Purdue News
Purdue News
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February 22, 2000 Purdue's chief academic officer to step downWEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Robert L. Ringel, executive vice president for academic affairs at Purdue since 1991, has announced that he plans to give up his responsibilities as the university's chief academic officer by the end of the year.
"I began making plans to leave administration more than a year ago," Ringel said. "My personal preference is to leave this position and return to full-time faculty status when the new fiscal year begins on July 1. However, I want to do whatever is best for the university as it makes a change in leadership. If the presidential search has concluded by that date and the incoming president asks me to continue for a short transition period, I am certainly willing to serve in that way. I also have promised President (Steven C.) Beering that I will continue if he remains in office beyond July 1. "Although the exact date of my career change is still in doubt, I think it's important for my colleagues to know now that I plan to move on by the end of this calendar year. My primary considerations, in order, are the welfare of Purdue, my commitment to support Steve Beering and my own desire to finish my career as a professor in the Department of Audiology and Speech Sciences. "Purdue is not only my employer. It is my home and the focus of very deep affection from my family and me. It has given us tremendous opportunities and deeply satisfying challenges, and I hope I can continue to make a contribution through service as a faculty member." Beering has announced plans to relinquish the presidency on July 1, and a national search is under way to find his successor. At the request of the Board of Trustees, he has agreed to serve beyond July 1 if a new president is not in office by then. Beering said of Ringel: "In the history of Purdue, few people have contributed as much as Bob Ringel. He has built a record of continuous distinction at every level. As a professor, his scholarship established new frontiers in the study of speech pathology that continue to have strong influence in the field. As a department head, dean, vice president and as the university's chief academic officer, he has been an administrator who leads by both inspiration and example. And throughout his career, he has remained an active and outstanding teacher. "For me, he has been and will remain a dear friend and a counselor in whom I have absolute confidence. Bob will be sorely missed in Purdue's upper administration, but his continued presence on the faculty means that he will remain a great resource for Purdue." Ringel, 63, has been an administrator for 30 of his 34 years on the faculty at Purdue and was named the Donald S. Powers Distinguished University Administrator in 1998, the only person ever to receive this recognition at Purdue. As Purdue's executive vice president for academic affairs, Ringel has been responsible for the development of all aspects of teaching and related academic activities, including student recruitment and retention; recruitment and development of faculty; and curriculum. His office oversees academic support systems such as the libraries, computing center, student services (admission, registrar, financial aid, health facilities) and a large number of research facilities and institutes. Since 1967, Ringel has been involved directly in bringing to Purdue more than $25 million in funding from various federal agencies, corporations and foundations. Ringel also is responsible for issues of academic concern for the university's four regional campuses and other extension sites. He serves as one of two senior advisers to Beering. Programs developed under Ringel's leadership have earned affirmative action recognition for their contributions to the diversification of the faculty and student body. Some of these include programs designed to: • Recruit African-American graduate students through a special relationship with historically black institutions, a program recently honored by the Quality Education for Minorities Network for its success in encouraging minority students to earn doctoral degrees. It has boosted Purdue to a top-10 national ranking in the graduation of minority students with doctorates. • Recruit minority faculty. • Extend the tenure probation period for faculty facing special circumstances, such as childbirth, care of a dependent or health concerns. • Help faculty spouses find jobs at Purdue or in the community. • Recruit key faculty by finding appropriate tenure-track faculty positions for their spouses. Before becoming executive vice president for academic affairs in 1991, Ringel served four years as vice president and dean of the graduate school; 13 years as dean of the School of Humanities, Social Science and Education (now the School of Liberal Arts and the School of Education); and three years as head of the Department of Audiology and Speech Sciences. He came to Purdue in 1966 as an associate professor of speech pathology, and has continued to teach classes regularly during his 30 years as a Purdue administrator. Ringel is a frequent lecturer, consultant and author on topics of contemporary importance in his technical field and in higher education. In the field of speech pathology, he has published more than 60 papers in scholarly journals; has been the series editor for four volumes on speech and language disability; and has presented papers at, or participated in, more than 100 national and international scientific meetings. His scholarly leadership was recognized in 1998 when he received Honors, the highest award of the American Speech Science and Hearing Association. This recognition from a professional society with membership of 100,000 has been given to only 100 individuals over the past 75 years. In the Greater Lafayette community, he has served on the boards of directors of Home Hospital, the Lafayette Symphony, United Way and Temple Israel. Ringel and his wife, Estelle, are the parents of two sons and the grandparents of four boys. "Of all the titles I have held over the past 40 years," he said, "the one I enjoy the most is 'Grandpa.'" Originally from Brooklyn, N.Y., Ringel received his master's degree in audiology and speech science in 1960 and his doctorate in speech science and speech pathology in 1962, both from Purdue. He then served as a postdoctoral fellow for two years at the UCLA School of Medicine. He earned his bachelor's degree in speech pathology in 1959 from Brooklyn College, which honored him as a distinguished alumnus in 1982. Source: Robert L. Ringel, (765) 494-9709 Writer: Jeanne Norberg, (765) 494-2084, jnorberg@purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu
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