Professor Alok Kumar Rai, Vice-Chancellor of Lucknow University, has been appointed as the new Director of the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIM-C). The appointment has been approved by President Droupadi Murmu, who serves as the Visitor of IIM-C, as per the provisions of the amended IIM Act, 2017 (Section 16 (2)).
This marks a historic milestone for Lucknow University, as Professor Rai becomes the first vice-chancellor from the institution to be selected for such a prestigious leadership role in a central institute like IIM. His appointment is also notable as one of the rare instances where a non-IIM academic has been chosen to head an IIM.
The Ministry of Education has communicated the appointment via an official letter, with a directive that the IIM-C Board issue a formal appointment letter and Professor Rai submit his acceptance for record-keeping.
IIM Calcutta had been without a permanent full-term director for nearly two years. Before leading Lucknow University, Professor Rai served as a management professor at Banaras Hindu University and held key positions across various high-level national committees and academic panels.
His tenure at Lucknow University is widely recognized for transformative changes. Under his leadership, the university earned an A++ accreditation from NAAC—the first in Uttar Pradesh to achieve this distinction. It was also granted Category-I status by the UGC and climbed into the top 100 of the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), securing 32nd rank among state public universities.
Professor Rai oversaw the successful implementation of the National Education Policy (2020) at LU and led the university through its centenary year with major initiatives and celebrations. His tenure also saw LU becoming a hub for international students, establishing one of the largest global cohorts among Indian universities.
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He was instrumental in launching LUCODE (Lucknow University Centre for Online and Distance Education) and its in-house digital learning platform SLATE. Moreover, his vision led to the creation of new faculties—Pharmacy, Management, and Agriculture—and laid the groundwork for a third university campus.
