Office of the Chancellor

Allyson Mills Selected as Vice Chancellor for Financial and Administrative Affairs

May 16, 2025

Dear Faculty, Staff, and Students,

I am pleased to announce that Allyson Mills has been selected to become vice chancellor for financial and administrative affairs. She has been an important member of our university community for nearly 15 years, and has served in the position of associate vice chancellor for financial and administrative affairs for the last five.

Today’s announcement is the culmination of an extensive, national search, and Allyson is exceptionally well-suited to take the baton from Glen Nakata, who will be retiring June 30. I would be remiss if I didn’t take this opportunity to thank Glen for his effective guidance of the university’s financial affairs and related accomplishments over the past four years. We wish him all the best.    

Allyson’s new responsibilities will include a focused oversight of all aspects of financial affairs, as well as Facilities Management, which includes the Special Events operation.

This transition also provides an excellent opportunity to adjust comparable reporting structures for three other administrative units. Mastodon Athletics will move under the umbrella of the Division of Enrollment Management and the Student Experience. Both Human Resources and University Police will begin reporting directly to me.  

These strategic changes will allow Allyson to focus a greater percentage of her efforts solely on critically important functions, namely the navigation of university finances during this significant time for Purdue Fort Wayne and higher education. Her strong, existing relationships with division leaders, deans, department heads, business managers, and colleagues at Purdue University have been, and will continue to be, essential as we move forward together.

Allyson joined the university in 2010 as an account clerk in Facilities Management. Since then, she has been promoted numerous times to positions with more proficiencies and responsibilities. Before arriving on campus, she worked for the LaGrange County Economic Development Corporation, and with the Financial Management division of the U.S. Army Department of Morale, Welfare, and Recreation in Kansas.

Allyson earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting from the University of Maryland University College, now known as the University of Maryland Global Campus, with a minor in business administration. In 2023, she earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Purdue.

Originally from Montreal, Allyson moved to northeast Indiana in 2002. Various local entities have benefitted from her dedication to volunteering, including Purdue Fort Wayne’s Administrative and Professional Staff Advisory Council, Girl Scouts of America, LEARN Resource Center, East Allen County Schools Wellness Advisory Council, Junior Achievement’s BizTown, and Girls on the Run of Northeast Indiana.

I would also like to thank the members of our search committee, chaired by Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Carl Drummond, for their successful work over the course of multiple months.

Sincerely,

Ron Elsenbaumer

Chancellor