Dean updates trustees on Daniels School of Business; board approves department restructuring

Construction started in September on a new 164,000-square-foot Mitch Daniels School of Business facility that will be open to units across campus while creating a culture of collaboration and discovery. (Conceptual rendering provided by Gensler)

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Jim Bullard, the Dr. Samuel R. Allen Dean of the Mitch Daniels School of Business, provided an update to the Purdue University Board of Trustees on Friday (Dec. 13).

Bullard reinforced that the Daniels School is prioritized on five foundational pillars:

• Academic prowess
• Integration of STEM and business
• Transformational student experience
• Free market and capitalism
• Powered by business partnerships

In the latest U.S. News & World Report rankings, four areas within the Daniels School placed in the top 12: production/operations management (No. 5), quantitative analysis (No. 10), supply chain management/logistics (No. 10) and analytics (No. 12).

Meanwhile, new-beginner enrollment has grown by more than 150% over the past six years. Applications to the Daniels School grew by over 13% in the last year alone, with a record-high yield rate for applicants choosing to attend. Student demand is expected to continue increasing, driven by the launch of the Integrated Business and Engineering program for fall 2025 in Indianapolis.

Construction started in September on a new 164,000-square-foot Daniels School facility. The student-centered project includes large classroom spaces that will be open to units across campus while creating a culture of collaboration and discovery.

In a move aimed to better align the Daniels School with peer institutions, trustees approved a department restructuring that will take effect July 1, 2025.

The restructuring will move the current two-department structure — economics and management — to a nine-department structure:

• Accounting
• Economics
• Finance
• Management information systems
• Marketing
• Organizational behavior and human resource management
• Quantitative methods
• Supply chain and operations management
• Strategic management

Three advisory groups, which included 57 faculty and staff members, were formed to best position the restructuring for success, with a fourth committee to advise on the  implementation of the plan. Thirteen listening sessions were conducted, garnering input from faculty, staff and students.

“This new structure will enable departments to respond to the evolving needs of our students, faculty and industry partnerships,” Bullard said. “It will also assist in attracting top-tier faculty and in the engagement of development activities.”

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.