WEST LAFAYETTE, IN — Approaching the one-month mark as interim president of Purdue University, Mitch Daniels said his decision to return to the president’s office felt like the only choice.
“I didn’t know how to say no,” Daniels said Tuesday morning, standing in front of Hovde Hall. “My devotion to this place, my admiration for this place, and the fact that this opening kind of came out rather abruptly to the trustees, (they) didn’t really have another obvious course. So it seems like the only answer I could do.”
Daniels, who served as Purdue’s president for nearly 10 years after two terms as governor of Indiana, was announced as the interim leader on May 25, after former President Mung Chiang announced his July 1 departure to serve as president of Northwestern University.
Daniels’ notoriety has remained strong despite his recent public absence. As Daniels took questions from reporters, a shirtless, morning jogger spotted him speaking, shouted and clapped, “My man Mitch!” Daniels laughed and then offered to restart his response to a reporter’s question.
Despite the fandom, Daniels said one of his top priorities is to vacate the interim position “as fast as I can.”
“That’s only half facetious, because helping the trustees think about the search for possibly a great, new president of Purdue is certainly, I think, one of the top assignments,” Daniels said. “Beyond that, I’ve already indicated that we can accelerate what’s been good progress and the extension of the campus in Indianapolis.”
Old issues still linger. In recent years, the university has added additional dorms and apartments to its available housing stock, opening the new Hillenbrand South Hall this fall. But Reddit posts have recently featured incoming freshmen questioning their “temporary housing assignments” in makeshift dorm rooms.
Daniels said the trustees have made progress in addressing the lack of housing, but he acknowledged that some incoming students will live in temporary housing.
“I think that our enrollment people feel pretty good about this fall,” Daniels said. “It would be an unusual year if there weren’t at least a few adjustments. But I hope there are very few (students) in temporary (housing).”
Purdue’s continued enrollment growth amid frozen tuition for 14 years has created shortages within West Lafayette’s rental housing stock, prompting the construction of several new high-rises around the edges of campus.
But that’s a good problem to have, Daniels said, when some college campuses around the nation are seeing shrinking enrollments.
“I’ve said it a thousand times that we have a great relationship with our local communities, and it’s really important that we preserve that,” Daniels said. “So, where the success of the university begins to create some pressure, it’s our job to work with them to try to address it quickly.”
About the national conversations over admitting Chinese students into American universities, Daniels said some national security concerns are valid.
But international students have been admitted to Purdue for more than a century, Daniels said, something the university is “really proud of.”
“I support adjustments in that area that protect Purdue, our students, and the research that goes on here and around the country,” Daniels said. “Now, beyond that, I think we need to be very sensitive. I am a supporter of immigration in general. It’s part of the identity of this country, and it’s certainly the No. 1 source, or one of the biggest sources of top talent that we need to remain successful.”
Although some actions federal authorities have taken recently to limit research and admission of international students were necessary, Daniels said some interventions in higher education have been “overreactions.”
“I expect those to be adjusted as we move forward, but I would say the same thing about research funding,” Daniels said. “There were a lot of abuses. There were a lot of things being funded that I think are not in line with our national interests. But these are baby-and-the-bathwater situations, and so I expect there to be rethinking and moderation moving forward.”
Asked whether Purdue Provost Patrick Wolfe will continue to serve in his current role, after the university’s faculty senate expressed a vote of no confidence during April’s meeting, Daniels said there are no plans for Wolfe to step down.
“You know, I wasn’t here. I know it stemmed from one episode,” Daniels said. “Maybe that could have been handled better. This is, of course, the faculty senate, which is an important voice, but not the only voice in the matter.”
Looking back on the year of controversy surrounding the university’s strained relationship with The Purdue Exponent, the nonprofit student-run news outlet, Daniels called the situation “unfortunate.”
“There is supposed to be some sort of contract, and here hasn’t been. It expired years ago,” Daniels said. “We have to deal with that, since that is the policy, and maybe in that discussion we can find a way forward that our people would have to review.”
Jillian Ellison is a reporter for the Journal & Courier. She can be reached via email at jellison@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Interim President Daniels addresses Purdue housing, international concerns
Reporting by Jillian Ellison, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Lafayette Journal & Courier
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By Jillian Ellison, Lafayette Journal & Courier | USA TODAY Network
