Purdue trustees approve president’s performance metrics

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University’s Board of Trustees on Friday (Feb. 4) voted to approve the new metrics on which President Mitch Daniels’ performance will be measured for the 2021-22 fiscal year.

The goals and metrics, reviewed and revised each year by trustees, seek to define and measure progress in the university’s priority areas of affordability, student success and operational and institutional excellence, according to Malcolm DeKryger, chair of the board’s Compensation Committee, which recommended the metrics for board approval.

“We continue to raise the bar on our expectations, and thanks to the dedication of the entire Purdue community, we have seen growth and improvement across the board over the past nearly 10 years,” DeKryger said. “As we keep accessibility, quality, affordability and value at the forefront of our work here, we’ve added additional student success measures for this year reflecting goals set out by our Equity Task Force.”

In addition to overall graduation rates and number of degrees awarded, student success measures for 2021-22 include increased yield and retention/graduation rates for Black students at the West Lafayette campus, aligning with goals of the Equity Task Force, one of Purdue’s Next Moves approved by trustees in spring 2021.

Other new measures for 2021-22 fall under operations and include operational and financial improvement at Purdue University Global, and the establishment of the Purdue Applied Research Institute, also one of Purdue’s Next Moves.

Daniels’ contract, when approved in December 2012, was, at Daniels’ request, a departure from more traditional pay structures for university presidents. It put in place a system by which Daniels has a third of his salary set aside as “at-risk” funds, contingent on results in priority areas.

Metrics for the current fiscal year will continue to measure progress in the areas of student affordability (20%), student success (30%), fundraising (20%) and operations (30%). Objectives are listed in this chart.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a top public research institution developing practical solutions to today’s toughest challenges. Ranked in each of the last four years as one of the 10 Most Innovative universities in the United States by U.S. News & World Report, Purdue delivers world-changing research and out-of-this-world discovery. Committed to hands-on and online, real-world learning, Purdue offers a transformative education to all. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue has frozen tuition and most fees at 2012-13 levels, enabling more students than ever to graduate debt-free. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap at https://purdue.edu/.

Media contact: Tim Doty, doty2@purdue.edu