Raghuram Rajan, a professor of finance at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business and the Indian government’s Chief Economic Adviser, has been named Governor of the Reserve Bank of India. While taking this position, Rajan will be on leave from the university. At Booth, he taught an MBA course in international corporate finance.
Rajan was named Chief Economic Adviser to the Indian government in August 2012. Since then, he has continued to work with the school and university in reorganizing his academic obligations while meeting his duties abroad.
“The job of governor is one of great responsibility. I am extremely grateful to Chicago Booth and the university for being so supportive of its faculty when they undertake public service,” Rajan said.
Rajan joined the Booth faculty in 1991 after he received a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. His graduate and undergrad were earned in India—he received an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management in Ahmedabad and an undergraduate degree from the Indian Institute of Technology in New Delhi.
“We at Chicago Booth are very proud that one of our preeminent scholars is going to lead the central bank of a major country, and we believe this will be good for India. In turn, his experience in India will be extremely valuable to his research and his teaching when he returns,” said Sunil Kumar, dean of the school.
