Goshen College, a nationally ranked private liberal arts college in Goshen, Indiana, has appointed Raj Biyani, a member of the class of 1992, as its first-ever Chief Innovation Officer. A former Microsoft executive with more than 30 years of experience in technology and artificial intelligence, Biyani returns to his alma mater to help define what responsible AI leadership looks like in higher education.
After graduating from Goshen College in 1992, Biyani earned an MBA with honors from the University of Chicago and later completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. At Microsoft, he served as Managing Director of Microsoft IT’s India operations, driving a transformation so significant it became a case study at Harvard Business School, the Indian Institute of Management, and Singapore Management University. He also served as General Manager of Strategic Initiatives reporting to Microsoft’s CIO and was the founding product manager of what would become the Microsoft App Store. He co-authored To the Cloud: Cloud Powering an Enterprise, published by McGraw Hill in 2012, co-produced a CNBC documentary on India’s IT industry that reached approximately 15 million viewers, and holds multiple U.S. patents.
Biyani’s transition to the role follows a period of volunteer engagement with the college that began in September 2025, when he returned for Homecoming to accept Goshen College’s Culture for Service Award. Since then, he has delivered guest lectures in more than 25 classes, engaged more than 100 regional business leaders, and designed and taught a 12-part AI seminar for Goshen faculty and staff. He has also been the catalyst behind the college’s AI Innovators Program, which has already generated 45 funded innovation projects from faculty and staff across 14 academic departments and 10 administrative offices. Goshen College has an enrollment of around 800 students from more than 40 denominations and is a federally designated Hispanic-Serving Institution.
KEY QUOTES:
“Raj brings strategic clarity, entrepreneurial energy and humility in a rare combination. He listens first, generates trust, and brings out the best in others. We are fortunate to have him not only as an accomplished alumnus, but now as a colleague who will help shape our institutional strategy and advance innovation for Goshen College and our students.”
Rebecca Stoltzfus, President, Goshen College
“At Goshen College, we are not limiting ourselves by just asking what AI can do, but rather what we should do with it and why. I am excited to contribute to this mission because those are questions worth dedicating the next chapter of my life to.”
Raj Biyani, Chief Innovation Officer, Goshen College
