An alumni member of the Board of Trustees, Michael J. Birck was appointed on July 1, 1999, to fill the unexpired term of Bob F. Jesse. Born January 25, 1938, in Missoula, Montana, Birck earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering from Purdue in 1960 and a master's in electrical engineering from New York University in 1962. From 1975 to 2000, he served as president and chief executive officer of Tellabs, Inc., becoming chairman in 2000, and CEO again from 2002 to 2004. He is currently executive chairman.

Birck's service to Purdue includes director and member of the Executive Committee of the Purdue Research Foundation; life member of the President's Council; member, Senior Dean's Advisory Council of the Krannert School of Management; past chairman of the Purdue Alumni Foundation Board; past chairman of the Vision 21 Chicago Regional Campaign and the Campaign for Purdue.

Purdue honored him in 1991 with the Distinguished Engineering Alumnus Award and in 1995 with an honorary doctorate of engineering degree. The Chicago Business Hall of Fame presented him with its Lifetime Achievement Award in 1999. Other honors have included the IEEE Ernst Weber Engineering Leadership Recognition award in 2001 and the EIA Medal of Honor in 2003. He received the U.S. Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation Semper Fidelis Award in 1998.

Birck's extensive civic service includes membership on the boards of the Lincoln Foundation for Business Excellence and the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry. He is a former director of The Economic Club of Chicago and has been actively involved with the United Way/Crusade of Mercy campaign in the Chicago area. At Purdue, the Birck Boilermaker Golf Complex and the Birck Nanotechnology Center are named in his honor.