Trustees approve Chiang’s performance metrics for 2023-24

The goals and metrics will be annually reviewed and revised by the board, as they were for Chiang’s predecessor, Mitch Daniels, and will define and measure progress in five priority areas, according to trustee Malcolm DeKryger, chair of the board’s Compensation Committee, which recommended the metrics for board approval.

“Our university continues to make giant leaps forward in all aspects, thanks to our outstanding faculty, staff and students, led by an administration that sees opportunity at every corner,” DeKryger said. “We continue to set high goals to ensure our university remains at the top of institutions of higher education to the benefit of our students, our state and our world.”

Upon his selection as Purdue’s 13th president, Chiang requested his contract follow the same structure as Daniels’ before him, with a substantial portion of the pay being at risk and determined based on annual performance, and that his starting base salary be less than Daniels’ and less than his then-base salary as faculty.

Metrics will measure progress for 2023-24 in:

• Financial success (18%): Factors include a favorable operating budget, fundraising dollars and number of donors.
• Student success (32%): Factors include starting salary of graduates, four- and six-year graduation rates, success of programs such as the Dr. Cornell A. Bell Business Opportunity Program and Minority Engineering Program, percentage of Pell Grant recipients in undergraduate enrollment, systemwide number of graduates of all degrees, and Purdue University Online enrollment.
• Research (20%): Factors include external research funding amount, number of active industry partners, number of patents filed, and Purdue Applied Research Institute operational and facility readiness.
• Reputation (10%): Factors include the composite of three national rankings — U.S. News & World Report undergraduate rankings and the U.S. portion of QS and Times Higher Education rankings — and the number of earned media placements.
• University initiatives (20%): Factors include Purdue University in Indianapolis transition readiness, Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business top faculty recruits, Purdue Global business success plan, and other significant achievements, such as those related to Purdue Computes or Purdue’s Next Moves. 

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research institution with excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top 4 in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, with 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 12 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap, including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the new Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business, and Purdue Computes, at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.