Purdue Names New Executive Vice President
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowPurdue University has named Theresa Mayer as the university’s next executive vice president for research and partnerships. Mayer is currently vice president for research and innovation at Virginia Tech. She assumes her role on August 1 and succeeds Suresh Garimellla, who will become president at the University of Vermont.
“We welcome our distinguished alumna Dr. Mayer back to campus. An outstanding researcher and proven successful administrator, we think Theresa has all the qualities to lead our research programs to more new records and even greater success,” said Purdue University President Mitch Daniels.
Mayer has served in her current position at Virginia Tech since 2016 and has overseen the school’s research activities, technology transfer, industry partnerships and compliance. She also previously served as a professor at Penn State University for over 20 years.
“The critical role that leading global research universities play in changing the world for the better has never been greater,” Mayer said. “Purdue’s research and scholarship is already among the strongest and most comprehensive in the nation and the world, and planned strategic investments across the university are positioning it for even greater advances in the future. I am thrilled and honored to return to Purdue to serve as the next executive vice president for research and partnerships at this critical time for public land-grant universities."
Garimella began at Purdue in 1999 as an associate professor in the School of Mechanical Engineering, and was promoted to full professor in 2002 and has been executive vice president since 2014.