Written by Colin McEvoy | December 4, 2025 | SHARE
Ramamurthi will help shape Lehigh’s comprehensive India and South Asia strategy, aligning partnerships, programs, and research initiatives across the region
Anand Ramamurthi, P.C. Rossin Professor and Chair of Bioengineering at Lehigh University, has been appointed Senior Advisor for Global Strategy (India) in the Office of International Affairs (OIA), underscoring Lehigh’s long-standing strategic engagement and sustained presence in India and South Asia.
“India and South Asia represent one of the most dynamic landscapes, globally, for higher education and research collaboration,” Ramamurthi said. “This appointment reflects Lehigh's deep commitment to developing meaningful, sustained engagements in India and creating pathways that benefit both our university community and our partners across the region."
Ramamurthi has already played a pivotal role in shaping the university’s India engagement strategy, helping to establish global partnerships and develop degree pathway collaborations with leading higher education institutions across India.
In this newly formalized role, Ramamurthi will serve as the senior faculty lead advancing Lehigh’s India and South Asia strategy, coordinating and integrating institutional partnerships, academic programs, research collaborations, and visibility efforts in the region.
“Anand brings exceptional expertise and a deep understanding of India’s higher education and research ecosystems, making him uniquely qualified to guide this next stage of Lehigh’s global strategy,” said Cheryl Matherly, Vice President & Vice Provost for International Affairs at Lehigh. “His leadership will strengthen our long-standing commitment to meaningful engagement across India and South Asia”
Ramamurthi will help steer the development of new strategic academic relationships and strengthen Lehigh’s presence in a rapidly evolving global landscape. He will work closely with Stacy Burger, Director of Global Partnerships and Strategic Initiatives, and Vinita Desai, Lehigh’s in-country Senior Representative in India.
As Senior Advisor for Global Strategy, Ramamurthi will lead the university’s comprehensive academic strategy for India and South Asia and play an essential role in establishing and expanding institutional partnerships. He will support faculty and researchers through matchmaking with Indian and South Asian academic, industry, and NGO partners and advise on engagement opportunities.
He will also coordinate activities across multiple initiatives, enhance visibility of the Lehigh brand abroad, and help ensure long-term continuity and strategic alignment across the university’s work in the region.
Ramamurthi has already made significant contributions to Lehigh’s India engagement efforts. He was selected in 2023 for the Lehigh University Provost Faculty Fellows Program, which helps faculty foster institutional change while gaining experience in higher education leadership.
He previously helped establish Lehigh’s connection with SRM Institute of Science & Technology and was instrumental in the creation of a new partnership with VIT Bhopal University, which engages with Lehigh through faculty exchange, student exchange, and joint curriculum development.
"The Virtual Hub represents how we are reimagining global engagement, not as isolated initiatives, but as an integrated ecosystem where research partnerships, student experiences, and institutional collaborations can reinforce one another,” Ramamurthi said. “We want to build global bridges that last.”
Lehigh’s steady, long-term presence in India and South Asia will be coordinated and elevated through the Lehigh in India Virtual Hub, an emerging platform designed to serve as a centralized, multi-entry-point resource for institutional partners, faculty, students, and alumni.
The hub will serve to align India-related initiatives across campus, support strategy development, clarify opportunities for collaboration, measure impact, and make it easier for both internal and external stakeholders to engage with Lehigh.
It will also highlight Lehigh’s expanding portfolio of regional partnerships and programs, including in-country representation by Vinita Desai, Lehigh’s Senior Advisor Recruiting Strategies and Partnerships; Iacocca International Internship Program placements at Ashoka University; opportunities; and collaboration with the Agastya International Foundation through the Global Social Impact Fellowship (GSIF).
Alumni engagement remains an important part of the strategy as well, notably including the leadership of Ramesh Ananthakrishnan ‘90G, founder of India-based DSM Soft and a member of Lehigh’s International Advisory Council.
Ramamurthi joined the faculty of the P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science in 2020. After obtaining his PhD in chemical engineering from Oklahoma State University, he was an American Heart Association postdoctoral fellow at the Cleveland Clinic.
His previous appointments include Associate Professor of Bioengineering at Clemson University, Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the Lerner Research Institute at the Cleveland Clinic, and Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Molecular Medicine at the Lerner School of Medicine at Case Western Reserve University.