Professor Alok Kumar Rai, is a distinguished academician and seasoned administrator, holds a professorial position in Management in the Faculty of Management Studies, Banaras Hindu University. He is the 41st vice chancellor of University of Lucknow since 2019. He has concurrently held additional charge as Vice-Chancellor for several prestigious institutions including Dr. B. R. Ambedkar University, Agra; Sampoornananda Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya, Varanasi; Khwaja Moinuddin Chishti Language University, Lucknow; and Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam Technical University, Lucknow.

With an academic career spanning over 25 years at the postgraduate and doctoral levels, Prof. Rai has contributed prolifically to the domains of teaching and research. His scholarly output includes more than 100 publications across leading journals of management and education, national newspapers, and academic periodicals. He is the author of 6 books, editor of five books. He has to his credit, five Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) in his research area and his research specializations encompass Customer Relationship Management, customer satisfaction and loyalty, business ethics, and management education. He has successfully executed numerous research projects supported by premier funding agencies such as the UGC and AICTE. He also serves as a reviewer on the editorial and advisory boards of renowned international publishers including Elsevier, Sage, and Inderscience.

As Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Rai has been pivotal in driving transformative institutional reforms encompassing academic, administrative, and financial domains. Under his leadership, the University has witnessed significant policy implementation and infrastructural expansion, independent financial proliferation, catalysing holistic institutional development. He has been instrumental in fostering a value-driven academic ecosystem, amplifying human capital potential, and aligning institutional goals with national educational frameworks.

Under his stewardship, the University has been accredited with an A++ grade by NAAC, conferred Category-I status by the UGC, and ranked among the top 100 institutions in the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF), securing the 32nd position among State Public Universities. University of Lucknow also emerged as a preferred destination for international students, hosting one of the largest cohorts of international learners among Indian universities.

In response to the evolving pedagogical landscape, the University has launched LUCODE (Lucknow University Centre for Online and Distance Education) and also developed its own a digital learning platform SLATE.