A stated meeting of the Purdue University Board of Trustees convened on Friday, April 14, 2023, at 11:11 a.m. in Room 326 of Stewart Center on the campus of Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Trustees present: Michael Berghoff, chairman; Sonny Beck; JoAnn Brouillette; Theresa Carter; Vanessa Castagna; Malcolm DeKryger; Mark Gee; and Michael Klipsch. Shawn Taylor participated via conference call. Gary Lehman, vice chairman was absent with approval in advance.

Officers and administrators in attendance were: Mung Chiang, president; Patrick Wolfe, provost and executive vice president for academic affairs and diversity; Chris Ruhl, chief financial officer and treasurer; Eva Nodine, senior vice president, assistant treasurer, and assistant secretary; Steve Schultz, general counsel; Cindy Ream, corporate secretary and senior executive assistant to the Board; and Thomas Keon, chancellor, Purdue University Northwest.

I. ROLL CALL

Chairman Berghoff called the meeting to order and noted trustees in attendance in person were Sonny Beck, Michael Berghoff, JoAnn Brouillette, Theresa Carter, Vanessa Castagna, Malcolm DeKryger, Mark Gee, and Michael Klipsch. Shawn Taylor participated remotely via conference call. Gary Lehman was absent with approval in advance.

II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

Upon proper motion duly made and seconded, the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to approve the minutes for Executive Committee convened on August 12, 2022 and Stated Meetings convened on October 7, 2022 and December 2, 2022.

III. UNANIMOUS CONSENT AGENDA

The Academic and Student Affairs Committee, Audit and Enterprise Risk Committee, Compensation Committee, Finance Committee and Physical Facilities Committee, all convened public meetings immediately prior to this Stated Meeting. Trustee DeKryger recused himself and left the room for this portion of the meeting. Chairman Berghoff read the list of items on which the Committees voted to recommend full Board approval, which includes the unanimous consent agenda along with other routine items, as follows:

• (WL) Ratification; John A. Edwardson Deanship, College of Engineering;
• (WL) Ratification; Lillian Barboul Thomas Professor;
• (WL) Ratification; R. Norris and Eleanor Shreve Professor of Chemical Engineering;
• (WL) Ratification; R. Norris and Eleanor Shreve Professor of Chemical Engineering;
• (WL) Ratification; Mary Jo and Robert L. Kirk Director of the Birck Nanotechnology Center;
• (SW) Approval of Faculty Promotions;
• (NW) Approval of New Degree Program Doctor of Psychology and Master of Science in Psychology;
• (NW) Approval to Establish University College as a Degree-Granting College;
• (SW) Approval of Calendar Year 2022 Annual Audit Report;
• (WL) Approval of Contract in Excess of $2M for Huron, Related to a New Electronic Research Administration System;
• (WL) Approval to Plan, Finance, Construct and Award Construction Contracts for Chilled Water Capacity Enhancement Projects;
• (WL) Approval to Plan, Finance, Construct and Award Construction Contracts for Birck Nanotechnology Center Clean Room Modernization, Related Renovations and Equipment Purchases;
• (WL) Approval of Resolution of Appreciation to Purdue Research Foundation for the Third and West Housing Facility Project;
• (SW) Approval of Exceptions to Nepotism Policy; and
• (SW) Approval of Conflict-of-Interest Disclosures
  
  

  • Chairman Berghoff paused to note that Trustee DeKryger had recused himself from this portion of the meeting given the latter’s disclosure of an indirect interest in a matter in which Purdue has the opportunity to secure a funding award. Chairman Berghoff provided additional background on this disclosure as follows:

    • Trustee DeKryger had been approached by Purdue College of Agriculture professor, Dr. Scott Radcliffe, to ask if the DeKryger family’s Legacy Farm could be included in a proposal being submitted to the National Pork Board. If funded, Dr. Radcliffe’s grant will be used to develop consumer education programs offered through Purdue and the State Fair Commission. Legacy Farm was actually built for the purpose of providing consumer education on pig production, so Dr. Radcliffe believed this platform is exactly what the National Pork Board is seeking for this project.

    • Chairman Berghoff noted that, if the proposal is selected, Legacy Farm would be reimbursed for the use of its facility and the time dedicated by its employees based on a fixed amount built into the project budget.

    • Mr. DeKryger’s interest in Legacy Farm and his role on the Purdue board was disclosed in the grant application.

    • In response to a question by Chairman Berghoff, Executive Vice President for Research Karen Plaut confirmed this description of the opportunity, noting it will be advantageous to the College of Agriculture if it is secured.

Noting this additional discussion on this meeting’s conflict of interest disclosures, Chairman Berghoff asked if any of the Board members wished to have an item removed from the consent agenda for further discussion. Hearing no such request, and upon proper motion duly made and seconded, the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to approve the unanimous consent agenda. Supporting materials were filed with the minutes. Trustee DeKryger then rejoined the meeting.

IV. FACULTY AWARDS RECOGNITION & PRESENTATION

President Chiang thanked the Trustees for their flexibility in allowing Dr. Clint Chapple to present earlier in the morning to accommodate his schedule.* He then provided some background on the Faculty Awards and Recognition that the Board has agreed to add on a regular basis going forward. This will be designed to recognize Purdue professors who have received major national awards over the past 2 months. President Chiang recognized individually those who have received awards from January to March 2023. Supporting materials were filed with the minutes. Notes from Dr. Chapple’s presentation in the earlier interim session follow.

*Earlier in the day’s proceedings, at approximately 10:00 a.m., Trustee Berghoff had exercised the Chairman’s prerogative to convene an interim session for the sole purpose of hearing a special presentation by Clint Chapple, distinguished professor in the College of Agriculture’s Department of Biochemistry. At that session, President Chiang had introduced Dr. Chapple, noting that he had come to Purdue in 1993, where he began groundbreaking transformational research in identifying enzymes and genes to make lignin in plant cell walls and thus discovered ways to reprogram plants. He shared that Dr. Chapple was inducted into the National Academy of Sciences in 2022. Following that introduction, Dr. Chapple gave a presentation about “Learning how plants grow so we can grow better plants.” Remarking on Dr. Chapple’s instructive and entertaining presentation, Chairman Berghoff noted that featuring professors who have made progress in their field of study and who have been recognized with awards will be part of the meetings going forward. Dr. Chapple’s presentation concluded at 10:15. A copy of his presentation was filed with the minutes.

V. PRESIDENT’S REPORT

RESOLUTION OF APPRECIATION FOR FRIENDS OF PURDUE UNIVERSITY

President Chiang profiled the gifts of $1,000,000.00 or more which the university had received since the Board’s Stated Meeting on February 3, 2023. The donors of these gifts were recognized in the following Resolution of Appreciation:

WHEREAS, the following friends of Purdue University have generously contributed $1,000,000 or more to move Purdue to greater excellence and preeminence; and

WHEREAS, the University wishes to acknowledge the significance of these gifts to new directions, advancements, and momentum in Purdue’s history, progress, and future;

BE IT THEREFORE RESOLVED BY THE TRUSTEES OF PURDUE UNIVERSITY:

1. That the University and the Trustees are grateful to these individuals for their leadership and support of Purdue University; and

2. That this resolution be spread upon the minutes of the Board of Trustees as part of the permanent record of the University.

FRIENDS: Michael Byers, to support the Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business and Intercollegiate Athletics; Nathan and Beth Gabhart, to support the Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business; Norman and Lioubov Gilsdorf, to support the College of Engineering; Avrum Gray, to support the College of Liberal Arts; Margery Ellen Hoffman, to support the Lyles School of Civil Engineering; Scott Kozuch, to support the Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business; Raytheon Technologies, to support the Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business; Anonymous, to support the College of Agriculture; and Anonymous, to support the College of Veterinary Medicine, Purdue Research Foundation and Purdue Institute for Cancer Research.

President Chiang submitted the Resolution of Appreciation for the Board’s approval. After a brief discussion, the Board approved the resolution by acclamation. Supporting materials and a formal copy of the resolution were filed with the minutes.

ONLINE LEARNING 2.0

President Chiang reminded the Board that, in 2018, Purdue Global had been formally launched, and, around that same time, Purdue Online had been organized as a new organizational unit to strengthen the University’s ability to participate in the online higher education market. He noted that, with input from Purdue Global Chancellor, Frank Dooley, and Senior Vice President for Purdue Online, Gary Bertoline, he was now presenting a vision statement for Purdue Online Learning 2.0, which had been jointly prepared by these two parts of the Purdue family and which reads as follows:

Online Learning at Purdue consists of two coordinated efforts: Purdue Global as a virtual campus and Purdue University Online as the online version of the West Lafayette campus. Differentiated in their offerings, Purdue Global and Purdue University Online share Purdue’s strategic focus and long-standing commitment to student success, learning technology innovation, and growth with quality. Collectively, Purdue global and Purdue University Online expand Purdue’s land-grant mission this century through a continuum of integrated and trusted online learning opportunities, with unparalleled excellence at scale.

Chairman Berghoff noted that the Board received an advance memo outlining this recommendation. He explained that the proposal is for the Board to endorse this vision statement for Purdue Online 2.0 as one of the University’s strategic initiatives. Upon proper motion duly made and seconded, the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to endorse the vision statement for Purdue Online 2.0 as one of our strategic initiatives. Supporting materials were filed with the minutes.

MERIT INCREASE 2023-24

President Chiang’s next item was a proposal for a Purdue West Lafayette faculty and staff salary increase as a recommendation for the FY24 budget. This merit pool would be proposed to as a 4% salary pool (recurring), to be awarded based on merit, and 1% pool (non-recurring) for rewards, recognition, and retention of faculty, staff and PhD students.

Chairman Berghoff commented that this measure is, of course, a substantial investment in the University’s greatest asset – its people. He noted that this move follows a similar step taken last year, which was the largest merit increase in two decades. He shared that, from his perspective as Chair, he felt good that the Board is in a position of being able to consider this action. After further discussion, Chairman Berghoff stated that President Chiang could take this as the Board’s endorsement for Treasurer Ruhl’s team to include this merit increase proposal in the budget coming formally to the Board in June. Supporting materials were filed with the minutes.

PURDUE APPLIED RESEARCH INSTITUTE

As an informational item, President Chiang provided an update on the Purdue Applied Research Institute (PARI), the University’s nonprofit applied research affiliate charged with extending the reach and impact of Purdue’s research strengths and top-ranked academic programs in engineering, agriculture, science and technology. He shared that PARI’s board of managers had approved the hiring of the inaugural CEO, Dr. Mark Lewis. Dr. Lewis is a renowned researcher and professor with leadership in academia and government and is one of the world’s foremost experts on hypersonics.

Chairman Berghoff conveyed that, on a related note, this Board has received a proposal to update the resolution adopted by the Executive Committee at the special meeting held on February 13th. He explained that this action would recognize additional University officers with cleared status who need to be included in the “Senior Managerial Group” for purposes of access to classified information. Chairman Berghoff then entertained a motion to add the positions of Executive Vice President for Research and Chief Information Officer, currently held by Karen Plaut and Ian Hyatt, respectively, to the list of the Senior Managerial Group members in paragraph 4 of that earlier resolution, and to remove those positions from the “excluded officer” list in paragraph 7 of that resolution. Upon proper motion duly made and seconded, the Board of Trustees voted unanimously to approve the updated clearance statuses. Supporting materials were filed with the minutes.

PURDUE COMPUTES

President Chiang concluded his report with the unveiling of a major initiative based on faculty, staff, and student consultation led by Provost Patrick Wolfe and Executive Vice President for Research, Karen Plaut. He explained that Purdue Computes is a University-wide initiative consisting of three pillars in response both societal needs for us as a Public Land Grant Institution as well as to the intense interest from students and faculty. He described the pillars in detail and outlined the investment in faculty lines and facilities over the next five years. He provided information about structural changes within departments that will take place as Purdue Computes progresses. President Chiang shared that the institute will be ready for its formal creation in the Fall semester 2023. A copy of President Chiang’s report was filed with the minutes.

VI. REPORT OF THE SCHOOL OF VETERINARY MEDICINE

Dr. Willie Reed, Dean of the School of Veterinary Medicine began by sharing some perspective on how the Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine fits in with other institutions in the United States. He noted that there are 32 other colleges of veterinary medicine across 28 states with six states having two schools. Dean Reed provided an overview of the organization of the college, shared some key successes and key efforts to enhance operational excellence. He gave an update on the new veterinary hospital and thanked the Board again for their support. He voiced the need to complete Phase II for the small animal hospital. He outlined plans for the next five years as they look to create the future for veterinary medicine at Purdue University. Dean Reed thanked the Board for the support they have given for the College of Veterinary Medicine and for allowing him to present. He commented that when asked why he has stayed at Purdue, the answer was an easy one, because of the people. A copy of Dean Reed’s presentation was filed with the minutes.

VII. ADJOURNMENT

By consent, the meeting adjourned at 12:37 p.m.