Michael Rao, President, Virginia Commonwealth University
Michael Rao, Ph.D., became the fifth president of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) and president of the VCU Health System on July 1, 2009.
Rao’s appointment to lead the largest university and academic medical center in Virginia was approved unanimously by the VCU Board of Visitors and was recommended by a university-wide presidential search committee that conducted a national search for university president. A university president for 15 years, he was one of the three longest-serving presidents among Michigan’s 15 public universities. During his nine-year tenure at Central Michigan University, the university's academic profile was significantly strengthened through increased faculty positions, research productivity and the development of academic programs.
President Rao’s priorities as VCU president center on strengthening the university’s national academic profile among research universities, enhancing opportunities for student success, increasing sponsored research, diversifying the university’s resource base, and alumni engagement. He is focused on enhancing students’ living and learning environment and advancing interdisciplinary collaborations to support the university’s research mission and to support teaching, learning and patient care. Toward that end, he is particularly interested in furthering cancer research and treatment, as well as bolstering VCU’s historic excellence in children’s health, women’s health, cardiovascular disease treatment and prevention, neuroscience, transplant, orthopedics, and digestive health.
Rao graduated magna cum laude from the University of South Florida and earned a Ph.D. at the University of Florida. His academic work centers on the development of tools to assist researchers using hyper-branched polymers as well as the future of public higher education
Rao and his wife, Monica, a professional watercolorist and graphic designer who serves in a half time faculty administrative position at VCU, have two sons, Miguel and Aiden.