Our Bureau
Burlington, VT
The University of Vermont (UVM) Grossman School of Business (GSB) recently appointed Dr. Srinivas Venugopal as Inaugural Donald and Gabrielle McCree Endowed Professor of Business. He joined UVM in 2016 and was promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2022. In 2024, he was named the Academic Director of the Sustainable Innovation MBA (SI-MBA) program.
“The recognition inspires me to continue serving the Grossman School of Business and this venerable university with renewed vigor. More specifically, it inspires me to bolster my research and teaching efforts aimed at demonstrating how businesses can create wealth and widespread societal well-being. Thank you so much for this honor.” With these words, Dr. Srinivas Venugopal concluded his acceptance of the inaugural Donald and Gabrielle McCree Endowed Professor of Business.
The University of Vermont (UVM) Grossman School of Business (GSB) invested Dr. Srinivas Venugopal in this prestigious position on January 31, 2025. The investiture was led by Grossman School of Business Dean Sanjay Sharma, with remarks by UVM President Patricia Prelock, and the generous donor of the position, UVM alum Don McCree ’83. This appointment to an endowed position for Dr. Srinivas Venugopal is among the highest academic honors the University of Vermont can bestow on a faculty member.
Dr. Srinivas Venugopal received his Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Electronic Engineering from Anna University in India in 2005. Prior to pursuing an academic career, he was leading a technology-based social venture in Tamil Nadu, India, focused on delivering education services to low income, rural region consumers. Dr. Venugopal is also the founder of a non-profit called “Diya”, which provides supplementary education in the urban slums of Chennai, India – a social enterprise he continues to lead to this day. He completed his MBA and Ph.D. in Marketing at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
Based on the data of diverse contexts of poverty spanning five continents, Dr. Venugopal has published 20 articles on social innovation, and he has won awards from the American Marketing Association and the Association of Consumer Research. He continues to teach courses focused on sustainable marketing and sustainable brand marketing and his impact at Grossman School has been immeasurable – demonstrated by his three consecutive years earning professor of the year from SI-MBA students.
Dr. Srinivas Venugopal is a quintessential teacher-scholar, whose research and scholarship inform and enrich his teaching and mentorship. His work brings great distinction to the Grossman School of Business at the University of Vermont. The McCree Endowed Professor medallion symbolizes his continued pursuit of excellence in his field.
