Purdue trustees voted Mitch Daniels for next Purdue president

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - Purdue trustees nominated Mitch Daniels to take over as the 12th Purdue University president.

Motion to vote Governor Daniels in as the next Purdue president passed unanimously.

Daniels will start in January at the conclusion of his second term as governor. He is succeeding France Cordova who will step down July 15.

Keith Krach, board chairman, heralded Daniels' appointment as "an innovative, game-changing move for Purdue."

Córdova, Purdue's 11th president, said Daniels' experience as a leader in the top levels of business and government will serve Purdue well.

Daniels praised Purdue as an invaluable asset for Indiana and the country and as an educational institution globally renowned for producing discoveries and graduates in high demand.

Daniels said his first priority would be to learn from the faculty and earn their trust and collaboration to help further Purdue's research and education missions.

"No institution of any kind means more to Indiana today or tomorrow as Purdue University. It educates at the highest level the engineers, scientists, agricultural experts and information technologists on whom our state and national success disproportionately depend," Daniels said.
 

A little background on the new Purdue president:

He was born in 1949 in Pennsylvania, his family moved to Indiana in 1959.

Daniels received his degree from Princeton University in 1971 with a bachelor's degree from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

He then graduated from Georgetown University with a law degree in 1979.

Daniels' is married to Cheri Daniels and has four daughters.

He is the 49th Governor of the State of Indiana, elected in 2004, re-elected in 2008.

Daniels' famous campaign slogan is "My Man Mitch". His campaign is also known for his "RV One" (like Air Force One), because he toured the state in a big RV that people signed.