McNeese Participates in ULS Management and Leadership Institute 

Two members of the McNeese State University faculty and staff, Dr. Srinivasan ‘Vasan’ Ambatipati and Curtis Rogers, are serving on the University of Louisiana System’s Management and Leadership Institute. 

The Management & Leadership Institute for the Universities of Louisiana is a program that develops potential executive level professionals from within the universities of the system. Participants are mid-career faculty and staff members who aspire to broaden academic, professional or administrative leadership roles. 

Ambatipati is an assistant professor of chemical engineering and serves as the Department Head of Engineering and Computer Science at McNeese. He earned a bachelor’s in chemical engineering from University of Madras, Chennai (India), a master’s degree in engineering from McNeese and a doctorate in chemical engineering from Clarkson University in New York. 

Ambatipati leads a 700-student department which offers bachelor’s degrees in engineering, mechanical engineering, chemical engineering and computer science, and master’s degrees in engineering programs. He is responsible for program operations, guiding curriculum development and implementation, conducting program accreditation activities, facilitating student recruitment and retention efforts, and serving on college, university, and professional committees. Before he joined the McNeese faculty, Ambatipati worked in the oil and gas industry as a lead process development engineer for 10 years. 

For 15 years, Rogers has been part of the Information Technology Department (IT) at McNeese. In that time, he attained a bachelor’s degree in engineering technology and a Master of Business Administration. Rogers is pursuing a doctorate in educational leadership at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.   

In addition to his duties in IT, Rogers merged into the Student Services related committees. He is a certified Title IX investigator and often sits as chair of those hearings. He is also the chairperson of the Academic Integrity and Code of Conduct committees. His educational philosophy is centered around a holistic approach, and he knows that universities can change students’ lives. Rogers is dedicated to the vision of McNeese and involves himself in professional development opportunities. 

The Institute will immerse participants in a program designed to maximize their effectiveness in management roles. Participants will gain a deeper understanding of effective leadership in higher education. They will learn how to develop diverse, high-performing teams; manage and implement change; analyze financial, student and market data; and identify and seize opportunities in the increasingly competitive market driven environment of higher education.