UC Davis dean, professor among thousands missing after Nepal-Tibet flood

Rao Unnava, former dean of the UC Davis Graduate School of Management, has been missing alongside his wife Vasu, an adjunct associate professor, since last month's Nepal-Tibet flash flooding. — Courtesy / UC Davis

Married couple Rao and Vasu Unnava have not been heard from since the Aug. 26 flash flood

Two married UC Davis faculty members are among the thousands still missing after last month’s Nepal-Tibet flash flood.

Husband and wife Rao and Vasu Unnava joined UC Davis in June 2016, when Rao was appointed dean of the UC Davis Graduate School of Management. That year, Vasu became an adjunct associate professor teaching marketing and studying consumer behavior.

On July 1, Rao stepped down as dean to go on sabbatical leave for a year and work with the Innovation Institute for Food and Health, according to the university. He was scheduled to return to the Graduate School of Management in 2027 as a professor of marketing. His retirement as dean was celebrated by a trip to Mount Kailash on the border of China, after which the pair planned to spend two months with family in India.

On Aug. 26, the Unnavas were staying at Hotel Kailash in Timure, Nepal, when a flash flood powered through the China-Nepal border, burying and destroying infrastructure — including the hotel.

The Unnavas have yet to be heard from or located since the floods. Search efforts to find the couple and others missing in the disaster remain underway.

The flash flood is speculated to have been caused by chunks of falling glacial ice and rock debris near the Himalayas into nearby rivers, according to the United States Geological Survey. The fallout of ice and rock, equivalent to a magnitude 5.2 earthquake, sent surges of water downstream for a 62-mile stretch along the Himalayan border region of Nepal and Tibet.

The flash flood has claimed more than 1,300 lives and around 5,000 individuals are still missing as of Sept. 9, according to Nepalese authorities.

A statement released by Chancellor Gary May and Provost Mary Croughan on Sept. 3 assured the UC Davis community that the university’s global risk management, security and crisis response contractor is currently working with local authorities in Nepal and the U.S. Department of State to search for the Unnavas.

The statement notes that the Unnavas’ children and extended family have requested assistance from U.S. government agencies to find the couple.

“We continue to hope Rao and Vasu will be found safe and sound,” the statement reads. “Again, please keep them, their children, and extended family in your thoughts and prayers.”

Before working at UC Davis, the Unnavas taught at the Ohio State University’s (OSU) Fisher College of Business as professors of marketing. There, Rao also served as the associate dean of undergraduate programs, associate dean of executive education and director of doctoral programs in business. He worked at OSU for 32 years until his departure in 2016.

Rao’s tenure as dean of the UC Davis Graduate School of Management saw the launch of the first online Master of Business Administration program in the UC system and a new undergraduate business major, which welcomed its first cohort of students in fall 2025.

Tom Smith, dean of the UC Davis School of Education, has served as interim dean of the Graduate School of Management since July. The university says he will lead both schools until the appointment of a permanent dean, which Croughan said in a June announcement could happen as early as 2027.

For those seeking mental health and wellness support, UC Davis community members can contact the Academic and Staff Assistance Program or Student Health and Counseling Services.

Written by: Kimberly Ayson — campus@theaggie.org