Berghoff presides over final trustees meeting as board chair

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — As chair of the Purdue University Board of Trustees the last 10 years, Michael Berghoff provided indispensable governance in leading the university through unprecedented growth and success.

On Friday (Dec. 13) Berghoff presided over his final board meeting, concluding more than 15 years of service since his appointment as a trustee on July 1, 2009. Berghoff announced his retirement at the board’s October meeting.

At Friday’s meeting, trustees approved a resolution of appreciation for Berghoff and announced that the trustees suite in the Purdue Memorial Union would be named after him. He also was presented with the Sagamore of the Wabash award, the highest honor that Indiana’s governor bestows — given to those who have rendered a distinguished service to the state or to the governor.

The chairman’s gavel was passed from Berghoff to Gary Lehman, the board’s next chair, who has been a trustee since 2010 and has served as vice chair the past four years. Mike Klipsch will become the next vice chair, and David A. Ricks will fill the vacancy created by Berghoff’s retirement.

During Berghoff’s tenure, enrollment, national and global rankings, and research breakthroughs saw significant increases — helping raise Purdue’s reputation and standing among the world’s top institutions of higher education.

He championed Purdue’s pledge to make affordability a top priority, leading to 13 consecutive years (2013-26) without an increase in tuition while continuing to invest in the important work and land-grant mission of the institution.

Berghoff and his fellow board members committed to the launch of bold, impactful initiatives through Purdue Moves in 2013, Purdue’s Next Moves in 2021, Purdue Computes in 2023 and Purdue One Health in 2024.

Berghoff earned his bachelor’s degree in industrial management in 1985 from Purdue, where he served as chairman of the Purdue Student Publishing Foundation, was president of Theta Chi fraternity and was a member of the football team.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research institution demonstrating excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top four 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, including nearly 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 13 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 Mitch Daniels School of Business, Purdue Computes and the One Health initiative — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.