

"I am excited to have the opportunity to serve The Ohio State University with its scale and reach. Ohio State is one of the great land-grant universities in our nation, and we are poised under President Carter's leadership to excel in every part of our academic mission. My leadership philosophy is to relentlessly pursue excellence, and I am honored to join all of the incredible faculty, staff and students at Ohio State who make that their mission each day."

Trained as a bioengineer and neuroscientist, Bellamkonda also previously served as the Wallace H. Coulter Professor and chair of the Department of Biomedical Engineering, and associate vice president for research, at Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University. He began his professional career at Case Western Reserve University, serving as an assistant and associate professor, as well as associate chair for graduate education.

Bellamkonda earned a PhD at Brown University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Bellamkonda has a bachelor's degree in engineering from Osmania University. He has won numerous honors from professional societies in biomedical engineering and biomaterials. He served as president of the American Institute of Medical and Biological Engineering from 2014 to 2016.

Bellamkonda is an internationally renowned biomedical researcher, whose lab has invented novel approaches to treat pediatric and adult brain tumors.

In 2021, he received a National Institutes of Health Director's Transformative Research Award for his work, supported by the National Cancer Institute. The tumor monorail device developed in his lab has been recognized as a breakthrough technology by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. He is the scientific founder of a startup, Exvade Bioscience, that is pioneering first-in-human trials for the tumor monorail device. Additionally, Bellamkonda is an elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science; International Academy of Medical and Biological Engineering; and Society for Biomaterials; as well as an elected senior member of the National Academy of Inventors. He has been awarded 11 U.S. patents.

"We are delighted to help bring someone of Dr. Bellamkonda's considerable accomplishments and collegial spirit to Ohio State," said John J. Warner, co-chair of the university's search committee and the chief executive officer of The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and executive vice president at Ohio State.

Comprising faculty, staff and students from across Ohio State, the committee was co-chaired by Janet Box-Steffensmeier, Distinguished University Professor, Vernal Riffe Professor of Political Science and professor of sociology in the College of Arts and Sciences.

"We are honored to have Dr. Bellamkonda join our faculty due to his outstanding academic achievements and visionary leadership," said Box-Steffensmeier. "We are confident that his contributions will inspire and elevate the academic experiences of all our students, faculty and staff at Ohio State."

Bellamkonda will succeed interim executive vice president and provost Karla Zadnik, who will continue to serve as interim dean of the College of Public Health while that dean search continues before returning to the College of Optometry as dean.

"Our deepest thanks go to Dr. Zadnik, who has provided critical insight and guidance, and will continue to do so throughout this transition," Carter said. "She is a wonderful partner and colleague - and will work closely with Dr. Bellamkonda as part of our exceptional college leadership team."

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