MUNG ON THE MOVE

On June 10, the Purdue University Board of Trustees announced its unanimous election of Mung Chiang as the University’s next president. Dr. Chiang is the executive vice president for strategic initiatives; he led the College of Engineering as the John A. Edwardson Dean of Engineering from July 2017 through the end of June.

“We have here a person uniquely qualified to capitalize on the investments that we have made over the last decade. … To the man who will now, I promise you, take Purdue places that no one else could—I pay tribute and say thanks.”—President Mitch Daniels

President Mitch Daniels (Photo by Boiler Ambassador)

Mitch Daniels will end his 10-year term as Purdue’s 12th president on January 1, 2023. Under his leadership, Purdue has been named a top-10 public university and ranked among the top 10 for innovation and value. His tenure, known as the Daniels Decade, may be remembered most for an unprecedented 11-year tuition freeze that will continue through the 2022–23 academic year.

“Mung is the ideal choice to lead Purdue into its next giant leap. The board could not be more confident in this selection, as we have had the opportunity to observe his performance across a broad range of duties for five years.”
Michael Berghoff (M’85) // Chair, Purdue Board of Trustees
The image shows President Mitch Daniels at a podium in Ross-Ade Stadium

President Mitch Daniels (Photo by Boiler Ambassador)

President Mitch Daniels (Photo by Boiler Ambassador)

A MESSAGE
FROM MUNG

It is the highest and most humbling honor to be selected by the Board of Trustees as the next president of Purdue University—the most remarkable land-grant institution in the land of the free.

Throughout the past 153 years—and spanning from the Wabash River to the moon—generations of Boilermakers have contributed to our state, to our country, and to humanity in immeasurable ways.

There is no other place like Purdue.

And there is no other university leader like ours. President Daniels and his outstanding team built Purdue into the most consequential public university in the United States. Under Mitch’s transformational leadership, our University attained the strongest academic reputation—from record-breaking enrollment to all-time-high research excellence; from the Ever True campaign to the transformed campus. Purdue led the country in safely reopening during the pandemic, and its financial foundation is fortified stronger than ever before.

But there’s even more. Mitch is also the most innovative president in America: affordability through tuition freeze; 21st century land-grant through Purdue Global; and economic growth in Indiana through entrepreneurship and the Discovery Park District here in West Lafayette.

The amazing success of the Daniels Decade must continue. While my family and I are blessed with the pride of gold and black, I’m also humbled by a daunting task: to ensure the continuity of today’s momentum into the next giant leaps.

I’ve had the privilege to be a part of the Purdue team over the past five years and to grow the range of service as an executive vice president for strategic initiatives. But there’s much more that I need to keep learning, like a student, from all of you. I know that in the next months and beyond, my responsibilities start with listening: to our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and neighbors; to state, national, and global partners; and to all friends and families of Purdue.

Neil Armstrong said, “Knowledge is fundamental to all human achievement and progress.” Indeed, a university creates a time when lives are lifted by student access and success. My own life was lifted out of scarcity because of education. A university preserves a place for all minds in pursuit of open inquiry. And I’m ever grateful for the honor to dedicate myself in service of the talents at our University.

As an immigrant living the American dream and as a citizen of this greatest nation in human history, I’m also proud to serve—in higher education as I did in the U.S. State Department—the best hope for freedom and opportunity in the shining city on a hill.

Opportunities and challenges are intensifying for American higher education—from the modality and value of learning to what we do with R&D investment by the government and the private sector. We are confident that the entire Purdue system will innovate together and excel together—one brick at a time—toward boundless potential in the Boilermaker future.

Hail our Purdue!
Mung Chiang
President-elect of Purdue University

The image shows Mung Chiang

A MESSAGE
FROM MUNG

It is the highest and most humbling honor to be selected by the Board of Trustees as the next president of Purdue University—the most remarkable land-grant institution in the land of the free.

Throughout the past 153 years—and spanning from the Wabash River to the moon—generations of Boilermakers have contributed to our state, to our country, and to humanity in immeasurable ways.

There is no other place like Purdue.

And there is no other university leader like ours. President Daniels and his outstanding team built Purdue into the most consequential public university in the United States. Under Mitch’s transformational leadership, our University attained the strongest academic reputation—from record-breaking enrollment to all-time-high research excellence; from the Ever True campaign to the transformed campus. Purdue led the country in safely reopening during the pandemic, and its financial foundation is fortified stronger than ever before.

But there’s even more. Mitch is also the most innovative president in America: affordability through tuition freeze; 21st century land-grant through Purdue Global; and economic growth in Indiana through entrepreneurship and the Discovery Park District here in West Lafayette.

The amazing success of the Daniels Decade must continue. While my family and I are blessed with the pride of gold and black, I’m also humbled by a daunting task: to ensure the continuity of today’s momentum into the next giant leaps.

I’ve had the privilege to be a part of the Purdue team over the past five years and to grow the range of service as an executive vice president for strategic initiatives. But there’s much more that I need to keep learning, like a student, from all of you. I know that in the next months and beyond, my responsibilities start with listening: to our students, faculty, staff, alumni, and neighbors; to state, national, and global partners; and to all friends and families of Purdue.

Neil Armstrong said, “Knowledge is fundamental to all human achievement and progress.” Indeed, a university creates a time when lives are lifted by student access and success. My own life was lifted out of scarcity because of education. A university preserves a place for all minds in pursuit of open inquiry. And I’m ever grateful for the honor to dedicate myself in service of the talents at our University.

As an immigrant living the American dream and as a citizen of this greatest nation in human history, I’m also proud to serve—in higher education as I did in the U.S. State Department—the best hope for freedom and opportunity in the shining city on a hill.

Opportunities and challenges are intensifying for American higher education—from the modality and value of learning to what we do with R&D investment by the government and the private sector. We are confident that the entire Purdue system will innovate together and excel together—one brick at a time—toward boundless potential in the Boilermaker future.

Hail our Purdue!
Mung Chiang
President-elect of Purdue University

The image shows Mung Chiang

Read more stories from this issue of Purdue Alumnus magazine.

View a text-only version of this story.