Welcome from Executive Vice President for Research Karen Plaut

January 8, 2023

Dear Colleagues,

I am so glad to be joining you as the new Executive Vice President for Research. I want to thank Theresa Mayer for her hard work and purpose-driven focus to support and grow the research mission of Purdue University. Theresa will remain with us as the Chief Science Officer and I look forward to working with her on specific projects.

As many of you know, I joined Purdue in 2010 as the Associate Dean for Research in the College of Agriculture and then became Dean of the college in 2017. When President Chiang approached me about this opportunity, I was taken by surprise. However, I quickly realized it was an excellent opportunity to give back to Purdue and my colleagues. 

As a team, we provide a vital service that makes a huge impact on the success of the university. I am looking forward to learning from each of you as we continue the focus of supporting and growing scholarly excellence across campus. This afternoon, some changes will be announced that will help us achieve that goal. 

Please bear with me as I learn the new aspects of the job, but do not hesitate to reach out if you need anything. I am bringing my Executive Assistant, Teresa Rogers, with me. She will be the main point of contact (rogerstk@purdue.edu). Whitney Freeland (wfreelan@purdue.edu) will continue to serve the EVPR office and will specifically support Dan DeLaurentis, the Vice President for Discovery Park District Institutes, and other executive staff.

I look forward to working with you.

Karen Plaut
Executive Vice President for Research