Dean Bullard, Distinguished Fellow Malpass join Purdue President Chiang for Presidential Lecture Series fireside chat in Indianapolis

Conversation with nation’s leading financial minds at Purdue’s Daniels School of Business focused on interest rates, global finance and Midwest prosperity

INDIANAPOLIS — Two of the world’s best minds in finance, who are now a part of the Purdue University community, joined Purdue President Mung Chiang this month for a Presidential Lecture Series fireside chat at the Indiana Statehouse.

The invitation-only event, titled “Interest Rates, Global Finance and Midwest Prosperity,” featured James “Jim” Bullard, appointed the inaugural Dr. Samuel R. Allen Dean of the Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business in August, and David Malpass, the Distinguished Fellow of International Finance in the Daniels School and Inaugural Fellow of Global Business and Infrastructure at Purdue@DC, who joined Purdue in January.

Mung Chiang Download image

“The intellectual vibrancy and global impact of Purdue’s Daniels School of Business was reflected in this unique conversation during Indiana’s Global Economic Summit this month,” President Chiang said. “And as the first Presidential Lecture Series event for Purdue’s Indianapolis campus, we were excited to introduce Dean Bullard and Distinguished Fellow Malpass to our Indianapolis community and hear their thoughts on the outlook for interest rates, the global financial markets and Midwest prosperity.”  

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

• Purdue Presidential Lecture Series
• Louis Fed president appointed inaugural dean at Purdue’s Daniels School of Business
• Former World Bank president to join Purdue’s Daniels School of Business

Bullard, one of the nation’s foremost economists and respected scholar-leaders, earned significant praise for his long-standing leadership and innovative thinking as part of the Federal Open Market Committee in guiding the direction of U.S. monetary policy.

At the time of his Purdue appointment, he had been the longest-sitting president of the Federal Reserve. His additional appointment as special advisor to Chiang further reflects and maximizes the impact of his unique, national leadership experience.

Born in Wisconsin, Bullard grew up in Forest Lake, Minnesota, and received his doctorate in economics from Indiana University. He holds bachelor’s degrees in economics and in quantitative methods and information systems from St. Cloud State University in Minnesota.

Malpass, while at the World Bank from April 2019 to June 2023, led strong growth in its funding and country engagement to commit over $450 billion in loans and grants, a 40% increase to meet multiple global crises. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Malpass was praised for supporting developing countries’ recovery efforts and leading global efforts to address severe setbacks in health, education, debt, electricity grids, climate costs, and the food and fertilizer supply chains.

During his time at the World Bank, Malpass focused on helping countries improve their finances and economic policies to enable faster growth and job creation. He also advocated increased transparency in global contracts, digitalization, currency reforms and active steps to build stronger markets and private sectors to improve living standards. His recent writings have highlighted the risks to the global economy from fiscal, monetary and regulatory policies.

At Purdue, Malpass is splitting his engagements between Washington, D.C., and the university’s campuses in West Lafayette and Indianapolis. That has included lectures; faculty research conversations; thought leadership events important to the Daniels School and Purdue; and meetings with students, alumni and university community members and partners, as well as writing and speaking on markets and global economic leadership.

Hailing from northern Michigan, Malpass earned his undergraduate degree in physics from Colorado College and his MBA from the University of Denver as a Boettcher Foundation scholar. He was a CPA and studied international economics as a midcareer fellow at Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service. 

About the Presidential Lecture Series

Launched in 2014 by then-Purdue President Mitch Daniels and continued by President Mung Chiang, the Presidential Lecture Series exposes Purdue students and the broader community to inspiring ideas, courageous leadership and models of civic engagement and civil discourse. The Presidential Lecture Series has had over 40 guests of many viewpoints and perspectives and hosted some of the great intellectual, business and civic leaders of our time. As one of the world’s premier centers of scholarly leadership, Purdue is — appropriately and necessarily — a regular venue for great thinkers across a wide variety of disciplines.

About Purdue University in Indianapolis

Purdue University in Indianapolis is a new, fully integrated extension of the West Lafayette campus, expanding the academic rigor and accessible excellence that Purdue is known for to central Indiana. As the state’s only public top 10 university, most trusted university and most innovative university, Purdue is focused and committed to strengthening its presence in Indiana’s industrial and technological center. Purdue University in Indianapolis will create an innovative, STEM-based collegiate experience by connecting future-ready Purdue students and faculty in Indianapolis to local businesses to accelerate Indiana’s STEM pipeline and tech ecosystem, fueling impact for our region and the world. Realignment of the existing IUPUI partnership will be completed by the start of the fall semester in 2024. Learn more about Purdue’s latest giant leap at https://www.purdue.edu/campuses/indianapolis/.

Writer and media contact: Phillip Fiorini, pfiorini@purdue.edu, 765-430-6189