The Candidates Who Applied for Chancellor of IUPUI

With Chancellor Nasser Paydar’s retirement approaching, the search for his replacement is well underway. Here are the four candidates who are being considered for the role.

Candidate A: Ashwani Monga

Ashwani Monga earned his Ph.D. in marketing at the University of Minnesota. Monga is currently provost and executive vice chancellor of Rutgers University – Newark and has held the position since 2019.

At the Town Hall on Feb. 1, Monga emphasized the importance of uplifiting marginalized students and helping all students realize their full potential. He also spoke on strengthening community outreach and engagement in IUPUI’s urban setting.

Candidate B: Kathy Johnson

Kathy Johnson earned her Ph.D. in psychology at Emory University. Johnson is currently Interim executive vice chancellor and chief academic officer of IUPUI and has held the position since 2015. Her current role was one Chancellor Paydar assumed from 2012 to 2015 until he became Chancellor of IUPUI. 

At the Town Hall on Feb. 3, Johnson spoke on her time at IUPUI. She has been a faculty member at IUPUI for almost 29 years. She talked about the importance of the chancellor being present in the community and building stronger relationships within Indianapolis and growing diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. 

Candidate C: Sacha Kopp

Sacha Kopp earned his Ph.D. in physics from the University of Chicago. Kopp is currently the Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs at the University of Nebraska at Omaha and has held the role since 2019.

Candidate D: Michael Tidwell

Michael Tidwell earned his Ph.D. in organizational studies at Washington State University. Tidwell was the President of the University of Texas at Tyler until the school merged with the University of Texas Health Science Center in early 2021. Before the merger he had held the position since 2017. He has been on sabbatical this year contemplating what his next position will be. 

At the Town Hall on Feb. 8, Tidwell emphasized chasing student success. He also spoke on expanding IUPUI’s admissions and continued growth to maintain IUPUI’s status as Indiana’s premier urban research university.

Students, faculty and staff were given the opportunity to submit feedback on the candidates for the search committee’s reference on the Chancellor Search Website under the dropdown for each candidate until 3 p.m. on Feb. 10.  

It has not been announced when a decision will be made, but with Chancellor Paydar’s retirement celebration taking place Feb. 16 and his departure planned for the beginning of March, it can be expected later this month.

 

Katie Wiseman (she/her) is a junior majoring in journalism with a minor in Spanish. She is the editor of the Campus section for The Campus Citizen.