Rajagopalan named FMU’s 2025-2026 Distinguished Professor

Dr. Hari Rajagopalan, professor of management, has been named FMU’s J. Lorin Mason Distinguished Professor for the 2025-2026 academic year. The announcement was made during an awards ceremony held at the FMU Performing Arts Center Thursday evening.

The annual award, named in honor of a former chairman of the FMU Board of Trustees, is the highest honor bestowed upon a faculty member at the university. Rajagopalan will also be the university’s nominee for the South Carolina Governor’s Professor of the Year Award competition.

Rajagopalan joined the faculty of Francis Marion in 2006 as an assistant professor of management. He served as coordinator of the management track in the School of Business from 2012-2015, associate dean of the School of Business from 2015-2016, and was named dean of the School of Business in 2016, where he served until 2025. He teaches a wide variety of undergraduate and graduate courses, including business analytics, strategic management, decision support systems, supply chain analytics, and applied statistics for economics and business.

He is the 50th recipient of the Distinguished Professor award. He earned a Bachelor of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering at Anna University in 1995, Master of Business Administration at Delhi University in 1999, and both the Master of Science in Computer Science in 2004 and Ph.D. in Information Technology: Operations and Quantitative Management in 2006 from the University of North Carolina – Charlotte.

The Distinguished Professor award is based upon a faculty member’s contributions to teaching, professional service, and scholarly activities.

An extraordinary scholar, Rajagopalan has authored twenty-six peer-reviewed journal articles, nineteen case studies, and seventeen book chapters. He has also served on numerous committees including Faculty Senate, Academic Affairs, Deans and Chairs, Graduate Council, and Information Technology. He received the Faculty Award for Excellence in Research and Scholarship in 2011 and the Excellence in Teaching Award in 2025.

FMU President Fred Carter commended Rajagopalan for his contributions to the university.

“Hari is a remarkable colleague whose work is prolific and exemplary. His leadership as Dean of the School of Business has expanded our curriculum and strengthened the university,” said Carter. “Beyond all of this, he is one of our most respected and beloved professors. Hari is the perfect choice for this award, and the entire university applauds his selection.”