Rupendra Paliwal, Ph.D., is the Provost and Chief Academic Officer of Bryant University.

Dr. Paliwal joined Bryant in 2022 from Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, C.T., where he guided academic affairs and strategic planning to achieve significant institutional growth. He is engaged with all aspects of the university’s Vision 2030 Strategic Plan and its commitment to real-world ready education for critical 21st century skills, knowledge, and emerging career opportunities. The Vision 2030 Strategic Plan reaffirms Bryant’s enduring institutional-wide commitment to educating our students to be real-world ready and succeed, with graduates achieving life-long earnings among the top 2% nationally.

Dr. Paliwal provides leadership for the expansion of graduate and career-advancement programs, growth in undergraduate and graduate enrollment, and the addition of new academic programs — including in B-STEM and the health and behavioral sciences. Paliwal also works on the enhancement of experiential learning and Bryant’s strategically aligned investments in new facilities and technology.

In addition to working closely with Bryant’s Academic Affairs leadership and faculty, he works closely with President Gittell’s executive cabinet to enhance Bryant’s integrated academic and student life learning environment, advocate and build greater visibility for academic affairs, advance selected academic and research areas, recruit and retain outstanding faculty, and continue to build on Bryant’s rising national rankings.

During his 17 years at Sacred Heart University, Dr. Paliwal served as Sacred Heart’s Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs from 2016-May 2021 and was previously Acting Provost/VPAA, Vice President for Strategic Planning, Special Assistant to the President for Strategic Planning, and Interim Dean and Associate Dean of the Jack Welch College of Business and Technology. Prior to these senior administrative positions, Dr. Paliwal held teaching roles as a faculty member in Sacred Heart’s Finance Department. Before Sacred Heart, he was Senior Officer at the National Stock Exchange of India.

Dr. Paliwal holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electronics and Telecommunication Engineering, from Rani Durgawati University (Jabalpur, India); a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Administration and Chartered Financial Analyst from ICFAI Business School (India) and earned his Ph.D. in Finance from the University of Connecticut.