Trustees approve faculty promotions, posthumous degrees, PFW department restructuring, resolutions of appreciation and namings

FORT WAYNE, Ind. — The Purdue University Board of Trustees on Friday (April 10) approved the promotion of 189 faculty across the Purdue University system for the 2026-27 academic year. The total includes 164 from the main campus — including two with university tenure in Indianapolis — 16 from Purdue Fort Wayne and nine from Purdue Northwest. Trustees annually approve promotions in April, per the Purdue academic tenure and promotion policy.

Trustees awarded a posthumous Bachelor of Science degree in biology to Grace Haraway and a posthumous non-thesis Master of Science degree in agricultural and biological engineering to Cade Gochenour. A posthumous degree requires that at least 85% of the credit hour requirements have been completed, including most of the requirements for the major.

In other action, trustees approved the renaming and relocation of the Department of Organizational Leadership at Purdue Fort Wayne. Under the agreement, the unit will be renamed the Department of Leadership and Talent Development and housed in the Doermer School of Business. Both actions received uniform support from the department’s faculty, college deans, and the provost and vice chancellor for academic affairs, reflecting a shared goal to strengthen the program’s long-term viability and unite business-related departments. The move is designed to expand student access, better align faculty expertise, and foster innovative research and curricular partnerships while preparing graduates for careers in talent development, talent management, human resources, operations and project management.

Trustees also approved resolutions of appreciation for friends of the university who recently contributed $1 million or more to Purdue. Those are:

• Marshall and Susan Larsen, to support the Mitch Daniels School of Business
• Gayle Johnston, to support the Mitch Daniels School of Business
• John Zyck Jr., to support the College of Liberal Arts
• John and Donna Krenicki, to support the One Health initiative
• Christopher and Melinda Lister, to support the College of Engineering
• Donald and Susan Rice, to support the Mitch Daniels School of Business
• An anonymous gift, to support the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics
• An anonymous gift, to support the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics and College of Engineering
• Two anonymous gifts, to support the Mitch Daniels School of Business

Additionally, trustees approved the following namings:

• A chair in the Mitch Daniels School of Business the Marshall and Susan Larsen Chair, in recognition of a gift by Marshall and Susan Larsen
• The Gayle C. Johnston Confident Transitions Program in the Brock-Wilson Center within the Mitch Daniels School of Business, in recognition of a gift by Gayle Johnston
• A chair in the College of Engineering the Christopher and Melinda Lister Family Professorship, in recognition of a gift by Christopher and Melinda Lister
• A chair in the One Health initiative the Krenicki Family Chair in AI-Guided Biomolecular Design, Biotechnology and Computational Biology, in recognition of a gift by John and Melinda Krenicki
• A professorship in the Mitch Daniels School of Business the Donald and Susan Rice Endowed Professorship in Management Sciences, in recognition of a gift by Donald and Susan Rice
• The academic advising suite in the future Mitch Daniels School of Business building, in recognition of a gift by friends of Purdue who wish to remain anonymous until a later date
• A professorship and Rising Star Early Career Professor in the College of Engineering, in recognition of a gift by friends of Purdue who wish to remain anonymous until a later date
• Amend the name of the Fisher Hub for Innovation, Ventures and Entrepreneurship (HIVE) — approved at the Oct. 10, 2025, board of trustees meeting — to the Purdue HIVE in the College of Engineering. The donors (AGE Fisher Family Foundation) and involved university personnel believe Purdue HIVE embodies the spirit of the HIVE and the future impact it will have throughout the entire university.

Trustees also clarified that the professorship title approved for David Simchi-Levi at the Feb. 6 board of trustees meeting is the Susan Bulkeley Butler Distinguished Professor in Operations Management.

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.