Job Summary
The College of Science at Purdue University invites nominations and applications for the position of Head of the Department of Mathematics. The Department seeks a dynamic research leader and experienced educator with strategic vision and an outstanding record of achievement, excited by the opportunity to propel a strong department even further. The head will work with departmental colleagues and college leadership to advance its research, graduate, and undergraduate programs.
Department Head Responsibilities:
Qualifications
The successful candidate will have an exemplary record of scholarly achievement along with strong leadership potential. It is expected that candidates for this position will have an earned doctorate in mathematics or a related field and a level of stature in the field sufficient at a minimum to merit appointment at the rank of Professor in a leading mathematics department. Highly desirable qualities include an understanding of the current needs and future directions of the field of mathematics and related areas in general, as well as within the department and college, and skills in academic leadership, student relations, mentoring, and alumni relations.
Application Procedure
Confidential nominations and inquiries can be sent to the search committee at head-search@purdue.edu. Applications should be submitted via https://www.mathjobs.org/jobs/list/29441 and should include:
Applications and nominations will be held in confidence; review of the same will begin on December 4, 2026, and will continue until the position is filled.
A background check will be required for employment in this position.
About the Department of Mathematics
The Department has 65 full time faculty, 180 graduate students, 350 math majors and 300 actuarial science majors (joint with Statistics). The Department has an international reputation as an outstanding center for mathematical scholarship, research and education. Strong research groups in the Department span Pure, Applied, and Computational Mathematics, with emerging concentrations in Data Science and Quantum Information. It is a key department in the College of Science and Purdue University, providing a wide range of interfaces for research and substantial service teaching. Opportunities are abundant for the right leader to make a significant impact on the University and the profession by growing the Department’s visibility and stature. For more information, see http://www.math.purdue.edu/.
About the College of Science
The College of Science, which is comprised of the seven departments: Mathematics; Biological Sciences; Chemistry; Computer Science; Earth, Atmospheric & Planetary Sciences; Statistics and Physics & Astronomy, is the second-largest college at Purdue, with over 350 faculty, more than 6,800 undergraduate and 1,800 graduate students. Mathematics is an important component of large-scale interdisciplinary efforts across key strategic areas in the College, including mathematical and computational foundations, quantum computation, and data science, which align with the new campus-wide Data Science Initiative and the Purdue Quantum Science and Engineering Institute.
Purdue itself is one of the nation’s leading land-grant universities heavily focused on STEM subjects, with an enrollment of over 43,000 undergraduate and 13,000 graduate students. For more information, see https://www.purdue.edu/purduemoves/initiatives/stem/index.php.
Purdue University is an equal opportunity/equal access university.
Job Family
Faculty and Instruction
Job Sub Family
Faculty - Tenure/Tenure Track
Employee Class
Faculty
Career Stream
Faculty 6
Benefits Eligibility
YES
FLSA Status
Exempt
