Somerville College, University of Oxford, honours Tata Sons chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran with Foundation Fellowship

Somerville College, University of Oxford, has announced the election of Natarajan Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Sons, as a Foundation Fellow of Somerville College.

A Foundation Fellowship is the highest honour conferred by Somerville College for philanthropy. Mr. Chandra, as he is popularly called was elected to the Fellowship by outgoing Principal Baroness Jan Royall and the Governing Body of Somerville College in summer 2025. 

The ceremony of conferral was held on 23 September 2025. Mr. Chandra was elected a Foundation Fellow in recognition of his instrumental role in enabling the creation of Somerville College’s new flagship teaching and learning hub, the Ratan Tata Building. 

Named in honour of Mr. Chandra’s mentor, the revered philanthropist Ratan Tata, Somerville College’s new building will create a permanent home for the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development, which has been leading research into pressing matters of sustainability and development affecting India and the world since 2013. 

A Foundation Fellowship is a great honour, creating a lifelong bond between its recipient and Oxford. This Foundation Fellowship is a demonstration of the College’s gratitude for the years of friendship, shared dreams and transformative support which the Tata Group has shown this College and the Oxford India Centre for Sustainable Development. 

Catherine Royle, Principal of Somerville College, said: “Chairman Chandrasekaran is a shining testament to the power of meritocracy and just how much can be achieved through intellect and hard work. I am delighted that we have been able to recognise his contribution to the ongoing partnership between Somerville College, the OICSD and the Tata Group through this well-deserved honour.”

N. Chandrasekaran, chairman, Tata Sons said, “This rare institution has been quietly blazing a trail on behalf of the most pressing social causes facing our world for almost 150 years and continues to do so today. Their work chimes powerfully with the values of our business and its shining light, Ratan Tata.” 

“I am confident that the fertile interdisciplinary environment of Somerville College and the enduring bridge the OICSD creates between Oxford and India mean that this partnership will only grow in the years to come. Working together, we have the opportunity to tackle some of the biggest environmental and social questions facing the world,” he said.