Purdue picks Jay B. Silveria from U. of Arkansas as next president

Silveria, a retired Air Force lieutenant general, will start Feb. 1 at Purdue’s 14th president, after a six-month search to replace Mung Chiang, who left for Northwestern.

Jay B. Silveria talks with students after he was named the 14th president of Purdue University Thursday. (Photo: Dave Bangert)

In the course of a six-month search for the 14^th president at Purdue, trustee Theresa Carter reached out to Jay B. Silveria, a fellow retired officer in the U.S. Air Force and currently president of the University of Arkansas System.

At one point, after catching up as colleagues do, the conversation turned on this question from Carter, a retired Air Force major general: “By the way, did you ever consider looking at Purdue University as being the president?”

“According to at least one side, it was dead silence for a while,” Gary Lehman, chair of the Purdue Trustees, said, recounting the story Thursday afternoon. “So, obviously, we caught him off guard. It wasn’t that he was ever looking for anything or ever knew that he would be coming here as president of Purdue University. But we’re so glad to have him.”

Purdue trustees voted unanimously during a special meeting Thursday to make Silveria the university’s 14^th president, replacing Mung Chiang, who left Purdue June 30 to take a similar role at Northwestern University.

Silveria will start Feb. 1, 2027, according to terms of a contract outlined by trustees.

Mitch Daniels, who retired at the end of 2022 after a decade as Purdue’s president, will remain in the interim president role he returned to do in July until Silveria arrives, Lehman said.

Silveria, decked in fresh black-and-gold tie and Purdue lapel pin he said he didn’t have before arriving on campus Thursday, walked into the trustees’ meeting room in the Stewart Center to a standing ovation from faculty, administrators and students who came to see the vote.

He thanked the trustees, assuring them that “every single day I will live up to the expectations that you set with that vote of confidence.” As of Thursday, he said he was just starting to figure out Purdue, including not being sure, yet, where his office would be.

Jay B. Silveria is greeted after Purdue trustees vote to make him the next university president. (Photo: Dave Bangert)

“A lot of you … probably have a lot of questions for me – about me or what’s my direction or what’s my focus or what direction do I seek for the university or what’s next or what are the priorities?” Silveria said.