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Purdue University’s board of trustees unanimously elected Retired Lt. Gen. Jay B. Silveria as the university’s 14th president.
Silveria has been serving as the president of the University of Arkansas System since January 2025, and before that served as associate vice president and executive director of Texas A&M University.
Silveria has a 35-year career in the Air Force and was superintendent of the U.S. Air Force Academy from 2017 to 2020.
Silveria will officially take over the role from current interim President Mitch Daniels on Feb. 1, 2027. His base salary is $1 million.
Purdue’s previous president, Mung Chiang, left abruptly in May after announcing he was leaving to become president of Northwestern University.
Chiang was serving in the role since January 2023, but had joined Purdue in 2017 and served as dean of the College of Engineering and the executive vice president for strategic initiatives under Daniels.
After Chiang left, Daniels stepped in as interim president while the university searched for its next leader.
Purdue’s 10-member board of trustees is responsible for electing the university’s president.
Daniels previously served as Purdue's president for a decade and before that two terms as Indiana governor. He currently chairs the board of the Purdue Research Foundation.
