Trustees request wide input in search for next Purdue president

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — The Purdue Board of Trustees has launched its search for the university’s next president and is encouraging broad input to help shape the role’s leadership profile.

“It’s important to us as a board that we hear from as many people as we can and to be as open and transparent as we can in our search for the 14th president of Purdue University,” Board Chair Gary Lehman said. “Over these next weeks, we want to gather views from a wide range of individuals, citizens of Indiana and people around the world — alumni, faculty, staff, students, parents, anyone with an interest in the continued success of Purdue University.”

In beginning its work, the board is asking for feedback on the qualities, experience and leadership characteristics desired in Purdue’s next president, as well as names of individuals who should be considered. Input will be gathered through an anonymized survey, and responses will be synthesized for the board, including through AI-assisted analysis of open-ended feedback, to inform development of the candidate profile.

The board will provide regular updates through the search website.

The 14th president of Purdue will succeed Mung Chiang, who became president of Northwestern University on July 1. Purdue President Emeritus Mitch Daniels is serving as interim president until a new leader is chosen and takes office.

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.