By Amber Meade, communications assistant, Office of University Communications

CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. - Palla Pedda Subbarayudu, an entrepreneur from India and a friend of Campbellsville University, was given an honorary Doctorate of Global Entrepreneurial Leadership at Campbellsville University's commencement Aug. 23 in Ransdell Chapel.

Dr. Michael V. Carter, president of Campbellsville University, said Palla “has been very supportive of the mission of CU in the United States, Canada and India through ideas and finances.

“He announced last year that he would provide new classrooms and offices in downtown Hyderabad when Campbellsville University initiates its programs in India starting in January 2020.”

All costs for the space and renovation are being provided by Palla in gratitude for the service we are providing to the students of his country both in the United States and in India.

Palla was born in southern India and raised in a small rural village. Growing up in that region, he fully understood the plight of families who lived on limited economic means. With the encouragement of his parents, he became the first person from his home village to graduate from high school and was the first from there to receive a baccalaureate degree when he graduated from Sri Venkateswara Agricultural College in his home province.

Following his college graduation, Palla went to work for a Christian organization in India where he helped locate available rural land, developed the properties and then made it available to poor families who had no other means of hope. He was the first person in his region to receive the coveted National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development Certificate, which opened the way to credit for hundreds of thousands of farmers.

He began his banking career with the State Bank of India where he continued his training in rural development that he had learned with the Christian organization early in his career. He worked with the State Bank of India for 33 years, rising to national leadership as a bank project evaluator.

Following his tenure with the State Bank of India, he began development projects privately and became a leader in private agriculture development projects.

Palla has been married for 45 years to Girija Porcena who studied law and practices criminal law. They are the parents of three sons: Kessler, Kieran and Anil.

They have six grandchildren: two boys and four girls. He is the chief advisor and leads the family businesses.

Carter said, “The greatest honor and recognition by a university is the granting of the honorary doctorate degree. The honorary degree is given to those individuals who have displayed excellence in leadership, made extraordinary contributions to humanity, and distinguished themselves in their respective fields.”

Carter said, “Certainly, Mr. Palla Pedda Subbarayudu has met the requirements that have been established by the Campbellsville University Board of Trustees in awarding an honorary doctorate degree,” and with that, he conferred upon Palla the Honorary Doctorate of Global Entrepreneurial Leadership, with “all the rights, privileges and responsibilities appertaining thereto.”

Carter told the 2,208 students graduating that is prayer was that “August 23, 2019 be a day that you will look back on as a day of achievement and one where you felt a blessed sense of appreciation for all those who have worked to help make this day possible for you.”

Campbellsville University is a widely-acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with more than 12,000 students offering over 100 programs of study including Ph.D., master, baccalaureate, associate, pre-professional and certification programs. The university has Kentucky based off-campus centers in Louisville, Harrodsburg, Somerset, Hodgenville and Liberty with instructional sites in Elizabethtown, Owensboro and Summersville. Out-of-state centers include two in California at Los Angeles and Lathrop, located in the San Francisco Bay region.  The website for complete information is www.campbellsville.edu.

Campbellsville University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award certificates, associate, baccalaureate, masters and doctoral degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the status of Campbellsville University.