About the Chancellor

Ronald L. Elsenbaumer

Ronald L. Elsenbaumer became the inaugural chancellor for Purdue University Fort Wayne in fall 2017.

An accomplished educator and researcher, Chancellor Elsenbaumer has four decades of wide-ranging leadership experience, spanning both academia and the private sector.

Chancellor Elsenbaumer is passionate about providing a first-rate education for undergraduate and graduate students, connecting students with career opportunities, fueling economic development and growth, and strengthening the university’s ties throughout the region and the state of Indiana. During his early years at Purdue Fort Wayne, he has been focused on strategic planning, enrollment growth, campus master planning, and resource development.  

Previously, Chancellor Elsenbaumer served in senior leadership positions at the University of Texas at Arlington, including provost and vice president for academic affairs, vice president for research and federal relations, and senior advisor to the president for entrepreneurship and economic development.

Chancellor Elsenbaumer played a significant role in strengthening UT Arlington’s academic and research profile. Under his leadership, the university’s overall enrollment, student success, and research expenditures increased dramatically. He also helped secure more than $18 million to enhance academic programs, created endowed faculty positions, and elevated the university’s Carnegie Classification from R2 to R1.

Prior to joining UT Arlington, Chancellor Elsenbaumer held positions in corporate research and management at Allied-Signal Inc., a multinational corporation with headquarters in Morristown, New Jersey. While there, he developed important laboratory discoveries into commercial products and effectively bridged multiple teams to develop and launch numerous successful products.

Chancellor Elsenbaumer earned a B.S. in chemistry from Purdue University and a Ph.D. from Stanford University. He has authored or coauthored more than 110 publications and holds more than 35 US patents. He has lectured at numerous conferences and universities around the world, is a member of Phi Kappa Phi and Phi Beta Kappa, and was inducted into the National Academy of Inventors in 2013.

Chancellor Elsenbaumer maintains strong ties with the Fort Wayne community and northeast Indiana and is actively involved in the business, civic, and arts communities. He currently serves as vice chair of the board of directors for the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center and serves on the board of directors of the Fort Wayne Philharmonic and Greater Fort Wayne Inc.