Las Vegas resident Ramesh Srinivasan, President and CEO of Agilysys and a former CEO of Bally Technologies, recently donated $1.3 million to his alma matter Indian Institute of Technology, Banaras Hindu University (IIT BHU) Foundation to build a Student Activity Center (Sports) at the IIT BHU campus in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. 

The US chapter of the  IIT BHU Foundation and its alumni have successfully launched its capital campaign in support of on campus student activity center with a gift of $1.3 Million from Ramesh Srinivasan, a 1982 IIT graduate with a degree in Metallurgy.

This is the largest ever single gift to IIT (BHU) signifying a new chapter in alumni support for the alma mater. The gift will be used for setting up a student activity center for sports benefitting student and faculty of this all-residential campus. In making the gift, Ramesh noted with affection his memories of his student days at the Institute and the significance of having the opportunities that the Institute offered. 

Ramesh Srinivasan commented, “I am deeply grateful for everything IIT (BHU) has done for me including this terrific opportunity to give back. IIT (BHU) had a great positive influence on my life during my early years and helped me become a complete human being. Across academics, sports, cultural activities, debating and everything else, the Institute taught me many valuable lessons which have stayed with me all my life. I consider myself extremely lucky to have been given this chance to contribute to the upcoming Students Activity Center which should benefit everyone at the campus I have fond memories of.”  

“We are delighted that IIT (BHU) has also decided to honor Ramesh by naming the center as the Ramesh Srinivasan Student Activity Center,” said Arun Tripathi (Mechanical 1997), President of the IIT (BHU) Foundation. “We created the IIT (BHU) Foundation with a singular goal: to raise funds for our alma mater and this donation is a step in the right direction”.

Recognizing the generous donation, Dr. P.K. Jain, Director – IIT (BHU), and the Board of Governors expressed their hope that the center will be a place where students can enhance their leadership and collaboration skills through participation in team sports and other activities. In his note acknowledging the gift, Dr. Jain noted, “Well rounded students with intellectual ability equal to their emotional intelligence is the hallmark of IIT (BHU).”  

Credit: As reported by the US Chapter of the IIT BHU Alumni