STEM-powered business innovation: Purdue accelerates growth of business school

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — From cutting edge semiconductor research to industry-leading pharmaceutical practicum, Purdue University has built a reputation for advancing research and creating solutions to some of the world’s toughest challenges. The university is now utilizing that same analytical thinking and strategic planning DNA in the business arena, preparing students for an economy where business and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) are inseparable.

Since taking the helm of the business school in August 2023, James “Jim” Bullard, the Dr. Samuel R. Allen Dean of the Mitch Daniels School of Business and Distinguished Professor of Service and Professor of Economics, has focused on a set of strategic priorities aimed at transforming the school into a top-tier, tech-driven institution to redefine business education through the lens of STEM disciplines.

“We’re not just expanding our business school — we’re redefining it by putting STEM at its core,” Bullard said. “In a world where technology drives every market, we’re preparing our students to lead, whether it’s in the boardroom or a science lab.”

Integrating STEM with business is one of the foundational pillars for the Daniels School, which also include academic prowess, transformational student experience, freedom and capitalism, and business partnerships.

In December, the Purdue University Board of Trustees approved a restructuring from two departments to nine, which Bullard said would enable departments to respond to the evolving needs of students, faculty and industry partnerships. Further, it reflects the university’s belief that the future belongs to those who can bridge the worlds of invention and enterprise.

Seeking to be the nation’s most forward-looking business school, the Mitch Daniels School of Business this summer vigorously recruited and hired 34 top-caliber faculty members to bolster and expand its academic ranks with experts to prepare students for the 21st century economy.

Among the nearly three dozen new faculty members, the Daniels School hired four full professors as part of the university’s Moveable Dream Hires program, which is designed to attract high-performing, top-caliber faculty in specialized fields to Purdue.

New Moveable Dream Hires:

• Judson Caskey: professor of accounting; editor at The Accounting Review. Caskey focuses on both empirical and modeling research in financial accounting, specifically on the role of accounting disclosures within the context of informed decision-making. His empirical research examines the information conveyed by financial reports and how investors use it.
• Martin Dufwenberg: distinguished professor of economics. Dufwenberg’s research explores topics in behavioral economics. He works on how to incorporate emotions and other forms of belief-dependent motivations into economic analysis using an analytical framework called psychological game theory.
• Gwendolyn Lee: professor of strategic management. Lee’s recent research advances the frontier of strategic management, exploring the transformative impact of machine learning/AI, industry-shaping dynamics in the generation of sustainable energy and critical challenges in the governance of AI.
• Michael Weber: professor of finance. Weber pursues two main streams of research. In finance, he explores areas including asset pricing and return predictability. The other is in macroeconomics with a focus on how agents form expectations and the ability of central banks to manage them.

Through its Distinguished Fellows and Business Fellows programs, the Daniels School is strategically appointing senior business executives, economic leaders and policy professionals from across a broad spectrum of industries, institutes and government to bring real-world expertise into the classroom, strengthen industry connections and elevate the school’s visibility as a hub for innovative leadership.

Along with the nationally and internationally recognized faculty, the Daniels School added Rich Sikora as executive advisor for innovation and entrepreneurship. Sikora brings decades of executive experience at Boeing and several startup technology companies. As a joint appointment between Purdue Innovates and the Daniels School, the role is designed to strengthen the connection between Purdue innovation, experiential learning and the university’s entrepreneurship ecosystem.

Applications to the Daniels School of Business, ranked among the best business schools in the world, grew by over 13% in the last year alone, with a record high rate for applicants choosing to attend.

In response to growing enrollment at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, the Daniels School broke ground in April on the college’s 164,000-square-foot building. The $168 million facility, which is set to be finished in 2027, will provide modern teaching and research labs, innovation hubs, and collaborative spaces.

The new capital project, which replaces Krannert Center, returns the Daniels School to a three-facility footprint and is a visible statement of the school’s commitment to build the future of business.

The Mitch Daniels School of Business presence is also scaling up at Purdue’s expansion in Indianapolis, combining with one of the university’s other strategic initiatives, launching academic offerings such as the innovative Integrated Business and Engineering program, which is preparing graduates to make business decisions grounded in technology, engineering and math. As part of Purdue’s strategy to increase its footprint throughout the capital city, the Daniels School’s executive education programs are being taught at the Indianapolis location.

“We are channeling Purdue’s innovation-driven culture into building a business school of the future,” Bullard said. “Beyond our state-of-the-art facility and this successful faculty recruitment, the Daniels School of Business has set its eyes on developing a trained, next-generation workforce that will be prepared to bridge business acumen with technical fluency.”

The Daniels School of Business is one of the university’s priorities and represents a key focus of “Victories & Heroes: Your Campaign for Purdue,” the $4 billion comprehensive fundraising campaign the university launched in February.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research university leading with excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities in the United States, Purdue discovers, disseminates and deploys knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 106,000 students study at Purdue across multiple campuses, locations and modalities, including more than 57,000 at our main campus locations in West Lafayette and Indianapolis. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 14 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its integrated, comprehensive Indianapolis urban expansion; the Mitch Daniels School of Business; Purdue Computes; and the One Health initiative — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.