Trustees ratify distinguished professor; approve new degree, resolutions of appreciation and naming

INDIANAPOLIS — The Purdue University Board of Trustees on Friday (Oct. 10) ratified a distinguished professor and approved a new degree, resolutions of appreciation and a naming.

Jeffrey Reuer was ratified as Distinguished Professor and Blake Family Endowed Chair in Strategic Management and Governance. Reuer came to Purdue in 2007 as a professor of strategic management and served as the Blake Family Endowed Chair in Strategic Management and Governance from 2008-15. He rejoined Purdue and the Mitch Daniels School of Business in 2024. His other faculty appointments were at INSEAD, the University of North Carolina, Ohio State University and the University of Colorado. Reuer’s research focuses on the impact of uncertainty on strategic decisions and uses organizational economics to investigate firms’ external corporate development activities (e.g., R&D partnerships, international joint ventures and acquisitions). Throughout his career, he has led executive training sessions for various startups, nonprofits, consultancies and multinationals. Reuer was dean of the fellows of the Strategic Management Society and has served as chair of the Academy of Management’s Strategic Management Division and chief grants officer of the Strategy Research Foundation. Additionally, he is widely published in his field, serving as an associate, consulting or guest editor of eight academic journals. Reuer has received numerous research, best paper and MBA teaching awards and is a recipient of the Fulbright Distinguished Research Chair Award and a Silver Medal from the Journal of International Business Studies for lifetime scholarly contributions.

Trustees approved the launch of a Master of Science in strategy in security and defense technologies, which will be offered online through the Purdue West Lafayette location beginning in summer 2026. Supported by Purdue’s FORCES initiative, the program is designed for active-duty military personnel; members of the National Guard, Coast Guard and all Reserve branches; as well as Department of Defense civilians and defense contractors seeking advancement and upskilling in strategic and technological domains. Students will gain expertise in systems thinking, strategic foresight, AI and data literacy, and ethical decision-making — essential skills for navigating complex challenges and anticipating future risk. By combining an interdisciplinary curriculum with an affordable, accessible online format, the program equips military and civilian leaders to address real-world security challenges, strengthen national resilience and advance their careers.

In other action, trustees approved resolutions of appreciation for friends of the university who recently contributed $1 million or more to Purdue. Those are:

• AGE Fisher Family Foundation, to support the College of Engineering
• The White Family and Dean and Barbara White Family Foundation, to support the Mitch Daniels School of Business
• Patrick McLaughlin and David Talley, to support cultural centers
• Judith Schaper and Daniel Gottlieb (dec. 2022), to support the College of Science
• Nancy H. Handel, to support the Mitch Daniels School of Business
• An anonymous gift, to support the College of Pharmacy
• An anonymous gift, to support the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics

Additionally, trustees approved the following naming:

• Engineering Entrepreneurial Center initiative the Fisher Hub for Innovation, Ventures and Entrepreneurship (HIVE), in recognition of the AGE Fisher Family Foundation gift and in partnership with the Purdue Research Foundation

Trustees also approved an agreement between Purdue and Virgin Galactic for a suborbital space mission with an all-Boilermaker crew.

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.