Attorneys and Staff

Steven R. Schultz

Senior Vice President and General Counsel

As Purdue’s chief legal officer, Steve advises the Trustees, the president and senior administrators on issues of law, governance and risk management and oversees and directs the representation of the University in all legal matters. Since joining the University in early 2013, Steve has developed and led Purdue’s first internal legal operation in its nearly 150-year history.

Following law degrees from Yale and Cambridge (Trinity Hall), Steve worked as a corporate lawyer with Barnes & Thornburg in Indianapolis and with Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson in London, where he specialized in business start-ups, mergers and acquisitions, and capital markets financings. After 9/11, Steve and his family returned to Indiana, settling in Columbus. There he built the enterprise-wide legal function of Irwin Financial, the publicly traded parent company of Indiana’s then oldest state-chartered bank.

Between stints as general counsel of Irwin Financial and of Southeastern Indiana Health Organization, an Indiana health insurance services company, Steve served as Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels’ first chief counsel. He also served as a member of the Indiana Finance Authority from 2006 to 2009, a period in which the state received its first ever AAA credit rating. In 2010, Governor Daniels and Kentucky Governor Steve Beshear asked Steve to lead a bi-state effort to develop a plan of finance and project delivery strategy for the Ohio River Bridges Project—at the time one of the most significant infrastructure projects in the nation. By 2016, the bridges were completed, marking the realization of a dream shared by the two states for over 40 years.

An Indianapolis native, Steve received his undergraduate degree in history and political science from Butler University (BA ’88), where he played football for the Bulldogs.

Adrian S. Allen

Vice President and Deputy General Counsel

Adrian's primary areas of concentration are construction law, procurement issues, litigation and contract matters, in addition to providing legal and governance support for University financings.

Before joining Purdue University in 2014, Adrian was a partner at the law firms of Stuart & Branigin and Bose McKinney & Evans. Adrian earned a BA in history and received his JD from Indiana University. While at Indiana University, Adrian served as a managing editor for the Indiana Law Journal.

Monica Soto Bloom

Associate Vice President and Senior Counsel, Human Resources and Academic Affairs

Monica S. Bloom is Associate Legal Counsel, Human Resources & Academic Affairs.  Her responsibilities include employee relations, human resources regulatory and compliance matters, student affairs and conduct, athletics-related matters, and University policies.  Monica previously served as Purdue's Title IX coordinator and executive director of the Office of Institutional Equity at Purdue.  Before coming to Purdue, she served as an associate with the Lafayette, Indiana law firm of Stuart & Branigin, specializing in employment, railroad and health care litigation.

Monica holds a Doctor of Jurisprudence degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a bachelor's degree in history from Duke University.  She is a member of the Indiana Bar, the U.S. District Court for Northern District of Indiana, the U.S. District Court for Southern District of Indiana and the National Association of College and University Attorneys.

Jonas Q. Burgett

Associate Vice President and Senior Counsel, University Partnership and Digital Educaiton

Jonas Burgett is Associate Counsel for University Partnerships and Digital Education.  He advises University representatives on a broad range of issues, including digital education services contracts, intellectual property issues, real estate matters, and strategic partnerships.  He also serves as special counsel from time to time to Purdue Research Foundation.

Jonas received his B.S., with highest distinction, from Purdue University in Aeronautical and Astronautical Engineering, and his Doctor of Law degree, with honors, from the University of Chicago Law School.

Jonas practiced transactional law in Indianapolis and Denver, prior to transitioning back to Indiana to run a mid-sized business and several real estate companies, including serving as his own general counsel.  Subsequently, Jonas re-entered the full time practice of law with Purdue.

Mark G. Ahearn

Special Counsel for Strategic Initiatives

Mark Ahearn provides legal and management counsel for multiple strategic initiatives at Purdue University in the furtherance of Purdue's mission of teaching, research and engagement.  He also supports Purdue University and Purdue Research Foundation economic development opportunities in coordination with local governments through the Inter-local Cooperation Agreement and interfaces with the State of Indiana and federal governments.

Utilizing experience developed in the public and private sectors, Mark served as general counsel to the Indiana Department of Transportation providing legal and project management leadership on such projects as the Ohio River Bridges Project, the Indiana Toll Road Lease and Concessionaire Agreement, and Indiana's highway infrastructure rebuild program known as Major Moves.  Mark served as general counsel and ethics officer to Indiana Governor Mike Pence with special emphasis on legal management of the multiple state agencies, legislative policy, judicial appointments, complex litigation, ethics and ethics training.  In the private sector, Mark was vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary to a publicly traded manufacturing/distribution company focusing on complex contracts, corporate governance and finance and spearheaded a "going private" transaction for the company, "de-listing" from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Mark received his undergraduate degree in political science from Indiana University and his law degree from the IU McKinney School of Law where he served as an associate editor for the Indiana Law Review.

Deborah B. Trice

Senior Associate Counsel, Regulatory Matters

In addition to serving as Director of Compliance in the Office of the Vice President for Ethics and Compliance, Deb provides advice and counsel on student conduct matters as well as risk management issues arising in the student affairs context.

Before joining Purdue University in 2015, Deb was a partner with Stuart & Branigin LLP with a focus on higher education and employment law. She earned her undergraduate degree with distinction from Purdue and her law degree from the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. In law school, Deb served as associate editor of the Indiana Law Review.

Benjamin I. Terhune

Associate Counsel

Ben is Associate Counsel for Administrative Operations. He assists Procurement Services on contractual and transactional matters and provides advice and assistance to University units and affiliated organizations on a broad range of issues.   Ben received both his B.A. and M.B.A. from Purdue and is also a graduate of the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. Ben is a member of the Indiana Bar and also admitted to practice in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana.

Before joining Purdue in 2013, Ben was in private law practice in Indianapolis, Indiana, and focused his practice in real estate, mortgage foreclosure, contracts, insurance defense, insurance subrogation, and workers compensation defense. He then worked in Procurement Services at Purdue, serving as the Assistant Director of Contract Management. Prior joining Office of Legal Counsel, Ben also served as Special Counsel for Procurement Contracting and Risk Management where he assisted the University in resolving contractual disputes, provided advice in contractual matters, and assisted in developing policies and procedures to mitigate and manage the University’s risk.

Hannah Carroll-Altman

Associate Legal Counsel, Public Safety and Security

Hannah maintains a broad legal portfolio, and her main responsibilities include: public safety matters, including advising Purdue’s Police, Fire, and Emergency Management departments; Title IX and Clery compliance; HIPAA and privacy matters; data breach response; subpoenas and public records issues; faculty, staff, and student affairs; and litigation.

Hannah earned her B.S. in Criminology from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and her J.D. from the University of Nebraska College of Law. She went on to earn her LL.M. (Master of Laws) in Trial Advocacy from Temple University Beasley School of Law in Philadelphia.

Before joining Purdue in the summer of 2020, Hannah was in private practice in Lincoln, Nebraska as a criminal defense attorney. Hannah received the Martindale-Hubbell Platinum Client Champion award (premium client service) every year she was in private practice. She is licensed to practice law in Indiana, Nebraska, and Kansas state courts, as well as the United States District Courts for the Northern District of Indiana, the Southern District of Indiana, the District of Nebraska, and the District of Kansas.

Katie Butwin

Associate Counsel for Inter-Campus Affairs

Katie is Associate Counsel for Inter-Campus Affairs. She is the Office of Legal Counsel’s primary liaison to Purdue University Fort Wayne and Purdue University Northwest. In that role, she provides counsel in a wide range of matters, including employment, student affairs, and contract review and negotiation. Katie also serves as a resource for Purdue’s Indianapolis campus and provides advice and counsel to the Office of the Provost on accreditation and related matters.

Katie holds a Doctor of Jurisprudence from DePaul University College of Law and a bachelor’s degree in political science and English from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Katie has extensive higher education legal experience and served as general counsel of DePaul University in Chicago, Illinois, and Indiana State University in Terre Haute, Indiana. She has also worked in private practice and as both a deputy prosecutor and deputy public defender in Vigo County, Indiana. Katie enjoys teaching and has taught at both the undergraduate and graduate level. She is a member of the Indiana Bar and the National Association of College and University Attorneys.

Taylor R. Bates

Legal Assistant

Taylor joined the Office of Legal Counsel in July of 2023 as legal assistant following five years as an administrative assistant specializing in training and software at Birge and Held.  As OLC's legal assistant, Taylor is responsible for processing authorizations, scheduling meetings for the Office of Legal Counsel attorneys, and processing invoices. Taylor also has the ability to notarize documents upon request.

Kaitlyn J. Heide

Legal Services Coordinator

As legal services coordinator, Kaity is responsible for handling the University’s records requests.  Since November 2017, she has worked with members of the campus community to process and respond to Indiana Access to Public Records Act requests, Freedom of Information Act requests, and student records requests.

Kaity began her career at Purdue in August 2012 in the Office of the Vice President for Physical Facilities.  In July 2015, she joined the Office of Legal Counsel as the office’s legal assistant.  Kaity received her Associate of Applied Science degree in business administration from Ivy Tech Community College. 

Elizabeth Kincade

Paralegal, Governance and Transactions

Elizabeth is the Office of Legal Counsel's paralegal for governance and transactional matters. She holds a bachelor's degree in Legal Support and Services from Purdue Global, graduating in 2021. Elizabeth began her professional journey at Purdue in 2022, working with the College of Agriculture's Employment Center. In 2024, she joined the Office of Legal Counsel, where she continues to provide comprehensive support in various legal matters.

Randee Treida

Paralegal, Litigation and Records

Randee began working for the University in 2014 and in 2022 she joined the Office of Legal Counsel. As the Litigation and Records Paralegal, her duties include supporting inhouse and outside counsel on litigation matters, subpoena responses, agency complaints, and HIPAA matters.