John D. Hardin Jr. was appointed to the board as a Purdue alumni representative on July 1, 1992. He was born on October 25, 1944, in Indianapolis. He was an International Farm Youth exchange student in New Zealand during his 1965-66 school year and received his agricultural economics degree in 1967.

As owner of Hardin Farms, he has hosted many distinguished guests there, including Boris Yeltsin in 1989 and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Edward Madigan in 1991. From 1998 to 2001, he was vice chair of the Agricultural Advisory Committee for Trade to the U.S. Trade Representative and U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.

He is a member of the Farm Foundation, past president of the National Pork Producers Council, and past chairman of the U.S. Meat Export Federation. He serves as chairman of the board of advisors for Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis.

Hardin was honored as an Indiana Master Farmer in 1984. He was inducted into the Pork Industry Hall of Fame in 2002. In 1986, he was selected as a Purdue Old Master, and in 1992, Purdue honored Hardin with a Certificate of Distinction for Service to Agriculture and as a Distinguished Agricultural Alumnus. He is a member of the Purdue President's Council, the College of Agriculture's Dean's Club, and the Agricultural Alumni Association. He is a life member of the Purdue Alumni Association.