The Management

A message from the Management

It is indeed with great pleasure that we present to you an encapsulation of the accomplishments of our revered founder, the legend of Chettinad, Dr. RM. Alagappa Chettiar.

Today with more than 30,00,000 students graduating from the various Alagappa institutions since its inception, the life story of Alagappa Chettiar is an inspiration to millions in India, as he brought smiles to the faces of students and their families by bringing primary, secondary, tertiary and professional education to the doorstep of the community in Tamil Nadu. His generous donations led to the establishment of a galaxy of educational institutions, which formed the basis for the establishment of the Alagappa University in 1985 by the Government of Tamil Nadu. When he died prematurely at the age of 48, Dr. Alagappa Chettiar had redefined philanthropy and contributed more to the betterment of education in Tamil Nadu than any other person had done until then.

Following his premature death, his daughter Mrs. Umayal Ramanathan assumed the responsibility to manage all the institutions that he founded. In 1968 to fulfil her father's dream of making these institutions a University she donated 450 acres of land in Karaikudi with functioning professional institutions to the Tamil Nadu Government. Key institutions that were handed over were the Alagappa College of Arts & Science, Alagappa Chettiar College of Engineering & Technology, Alagappa Polytechnic and the Alagappa College of Physical Education. The Alagappa University was formed in 1985 by the State Government of Tamil Nadu and is recognized by the Government of India through the University Grants Commission. It has 14 full-fledged departments offering regular postgraduate, M.Phil., Ph.D. programs in Education; Physical Education; Institute of Management; Bank management; Corporate Secretaryship; International Business and Commerce; Tamil; Women's Studies; Biotechnology; Computer Science and Engineering; Industrial Chemistry; Mathematics; Oceanography and Coastal Area Studies. The Directorate of Distance Education established in 1992 offers under graduate, post graduate & M. Phil Programs in the disciplines of Management, Computer Applications, Science, Education, Languages and Performing Arts.

The remaining institutions are managed by Dr. Alagappa Chettiar Educational Trust & Asoka Charitable Trust that he established and is now being continued to be managed by his family. Links stated below are provided to the institutions that were donated by the family to the Government of Tamil Nadu.

Dr. Umayal Ramanathan
Secretary & Correspondent

Ramanathan Vairavan
Chairman