Srinivas University Chancellor Raghavendra Rao passes away

A. Raghavendra Rao, founder Chairman of Srinivas Group of Institutions and Chancellor of Srinivas University, passed away in Chennai late on Tuesday, February 17. He was 89.

Born at Benagal near Udupi, to A. Shama Rao, the then headmaster of BEM High School, Mangaluru and Indiramma, on October 16, 1937, Rao completed his early education at Innanje and graduation at MGM College, Udupi. After studying chartered accountancy in Mangaluru, Rao established his own office in 1965 in Mangaluru. Since then M/s Raghavendra Rao Chartered Accountants has been one of the most prominent firms in Mangaluru.

Later, Rao founded Srinivas Hotel in 1980 in Mangaluru, one of the first hotels in the region to be classified as a 3-star with a multi-cuisine vegetarian restaurant. In 1988, he established the A. Shama Rao Foundation, in memory of his father, and to promote education.

He also founded the Srinivas Institute of Hotel Management, offering a three-year bachelor’s degree course in hotel management. Srinivas University was established in 2013 through an Act of the Karnataka Legislature and has 18 institutions under its ambit at present, including medical, dental, engineering, nursing, allied health sciences and other disciplines.

He is survived by his wife Vijayalakshmi Rao, son A. Srinivas Rao and daughter Padmini Rao.