Realignment to move engagement into Office of the Provost

Purdue's engagement mission and its related activities will return to the Office of the Provost as of Jan. 1. With this realignment, Steve Abel, who has led engagement since 2014, will join the provost's office as associate provost for engagement.

"This is a homecoming for both the engagement mission and for Steve," says Deba Dutta, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs and diversity. "The realignment of this team will strengthen faculty involvement with the engagement mission, enhance our service to the state and reinforce the vital tie to our land-grant mission."

Before his appointment in engagement, Abel worked in the provost's office, where he served as associate vice provost for faculty affairs. He has held various positions within the College of Pharmacy, including assistant/associate dean for clinical programs, head of the Department of Pharmacy Practice, and Bucke Professor of Pharmacy Practice.

As associate provost for engagement, Abel will report directly to the provost and will be responsible for the Purdue Center for Regional Development, P-12 programs, Indiana science initiatives, motorsports, Purdue University Conferences (PUC), and service-learning grants for students.

The engagement team's efforts have been recognized by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities (APLU), which designated Purdue an Innovation and Economic Prosperity University. The Carnegie Foundation has twice recognized Purdue for its dedication to engagement by awarding the University the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching Community Engagement classification, which "represents a significant affirmation of the importance of community engagement in the agenda of higher education."