Position Description

Executive Vice President for Research

As a direct report to the President, the Executive Vice President for Research (EVPR) serves as Purdue’s Senior Research Officer. The EVPR is responsible for increasing the scale and impact of Purdue’s research enterprise through stewardship and expansion of the university’s annual expenditures and active research portfolio, developing new opportunities for sponsored research growth through innovative programs, and by strengthening the University’s research infrastructure.

The EVPR leads a robust team within the Office of Research, including sponsored program services and all operational and regulatory functions of the Purdue University research enterprise. Additionally, the EVPR has oversight of a broad research enterprise that includes the expanding Institutes and Centers at Discovery Park District, an interdisciplinary research hub with more than 12 research organizations that bring together researchers across disciplines to advance large-scale research, and the Purdue Applied Research Institute (PARI). PARI is an LLC that was developed to enhance Purdue’s capabilities for translational and classified work that responds quickly toindustry and government needs in national security, infrastructure, technology innovation and global development.

The EVPR also provides leadership for several key institutes and initiatives, including the Purdue Institute of Cancer Research, the Institute for Physical Artificial Intelligence, and is responsible for enabling the success of faculty-driven research by supporting cross-college research collaborations and ensuring optimal research coordination by working closely with the Office of the Provost, colleges/schools and faculty to recruit and retain outstanding faculty and to support and expand scholarship, research excellence and national and international recognition.

Key Responsibilities

The university’s Executive Vice President for Research is responsible for increasing the scale and impact of the research enterprise at Purdue University. Major responsibilities include:

• Enable success of faculty-driven research
• Develop and support cross-college research collaborations, ensuring optimal research coordination across campus.
• Develop and support Presidential initiatives such as One Health, the research mission of Purdue in Indianapolis and Purdue Computes.
• Oversee research development operations (proposal development team, pre- and post- award administration through sponsored program services, dissemination of funding opportunities, limited submission programs, cost-sharing opportunities, large center grant competitions, internal grant programs, management of contracts).
• Collaborate with the Office of the Provost, colleges/schools and faculty to promote research excellence, national and international recognition.
• Support faculty entrepreneurship, working with Purdue Research Foundation.
• Advocate for upgrading and adding to research infrastructure; support, manage and monitor university-supported research instrumentation, equipment, core facilities, and recharge centers.
• Promote faculty service on national and international boards and committees.
• Celebrate faculty accomplishments through university-level recognitions and awards related to research.
• Ensure that research advances and highlights are widely disseminated, with a focus on web-based, written, and social-media communications.
• Serve as the executive sponsor and administrative lead on major University wide initiatives including the Lilly partnership, CICP initiatives and federal grants.
• Oversee and serve as the executive sponsor for the Purdue Applied Research Institute
• Raise Purdue’s national and international research profile through a deliberate strategy of communications, events, awards, etc.
• Ensure that the research regulatory responsibilities of the university are met
  • Human subjects’ protections
  • Animal welfare, including housing and health
  • Financial conflicts of interest
  • Responsible conduct of research
  • Hazards management oversight
• Identify and enable innovative opportunities for sponsored research growth
• Identify targets for strategic investments aimed at selected funding agencies (e.g., DOD, DOE, NIH, and internal funding for equipment programs and large proposals)
• Identify and enable large-scale, university-wide, interdisciplinary programs such as the Institute for Physical AI and the Purdue Institute for Cancer Research.
• Support the development and submission of proposals for large-scale center research grants, secure funding for such large-scale proposals.
• Oversee the Institutes and Centers at Discovery Park District, Purdue’s interdisciplinary, large-scale research hub, ensuring ever greater connectivity with schools and colleges, support for commercialization efforts, and pursuit of big ideas and large-scale funding opportunities.
• Oversee federal relations involving research-related matters, including congressional relationships with the Indiana delegation; and manage stewardship of Lewis-Burke for outreach and relationships with federal agencies and national laboratories. Work with federal and state legislative teams to identify priority asks and support federal funding opportunities.

Professional Experience/Qualifications

Qualified candidates will possess an earned doctorate or other appropriate terminal degree from an accredited higher education institution with a scholarly record that warrants an appointment as faculty at the full professor level; significant leadership experience in research within higher education, government, and/or industry; with demonstrable success building/supporting translational research programs desired.

Nominations and Applications

Confidential review of applications, nominations and expressions of interest will begin immediately, and will continue until an appointment is made. The University invites inquiries, nominations, and applications. To be ensured of full consideration, interested individuals should provide an electronic version of their curriculum vitae along with a bullet point summary of key accomplishments in each leadership role held.