NextSharkNextShark.com
Latest Newsletter🍵 New alcohol/cancer study in AsiansRead

Article

Purdue University’s first Asian American president takes office amid controversy over Northwest chancellor

purdue university president
via Purdue University

    Asian America Daily - in under 5 minutes

    Get our collection of Asian America's most essential stories, to your inbox daily, for free!

    Unsure? Check out our Newsletter Archive

    Dr. Mung Chiang officially became the first Asian American president of Purdue University at the start of the new year.

    The Purdue Board of Trustees announced in June that it had unanimously elected Chiang as the new president to succeed former president Mitch Daniels. 

    Prior to assuming office, Chiang served as the John A. Edwardson Dean of the College of Engineering and executive vice president for Strategic Initiatives. 

    Originally from Tianjin, China, Chiang earned a B.S. in electrical engineering and mathematics, as well as an M.S. and Ph.D. in electrical engineering from Stanford University.

    In 2016, while teaching at Princeton University, he received the Distinguished Teaching Award in Engineering for his work. 

    He is also a prolific entrepreneur and inventor who has founded three companies and currently holds 25 U.S. patents.

    Chiang’s election comes amid recent controversy involving Purdue University Northwest Chancellor Thomas Keon, who drew backlash last month for mocking Asian languages.

    A video of Keon doing a mock impersonation of Asian languages during a commencement ceremony on Dec. 10 went viral.

    Keon has kept his position despite overwhelming demands for his resignation and a vote of no-confidence in Keon’s leadership cast by the faculty and staff of Purdue Northwest on Dec. 20.

    Observers and advocates are now hoping Chiang will address the issue regarding the chancellor.


    Related Articles:

    Support our Journalism with a Contribution

    Many people might not know this, but despite our large and loyal following which we are immensely grateful for, NextShark is still a small bootstrapped startup that runs on no outside funding or loans.

    Everything you see today is built on the backs of warriors who have sacrificed opportunities to help give Asians all over the world a bigger voice.

    However, we still face many trials and tribulations in our industry, from figuring out the most sustainable business model for independent media companies to facing the current COVID-19 pandemic decimating advertising revenues across the board.

    We hope you consider making a contribution so we can continue to provide you with quality content that informs, educates and inspires the Asian community. Even a $1 contribution goes a long way.  Thank you for everyone's support. We love you all and can't appreciate you guys enough.

    Support NextShark

    Mastercard, Visa, Amex, Discover, Paypal