Purdue names Mitch Daniels interim president

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — The Purdue Board of Trustees voted Monday to appoint Mitch Daniels as interim president of Purdue University, effective July 1.

Daniels, Purdue president emeritus and chair of the board of the Purdue Research Foundation, previously served as Purdue’s president for 10 years, from 2013 to 2022. He succeeds Mung Chiang, who will become president of Northwestern University on July 1.

Trustees Chair Gary Lehman said the board is grateful Daniels agreed to return to a role he knows well.

“We are extremely grateful to President Emeritus Daniels for his willingness to continue his long and successful service to Purdue University in a role with which he is very familiar,” Lehman said. “We look forward to working with Mitch and the executive team in leading Purdue to even greater heights as it continues to impact lives through its land-grant mission and the persistent pursuit of excellence in higher education.”

Daniels said the decision to step back in was straightforward, given his commitment to the university.

“President Chiang has led Purdue forward in a host of important ways, and it’s essential that the momentum he has generated be maintained,” Daniels said. “If the board believes that recalling me to active duty temporarily can help in this respect, no one as devoted to this institution as I am could say anything but yes.”

Lehman said Daniels has agreed to serve as interim president until a permanent successor is identified and takes office. The board plans to launch a national search in the coming weeks.

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