 Dr. Nishith Rai
Since 2005, he has served as the Director of the Regional Centre for Urban and Environmental
Studies (RCUES), Lucknow, established by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs,
Government of India. With over 33 years of diverse administrative and academic experience,
he has played a pivotal role in transforming RCUES, Lucknow into a Center of Excellence.
Throughout his career, he has held various senior-level administrative and academic
positions. Notably, he served as the Vice Chancellor of Dr. Shakuntala Mishra National
Rehabilitation University, Government of Uttar Pradesh, Lucknow, for a duration
of five years (January 2014 to January 2019). Additionally, he held the positions
of Professor and Head of the Department of Ancient Indian History & Archaeology
at the University of Lucknow from June 2011 to January 2014, Director of the Institute
of Development Studies at the University of Lucknow from June 2011 to December 2013,
and Director of the Institute of Tourism Studies at the University of Lucknow from
June 1997 to January 2005.
His contributions extend to memberships in various prestigious academic bodies,
such as being a Member of the Executive Council at Aligarh Muslim University and
the University of Lucknow. He also served as a Member of Pondicherry University,
Bhav Nagar University in Gujarat, and the Asia-Pacific Education Institutes in Tourism
under the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
(ESCAP). Moreover, he was part of the Governing Boards of the Institute of Tourism
Studies at M.G. Kashi Vidyapeeth, Varanasi, and the Institute of Management Sciences
at the University of Lucknow.
Throughout his illustrious career, he has been recognized with several awards and
distinctions. Notably, he received the National Award for his significant contribution
towards the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities from the Hon’ble President
of India in 2014. He was also honored with the Youth Hostel Ratna Award by the Youth
Hostel Association of India (YHAI), the Bharat Excellence Award and Gold Medal by
Friendship Forum of India, New Delhi, and the Sarvapalli Dr. Radhakrishnan Samman
by the Rotary Club of Lucknow. His notable achievements include the "Excellent Contribution
for Education Sector" award by CMAI Association of India and the Poorvanchal Ratna
Award, 2015 by APN National News Network.
Throughout his career, he has been actively involved in conducting and coordinating
numerous research studies, publishing a plethora of documents, authoring several
books, research papers, and other noteworthy publications. His biography has been
featured alongside other eminent personalities in Asian/American Who’s Who, Vol.
III, published by Rifacimento International on page 437.
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