Purdue’s next big move in a decade-long series of major strategic investments will honor a celebrated president who led transformative change during his tenure.

The state-of-the-art Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business will prepare tomorrow’s leaders and entrepreneurs, grounding them in the hallmarks of a Purdue education, including STEM disciplines and business analytics. 

“To be associated with any aspect of Purdue’s academic enterprise is an inestimable honor, but this one in particular touches me deeply,” says Daniels, Purdue’s 12th president, who retired from the role in December. “Practiced with integrity, business careers are the noblest of life choices; they create new jobs and wealth for others and bring into being the resources which the public and nonprofit sectors take to pursue their goals. This modernized School of Business will send out its graduates armed with a sense of mission and the tools to fulfill that mission in the most complex of enterprises.” 

This announcement marks the first time Purdue’s business school will have a formal name. The university’s Board of Trustees committed to retaining the Krannert name, long associated with the school’s graduate offerings since the naming began, for its graduate and executive degree programs within the newly named Daniels School.

Charting a new course for business education, the Daniels School will be marked by graduates who embody the values of wisdom and creativity, grounded in a firm grasp of today's technologies and their likely evolution; who are aware of the history of progress that freedom of enterprise has created and continues to advance; and who are trained to lead and inspire others with strength and decisiveness. The reimagined Daniels School will instill these values and qualities, preparing each graduate as they leave Purdue to found and lead businesses and be the successful entrepreneurs and industry leaders of tomorrow.

The new name celebrates not only Daniels’s acclaimed tenure as Purdue president but also his highly reputed business acumen in the private sector. Before his time at Purdue, Daniels held several top executive posts in an 11-year career at Eli Lilly and Company, including president of Eli Lilly’s North American pharmaceutical operations and senior vice president for corporate strategy and policy. Fortunes soared during Daniels’s tenure, his longest in any role in his professional life, as part of the leadership team that saw assets, revenue, and income more than double.

“President Emeritus Mitch Daniels is regarded as the most innovative university president in America, and his private sector business leadership is as outstanding as his public service,” says Mung Chiang, Purdue’s 13th president.

The Daniels School will build upon Purdue’s mission as a land-grant university to provide affordable and accessible education while combining technological excellence and business expertise. Some of that foundation has already been established with Purdue’s recently inaugurated integrated business and engineering degree; its highly ranked business analytics programs; the new Dean V. White Real Estate Finance program; and the Larsen Leaders Academy, further propelled by a $10 million gift from Marshall and Susan Larsen. The Larsen gift was celebrated last fall to create a competitive advantage for students entering business.

The Dean and Barbara White Family Foundation has committed $50 million to name the undergraduate institute in the Daniels School, representing the lead gift to establish the school and the largest monetary contribution ever made to Purdue’s School of Management/Business. The institute will be named the Bruce White Undergraduate Institute. White (M’75), who died on January 19, was founder and chairman of White Lodging, a former member of the Purdue Board of Trustees, and a longtime university benefactor.

“The White Family Foundation has long been a truly dedicated partner in helping Purdue achieve excellence at scale,” Chiang says. “The naming after Bruce White, one of the most prominent Boilermakers our university has ever known, is particularly meaningful to us. This gift ensures Purdue will educate exceptional undergraduate business students who will create and grow competitive businesses.”

Mike Berghoff, chair of Purdue’s Board of Trustees, said Purdue will invest a minimum of $100 million into the relaunch, along with a fundraising campaign of $200 million from loyal donors, underlining the determined commitment to making the Daniels School of Business one of the foremost business schools in the nation through new academic programs, innovative learning opportunities, and top-notch faculty recruits.

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