Professor T. P. Gopalaswamy served the Indian Institute of Management Bangalore from March 1974 until his superannuation in June 1996. He initially joined as a Faculty Research Associate in the Centre for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD), later becoming Assistant Professor and contributing extensively to teaching, research, and institution building. His academic focus lay in agriculture, rural development, cooperative institutions, and marketing, with courses in agricultural economics, rural marketing, and agricultural finance offered under the Post Graduate Programme (PGP). As Chairperson of the PGP (1978–1980), he steered the programme during the transition from sectoral specialisations to general management. He also coordinated the Fellow Programme in Management (FPM) from 1983 to 1986 and chaired its review committee in 1991, recommending reforms in duration, structure, and research orientation.

Prof. Gopalaswamy was involved in pioneering projects such as the Bullock Cart Study under Prof. N. S. Ramaswamy and numerous research initiatives funded by NABARD, the National Cooperative Development Corporation, and the Directorate of Tribal Welfare. He also designed innovative executive and sectoral programmes, including management training for plantation managers and state officers from Tamil Nadu and Kerala. His consultancy extended to cooperative marketing federations and dairy industry management. A pioneer in rural marketing, he authored the influential book Rural Marketing: Environment, Problems and Strategies, taught the subject for over 15 years, and mentored doctoral students who went on to lead public systems research. His career combined scholarship, socially relevant pedagogy, and institution building, shaping IIMB’s distinctive early identity.