Past Purdue Presidents
1872-74
Richard Owen
Richard Owen, a professor at Indiana University, became Purdue’s first president in 1872. At the time, there were no buildings, no faculty and no students on the West Lafayette campus, and Owen never actually occupied an office there. He was well regarded in the fields of geology, chemistry and medicine, and had a solid reputation as a teacher, philosopher and Civil War soldier. Through his belief in hard work and invention, Owen brought the Morrill Act’s idea of an “Indiana Agricultural College” to reality. He resigned the day before the first class met.
1874-75
Abram C. Shortridge
Abram C. Shortridge was in charge when Purdue matriculated its first students on Sept. 16, 1874. Thirty-nine applicants were admitted, some conditionally. Women were enrolled for the first time the following fall. His administration lasted just 18 months due to his failing health.
1876-83
Emerson E. White
In his inaugural address, President Emerson E. White declared that within its field Purdue must lead, not follow. Under his leadership, Purdue was set firmly on its course of emphasis on agricultural and “mechanic arts” as mandated by the Morrill Act. White also is remembered for his failed attempt to ban fraternities on campus, which led to his resignation in 1883.
1883-1900
James H. Smart
Purdue’s fourth president, James H. Smart was a self-educated New Englander. Smart is known in Purdue history as “the engineers’ president.” The schools of civil, mechanical and electrical engineering, as well as the school of pharmacy and pharmacal sciences, were established during his tenure. It was during his administration that the Old Gold and Black were established as the school colors.
1900-21
Winthrop E. Stone
After he served as the university’s first vice president, the Purdue Board of Trustees named him the university’s fifth president. Stone originally came to Purdue as a professor of chemistry. He appointed Purdue’s first dean of women, Carolyn E. Shoemaker, in 1913. The schools of agriculture and engineering grew rapidly during his tenure, which ended tragically when he was killed in a mountain-climbing accident in Canada in 1921.
1922-45
Edward C. Elliott
Edward C. Elliott led the university through the Depression and World War II. He was responsible for a major building program that saw the construction of Ross-Ade Stadium and the Purdue Memorial Union and the development of the Purdue University Airport. During his tenure, the Graduate School, the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics and the Purdue Research Foundation were established. He recruited top names to the university, including Amelia Earhart as a women’s counselor, and he supported the Purdue Musical Organizations. Elliott Hall of Music is named in his honor.
1946-71
Frederick L. Hovde
Frederick L. Hovde came to Purdue at age 37 and presided over the university’s greatest period of growth, leading to its emergence as a top research university. During his 25-year leadership, Purdue saw its greatest enrollment growth — from 5,628 to 25,582 students. Its annual budget increased from $12.7 million to $136 million. Hovde retired in 1971 as the university’s longest-serving president. While he was president, Purdue established the schools of industrial engineering, materials engineering, technology and veterinary medicine. In 1975, the Purdue Executive Building was renamed the Frederick L. Hovde Hall of Administration in his honor.
1971-82
Arthur G. Hansen
Arthur G. Hansen was the first Purdue president who also was an alumnus, having earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 1946 and a master’s degree in mathematics in 1948. At the time of his appointment as the university’s eighth president, he had served as president of the Georgia Institute of Technology for two years. Under Hansen’s administration, enrollment increased to more than 32,000, and new buildings were constructed for agriculture, psychology, life sciences and athletics. Hansen also supported the establishment of Purdue’s first Black Cultural Center. He left Purdue in 1982 to become chancellor of the Texas A&M system.
1983-2000
Steven C. Beering
Purdue University’s ninth president, its second to hold a medical degree, came to Purdue after 10 years as the dean of the Indiana School of Medicine and director of the IU Medical Center. Beering’s tenure at Purdue was marked by sustained growth in academics, facilities and private support. Enrollment and scholarship set records. More than 20 new buildings were constructed on the West Lafayette campus, and 13 others were expanded or renovated. Among the construction projects completed under his administration in West Lafayette were the Steven C. Beering Hall of Liberal Arts and Education; a $32 million power plant expansion; Hillenbrand Hall, a student residence; and major additions to the engineering, veterinary medicine and athletics complexes. He also fostered efforts to make Purdue an international university. Private gifts grew more than fourfold to $90 million a year. Purdue’s endowment became one of the largest in the nation, exceeding $1.3 billion. During his administration, annual support for sponsored research grew to more than $130 million. President Emeritus Beering and his wife, Jane, continued to serve as ambassadors and fundraisers for the university after his term as president ended.
2000-07
Martin C. Jischke
Martin C. Jischke oversaw a five-year strategic plan that focused on discovery, learning and engagement to make Purdue a preeminent institution. Jischke initiated a capital campaign that brought in more than $1.7 billion — unprecedented for a public institution in Indiana — and oversaw the university’s undertaking of more than 50 capital projects, including the construction of 43 new buildings. He initiated a program to provide need-based Purdue scholarships to a student from each of Indiana’s 92 counties, and he also started the Science Bound Program to provide eligible students from Indianapolis a chance to earn a four-year scholarship for a science-related career. The crown jewel of Jischke’s tenure was the creation of the $300 million Discovery Park, Purdue’s hub for interdisciplinary research that is home to 10 primary centers focusing on everything from biosciences, the environment and manufacturing to oncological sciences, cyberinfrastructure and health care engineering. Jischke became Purdue’s 10th president in August 2000 after serving nine years as president of Iowa State University. He received his bachelor’s degree in physics from the Illinois Institute of Technology and his doctorate in aeronautics and astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Jischke’s experience in higher education also includes 17 years as professor and dean at the University of Oklahoma and five years at the University of Missouri-Rolla.
2007-12
France A. Córdova
France A. Córdova is a world-renowned scientist, educator and administrator. As Purdue’s 11th president and the first woman to hold that role, she oversaw a strategic plan that emphasized student success, research deliverables and global engagement. During her presidency, she led Purdue to record levels of research funding, reputational rankings and student retention rates; championed diversity among students, staff and university leadership; and promoted student success, faculty excellence, education affordability and programmatic innovation. Under her leadership, Purdue expanded its role as a top research institution on the global stage and raised more than $1 billion through private philanthropy. Córdova’s scientific career contributions are in the areas of observational and experimental astrophysics, multispectral research on X-ray and gamma ray sources, and space-borne instrumentation. She has published more than 200 scientific and public policy journal articles, reports and conference abstracts. She was co-principal investigator for a telescope experiment that is currently flying on the satellite XMM-Newton, a cornerstone mission of the European Space Agency. Córdova graduated cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in English from Stanford University and earned a PhD in physics from the University of California, Riverside; the University of California, Santa Barbara; and Penn State. Prior to joining Purdue, she served in leadership roles at the UC-Riverside, UC-Santa Barbara and Penn State. She was chief scientist at NASA from 1993-96.
2013-22
Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr.
Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. became the 12th president of Purdue University at the conclusion of his second term as governor of Indiana. At Purdue, he launched a series of initiatives called Purdue Moves, guiding the university in its mission to deliver higher education at the highest proven value. Breaking with a 36-year string of increases, he instigated tuition freezes and room and board rate cuts that collectively saved students and families over $1 billion. At the same time, he made significant investments into the university, prioritizing research and student success, as well as major economic development initiatives like Discovery Park District at Purdue and over $500 million in campus facility improvements. Unprecedented enrollment growth followed, as did record fundraising through the Ever True campaign and launch of the annual Purdue Day of Giving. Daniels emphasized the university’s land-grant mission by creating Purdue Global and Purdue Polytechnic High Schools. He committed to freedom of expression by becoming the first public U.S. university to adopt the free speech policy known as the “Chicago principles.” Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, he oversaw the comprehensive Protect Purdue plan, which kept the university open with more in-person classes than any other school of its size, setting the standard for U.S. universities to safely reopen. Before becoming Indiana’s governor, he served as senior advisor to President Ronald Reagan and director of the Office of Management and Budget under President George W. Bush. He held several executive posts during his 11 years at Eli Lilly and Co. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and a law degree from Georgetown University. He has written four books and is a contributing columnist for The Washington Post.
CURRENT PURDUE PRESIDENT
Mung Chiang
Mung Chiang became Purdue University’s 13th president on Jan. 1, 2023.