For just the fifth time in the school’s history, Tennessee Tech will award an honorary doctorate, celebrating Tech alum Purna Saggurti.
Saggurti will be awarded the Honorary Doctor of Finance Degree during May Commencement. He will be the keynote speaker as well. President Phil Oldham requested the declaration from the Board of Trustees Thursday.
“He represents Tennessee Tech exceptionally well and gives Tennessee Tech a lot of the credit for his success and appreciate what he’s done and what he continues to do,” Oldham said. “And I think it’s a great honor for him. But it’s also a great honor for us to be able to award him with an honorary degree.”
Saggurti graduated from Tech in 1982. He previously served as Trustee for Tennessee Tech. He was recommended for the degree by a faculty committee as well.
“Purna left here after his Master’s degree, worked a short time as a chemical engineer and decided to go back to school and received an MBA from the Wharton School at University of Pennsylvania,” Oldham said. “Then was recruited and went to work for Merrill Lynch and served a long career there.”
