Virinder K. Moudgil, PhD
Virinder K. Moudgil, PhD, had served as president and CEO of Lawrence Technological University (LTU) from July 1, 2012 until December 31, 2022. He oversaw a period of significant growth of LTU’s enrollment, fund raising, and community outreach. Campus facility growth and improvements include purchase of an adjacent five acres and 92,000 sq. ft. twin buildings, construction of a third and fourth student residence hall, LTU’s Detroit Center for Design and Technology in midtown Detroit, and the Taubman Complex and Marburger STEM Center opened in September 2016, which is also home to advanced engineering, life sciences, and architecture programs. Dr. Moudgil also has led or championed research and scholarship traditions at LTU emphasizing undergraduate basic and applied research.
President Moudgil’s education and professional training include:
- The Harvard Institute for Educational Management, 2006
- Post-Doctoral – Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota (Molecular Medicine), 1973-76
- PhD Zoology (Biochemistry) – Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India, 1972
His prior professional experiences include:
- Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, Provost, and Interim Provost Oakland University, 2001-12
- Visiting Scientist, Boris Kidric Institute of Nuclear Sciences, Vinca, Belgrade, 1988
- Visiting Scientist, Lab Hormones, University of Paris Sud, Bicetre, France, 1983-84
- Consultant, United Nations Development Program (TOKTEN), Bombay, India, 1989
- Co-Chair, Steering Committee for Development of the Oakland University William Beaumont School of Medicine
President Moudgil’s board affiliations include:
Vice President, Michigan Education Trust (MET and MESP 529)
Fellow, Engineering Society of Detroit
Member Board of Directors: Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce
Member Board of Directors, Detroit Economic Club
Resident Member, Detroit Athletic Club
Member, Board of Directors, Detroit Zoological Society
Member, Thomas Cooley Law School – Professional Advisory Committee
Region Executive Board, American Red Cross Southeast Michigan
Board of Directors, Skyline Club of Southfield
Honorary Chairperson, 2013 Regional Multiple Sclerosis Campaign
Member of the Board, Michigan Independent College and Universities association
Chair (2017), Association of Independent Technological Universities Inc. (AITU)
Member of the Executive Committee, Japan Center for Michigan Universities (2005-10)
The Michigan Campus Compact.
Member Editorial Board, MGM Journal of Medical Sciences
President Moudgil has a special interest in advancing cultural understanding and globalization. In 2013, he founded LTU’s Global Village Project to promote student awareness and cooperation.
He has led the hosting on LTU’s campus of such leaders as:
Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft
Steve Forbes, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of Forbes Media
John Kasich, Governor of Ohio
Rick Snyder, Governor of Michigan
Arun Kumar Singh, Ambassador of India to the U.S. (2015-16)
Douglas George, Consul General of Canada in Detroit
Carl Levin, U.S. Senator
Sander Levin, U.S. Representative
Gary Peters, U.S. Senator
Brenda Lawrence, U.S. Representative
James Blanchard, former Governor of Michigan and U.S. Ambassador to Canada, and
numerous other prominent academic, social and political personalities
He was the leader or a team member for arranging and hosting campus visits at
Oakland University for current and former heads of state:
Former President of Poland Lech Walesa (2001)
U.S. President George W. Bush (2002)
President of Poland Aleksander Kwasniewski (2002)
President of Mexico Vicente Fox Quesada (2004) and
Former President of India, Dr. Abdul Kalam (2009).
He established international academic partnerships between:
Oakland University and LTU with institutions in Israel, India, China, and Germany
He was a member of the 2002 Oakland County Trade Mission to China
Member, American Delegation in Adult Endocrinology to the People's Republic of China, 1983
Invited speaker/chair at scientific sessions at international conferences/symposia in China, India, France, former Yugoslavia, Canada, former Czechoslovakia, the Netherlands, Spain, and Israel.
His awards and honors include:
Distinguished Alumnus Award, Banaras Hindu University, 2012
Marian P. Wilson Award, Oakland University, 1986
Oakland University Foundation Research Excellence Award , 1996
Outstanding Faculty, Michigan Association of Governing Boards of State Universities, 1997
Chief Guest, Banquet, Michigan Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, 2007
George Wibby Award: Athletic Department Hall of Honor, Oakland University, 2007
Black and Gold Award , Center for Student Activities and Leadership Development, 2008 Academic Leadership Award, Michigan International Chamber of Commerce, 2009
Academic Excellence Award , Michigan Association of Physicians of Indian Origin, 2011 McCoy Award for Science, DAPCEP (Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program) 2016
President Moudgil’s scientific work has appeared in some 250 publications, including 110 papers or reviews/book chapters, and 112 Conference Proceedings or abstracts. He has edited or has been series editor of nine books. His research on steroid hormone action was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health. He was a panel member of the National Institutes of Health Physiological Sciences Study Section 1987-94.
Richard E. Marburger, PhD
Richard E. Marburger, a former General Motors researcher, has served over 50 years in Lawrence Tech teaching and administrative roles, including serving as the University's fourth president from 1977 to 1993.
A gifted and popular teacher, in retirement he continues to serve Lawrence Tech students on a near daily basis as a volunteer academic advisor, tutor, and mentor. In acknowledgment of his vast contributions to LTU, the Marburger STEM Center in the A. Alfred Taubman Engineering, Architecture, and Life Sciences Complex was named in his honor.
Marburger was an early proponent of computers to aid the educational process, and during his presidency, the campus-wide distribution and adoption of computers for teaching, research, business, and communications occurred. Marburger insisted that all campus machines be able to “talk” with each other, seamless interaction rare at the time but an attribute he thought essential to assuring the cohesion of the Lawrence Tech learning community. Campus e-mail was inaugurated in 1982. The Wayne H. Buell Management Building, the Don Ridler Field House, and a major addition to the Engineering Building opened. Lawrence Tech’s first major capital campaign was launched and concluded over goal. He initiated the return of graduate programs to Lawrence Tech and led Lawrence Tech’s change of status from an institute of technology to university in 1989.
Marburger is chairman of the board of the AGBU Alex and Marie Manoogian School. He is a past president of the Engineering Society of Detroit, the Detroit Metropolitan Science Teachers Association, and Science and Engineering Fair of Metropolitan Detroit. He is also past chairman of the Southfield Planning Commission and the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Michigan.
Joining the adjunct faculty in 1965, he was named to the full-time faculty in 1969 and then led the College of Arts and Sciences before being named vice president for academic affairs (provost) of the University. He holds three degrees in physics from Wayne State University, including the Ph.D. Among numerous awards for scientific accomplishment and leadership, he was named a Distinguished Alumnus of Wayne, elected to the national honorary scientific society, Sigma Xi, and has received the Engineering Society of Detroit’s coveted Gold Award and Rackham Humanitarian Award. He received the Doctor of Engineering, honoris causa, from Lawrence Tech in 1993.
A state champion spelling bee winner in the 1940s and a proponent of strong communication skills for students, Marburger rescued and reinvigorated the Michigan Spelling Bee and administered it through the University for over a decade.
During 17 years with the General Motors Research Laboratories, he made many important contributions to technology including X-ray diffraction techniques.
Marburger and his late wife, Mary, have two adult children, both of whom are Lawrence Tech graduates, and four grandchildren.