Office of the Chancellor, Thomas L. Keon (PUC)

Dr. Thomas L. Keon began his appointment as the seventh campus leader in the history of Purdue University Calumet, July 1, 2011. During the early stage of his administration as chancellor, he has focused much of his attention on positioning Purdue Calumet to advance in four strategic areas: academic excellence, learning by engagement and discovery, inclusivity, and business and community partnerships. During his installation address March 20, 2012, he spoke of a Purdue Calumet that “creates new industries in northwest Indiana, rather than just serving existing ones. We should not be content to merely serve, but to dream boldly and push forward.” Before arriving at Purdue Calumet, he spent 14 years as dean of the College of Business Administration at the University of Central Florida (1997-2011), where he was responsible for all personnel, including 150 full-time faculty members, budgets up to $31 million, 9,100 students and academic programs at the bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral levels at a university of more than 55,000 students. During his 35+-year career in higher education, he also has been dean of the College of Business and Administration at Southern Illinois University (1995-97), associate dean of the College of Business at Florida Atlantic University (1990-94), associate dean of the College of Business and Public Administration at the University of Missouri in Columbia (1989-90), director of graduate studies in the School of Business at the University of Missouri (1988-90) and chair of the University of Missouri’s Department of Management (1988-89). Additionally, he has taught at the University of Notre Dame, Michigan State University and Southern Vermont College. He holds a baccalaureate degree in accounting (Bentley University), master’s in education (Suffolk University), MBA (Babson College) and doctorate in management (Michigan State University). Purdue University Calumet is a comprehensive, residential regional university of some 10,000 students within the internationally respected Purdue University system. Purdue Calumet’s 18-building, 167-acre neighborhood campus is located in the northwest Indiana city of Hammond, 25 miles southeast of downtown Chicago. Purdue Calumet offers baccalaureate and master’s degrees in dozens of fields of study, including traditional Purdue strengths of engineering; technologies; liberal arts; natural, behavioral and social sciences; and professional programs of nursing, management/business, education, and hospitality and tourism management.

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