Inside Purdue’s Re-Imagined Daniels School Of Business & OMBA

The Dean and Barbara White Family Foundation has committed $50 million to Purdue University. (Purdue University photo)

Purdue is rolling out the black and gold carpet to reveal its reimagined business school.

The business school has been known as the Krannert School of Management since 1962 when Herman and Ellnora Krannert provided a generous $2.7 million endowment to the university for their graduate programs. Yet surprisingly this was never the school’s official name.

Now, for the first time, Purdue’s B-school will have an official name: the Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business after Purdue’s 12th president, President Emeritus Mitch Daniels, former governor of Indiana.

NEW DEAN IS FORMER PRESIDENT OF FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF ST. LOUIS

“President Emeritus Mitch Daniels is regarded as the most innovative university president in America, and his private sector business leadership is as outstanding as his public service. It is truly fitting and exciting to place his name upon this impactful growth to the Purdue landscape,” says Mung Chiang, Purdue’s 13th president, in a statement on Purdue’s site.

“Through the launch of the Daniels School of Business, Purdue will have a world-class business school that carries out even more top-caliber research and educates many future leaders of a technology-driven, free market economy.”

Within the Daniels School is both the Krannert Graduate Institute — a homage to Herman and Ellnora Krannert — and the Bruce White Undergraduate Institute, which was named after recently deceased White. He was a former member of the Purdue Board of Trustees and a longtime university benefactor, and the White Family Foundation committed $50 million to the University.

The Daniels School is also welcoming a new dean, Jim Bullard, former head of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis who officially took the reins at the school this fall. “He is a fantastic recruit. He’s the longest-serving sitting president of a Federal Reserve Bank, and he has been one of the most influential leaders in the country. He is also a truly innovative and deep thinker, an outstanding scholar and economist,” says Chiang.

Image source: Purdue University. Website: https://business.purdue.edu/about/excellence-at-scale.php

GROWING THE COMMUNITY & STRENGTHENING THE CURRICULUM

The Daniels School of Business is looking to welcome in students who value creativity, wish to strengthen their understanding of technology, and who aspire to lead and inspire others with strength and decisiveness, the school says in a news release.

The Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business has declared its commitment to delivering a solid core curriculum that is of course relevant to the ever-changing business landscape. Courses at the B-school maintain a strong STEM focus, recognizing how important it is to equip students with the relevant skills needed to analyze data and use it to effectively guide business decisions.

The B-school hopes to double its enrollment in their relaunch while significantly increasing undergraduate enrollment – which is already up 33% since 2019. The Daniels School will also hire more faculty – up 50% more – and double the size of its facility through additions and renovations.

INSIDE THE PURDUE OMBA

For those who are looking for something a bit more flexible outside of the traditional on-campus experience, the Daniels School offers a great option with their online MBA program. Similar to in-person learning, Purdue’s OMBA students will learn analysis, strategy, and problem-solving that are crucial for leadership. The program is 48 credit hours, including 16 hours of electives. It has three annual start dates and can be completed in two years or more; students can set their own pace. And while it is an online MBA, there are plenty of opportunities to connect with peers from diverse fields and cultures. Currently the program welcomed 45 students in spring 2023, 18 in summer 2023, and 41 in fall 2023.

“My online MBA classes have immediately paid off in my day-to-day life. It’s been awesome to see things I learn in my coursework get put to use at work,” says OMBA Meredith Simmons on Purdue’s website.

OMBA students also receive personal support from student success coaches and dedicated staff and faculty who hold virtual sessions and office hours. Even in the virtual world, you’ll be part of the Purdue family, connecting with a community of students, faculty, and alumni from over 135 countries.

As for specializations, there are four options that are at the core of Purdue’s identity as a STEM-focused University: Business Analytics, Innovation and Technology Commercialization, Global Supply-Chain Management, and Leadership, Negotiation, and Change Management. Purdue’s OMBA is currently highlighting a featured course, “Frontiers in the C-Suite,” an elective led by top-level industry pros that gives students an inside look into the world of C-suite executives. Students will get an inside view of what it’s like to run organizations locally and globally.