mung chiang Northwestern will be its next president, the board of trustees announced Monday.
Chiang’s presidency begins July 1, according to a university news release. He succeeds former President Michael Schill, who resigned from office In September 2025.
Interim President Henry Bienen, who served as university president for the first time From 1995 to 2009 And Shill returned after leaving officeHe will remain in this role until the end of June, the release said.
Chiang has been president of Purdue University, a fellow Big Ten research institution, since January 2023. Chiang, a first-generation immigrant, is set to become NU’s first Asian American president, according to the release.
“I have long admired Northwestern for its dedication to interdisciplinary scholarship, artistic creation and impactful research, its tremendous healthcare system, and its palpable school spirit,” Chiang said in the news release.
Chiang earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and mathematics from Stanford University, as well as a master’s degree and a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering.
From 2017 to 2023, he served as dean of Purdue’s College of Engineering. He was also Purdue’s executive vice president for strategic initiatives from 2021 to 2023.
Prior to his tenure at Purdue, Chiang spent 14 years At Princeton University, he became one of the school’s youngest chair professors. He chaired the Princeton Entrepreneurship Council and served as director of the Keller Center for Innovation in Engineering Education.
Both Bienen and Schill also have Princeton ties. Bienen previously served as dean of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. Shill graduated from Princeton with an AB in Public Policy.
“Mung is focused on leading and elevating Northwestern into one of the world’s great research institutions,” said Peter Barris, chair of the Board of Trustees. the news release said. “Through his stellar academic and administrative leadership across multiple institutions, Mung has demonstrated his ability to harness opportunity and momentum while embracing the breadth and depth of a university.”
At Purdue, Chiang’s initiatives included securing a $3.9 billion investment to build an artificial intelligence memory chip packaging facility. He also helped design and implement the 2022 federal Chips and Science Act.
Chiang was the first engineer to serve as a science and technology advisor to the US Secretary of State, a non-partisan post to which he was appointed in 2020. According to the release.
New announced the start of its search for the university’s 18th president in December. Steve Cahillane, Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees, chaired the Presidential Search Committee.
“In my many conversations with Mung during the search process, he has consistently emphasized how he sees Northwestern as one of the most prestigious comprehensive universities in the world, where an interdisciplinary culture inspires innovation and new ideas,” Cahillane said in the news release.
Chiang’s appointment comes after a year in which NU faced an intense federal investigation, which concluded in November Reach agreement with Trump administration to restore research funding after the government $790 million frozen in April 2025.
NU’s interdisciplinary nature attracted Chiang to the university, he said in the release. His first priority as president, he said, will be to connect with community stakeholders, from students to trustees.
“I will listen to each of the 12 colleges and schools, cheer on each of the 21 sports teams, visit Northwestern Medicine hospitals and participate in each cherished campus tradition,” Chiang said in the news release.
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