Purdue trustees chair Berghoff announces retirement from board

INDIANAPOLIS — Michael Berghoff, chair of the Purdue University Board of Trustees, announced Friday (Oct. 4) that he will retire from the board effective Jan. 1, 2025, after more than 15 years of service as a trustee.

A 1985 Purdue graduate with a bachelor’s degree in industrial management, Berghoff was appointed a Purdue trustee in 2009 and has served as chair since July 2015. As chair, Berghoff has provided vital governance in leading the university through unprecedented growth and success while managing significant challenges in the higher education landscape and operating through a global pandemic.

In announcing his plans during the board’s Friday (Oct. 4) meeting in Indianapolis, Berghoff said: “I am forever grateful that Gov. Daniels appointed me to serve as your trustee and to have served as chairman of the Board of Trustees. The experience changed my life, and I’m hopeful that any difference I might have made helped position Purdue as the nation’s most consequential public university — one our students, alumni, faculty and staff are proud to call their university.  You can look forward to a continuation of my fellow trustees’ commitment to excellence. Go Boilers!”

During Berghoff’s tenure, enrollment, national and global rankings, fundraising, research breakthroughs and partnerships have all seen significant increases. Two presidents, several deans, key administrators and numerous faculty joined the university, helping raise Purdue’s reputation and standing among the world’s top institutions of higher education.

“Chairman Berghoff radiates gold and black through and through, since his days as a student leader and student-athlete and across his successful career as an entrepreneur and business leader, and especially through his long-standing and outstanding service as a trustee for 15 years and as chairman of the Board of Trustees for nine years,” President Mung Chiang said. “His deep passion and total dedication to Purdue is matched by the tremendous impact of his leadership for his alma mater. I’ve had the precious opportunity and complete joy to work closely with Mike, especially since summer 2022. And I saw firsthand his strategic thinking, his team building, his tireless work ethic and his self-deprecating humor that help translate thoughtful deliberation to action-oriented execution. Purdue’s stability and success throughout the past many years is rooted not only in the management team but also in the fiduciary board and the leadership of the board chair. Every moment, Mike has the best interest of Purdue in his heart, and every moment he pours his heart into Purdue. Our university is blessed to have Mike Berghoff as one of the best Boilermakers ever.”

As a trustee, Berghoff served as chair of the search committee that in 2012 selected Mitch Daniels as the university’s 12th president. He worked closely with Daniels through the latter’s 10 years as president.

“I’ve been trying for days to sum up concisely how massive a contribution Mike Berghoff has made to the success of Purdue during his chairmanship of our board,” President Emeritus Daniels said. “It’s beyond me. The record is too huge. While much of American higher education is struggling financially and reputationally, Purdue is a shining exception primarily because its board is exceptional, and Mike’s leadership has been indispensable to our trustees’ uniquely excellent performance. Throughout his tenure, he has thought strategically, then led his fellow trustees to take a host of bold actions to effect those strategies. His self-effacing humor sometimes masks the total seriousness and deep thought that he brings to every aspect of trustee service, but those of us lucky enough to have worked under his chairmanship know that this is a uniquely insightful person — and the most committed, selfless Boilermaker in all of Boiler Nation.

“My years at Purdue were marked by a long series of blessings, but none I valued more, or meant more to Purdue’s advance, than the partnership with the finest board chair for whom I or our institution could possibly have hoped.”

In an interview with the Purdue Alumnus in 2015 on his election as board chair, Berghoff said he hoped to “do whatever I can to help make Purdue one of the most desired places to learn, live, and work” and to “reinforce to the campus community that this is a place where excellence in all we do is expected.”

Under his leadership, Purdue’s successes have been numerous. Among them:

• The launch of bold initiatives through Purdue Moves in 2013, Purdue’s Next Moves in 2021, and Purdue Computes and Purdue One Health in 2023 and 2024
• The acquisition and launch of Purdue Global, Purdue’s online university for working adults
• The creation of a comprehensive marketing plan
• The launch of Purdue’s expansion into Indianapolis
• New vital partnerships, including with Rolls-Royce, Saab, Schweitzer Engineering Labs and SK hynix
• The return of commercial air service and a planned new terminal for Purdue University Airport
• Record innovation and commercialization activity, record fundraising, and the significant growth of the physical plant in West Lafayette, across Indiana and beyond
  
  

These accomplishments and more occurred during Purdue’s unprecedented 13-year tuition freeze, which extends through 2025-26.

During his time as trustee, Berghoff has served as liaison to Purdue Athletics, chair of the Purdue Global Board, chair of the physical facilities committee, chair of the 2012 presidential search committee, chair of the 2016 search committee for the director of intercollegiate athletics, and member of the Purdue Research Foundation Board and Purdue Fort Wayne transition team. He promoted the design and creation of a university master plan that led to a student success corridor, pedestrian walkway and new gateways to Purdue’s main campus.

Gary Lehman, board vice chair, said: “Mike’s success as chair of the board cannot be overstated. He has led the university to levels that we only aspired to achieve a decade ago. He will be sorely missed, but his commitment to support Purdue will always be present.”

Berghoff is founder and president of Lenex Steel Corp., the region’s largest steel fabricator, headquartered in Indianapolis. Before starting Lenex, he worked in management positions at Haden Construction in Detroit; Broad, Vogt & Conant, a Detroit steel fabrication company; and Ferguson Steel in Indianapolis. As a Purdue student, Berghoff played on the football team and served as chairman of the Purdue Student Publishing Foundation and president of Theta Chi fraternity. He has held many leadership positions in community and professional organizations, having served as president of the Purdue Theta Chi alumni corporation, president of the St. Simon the Apostle Parish, a member of the Cathedral High School Board of Directors, and chairman of the board of directors for the Young Presidents’ Organization. He is currently a member of the board of directors for the Indiana Chamber of Commerce.

Following the announcement of Berghoff’s retirement, trustees elected Lehman as incoming chair and Mike Klipsch as incoming vice chair, effective Jan. 1, 2025.

About Purdue University

Purdue University is a public research institution demonstrating excellence at scale. Ranked among top 10 public universities and with two colleges in the top four in the United States, Purdue discovers and disseminates knowledge with a quality and at a scale second to none. More than 105,000 students study at Purdue across modalities and locations, including nearly 50,000 in person on the West Lafayette campus. Committed to affordability and accessibility, Purdue’s main campus has frozen tuition 13 years in a row. See how Purdue never stops in the persistent pursuit of the next giant leap — including its first comprehensive urban campus in Indianapolis, the Mitch Daniels School of Business, Purdue Computes and the One Health initiative — at https://www.purdue.edu/president/strategic-initiatives.