Allyson Mills selected as vice chancellor for financial and administrative affairs at Purdue Fort Wayne

Purdue University Fort Wayne announced Friday that Allyson Mills has been selected to become vice chancellor for financial and administrative affairs. She has been an important member of the university community for nearly 15 years, and has served in the position of associate vice chancellor for financial and administrative affairs since 2020.

This is the culmination of an extensive, national search, and Mills is exceptionally well-suited to take the baton from Glen Nakata, who will be retiring June 30.

Mills’ new responsibilities will include a focused oversight of all aspects of financial affairs, as well as Facilities Management, which includes the university's special events operation. According to Purdue Fort Wayne Chancellor Ron Elsenbaumer, this transition will also be an excellent opportunity to adjust comparable reporting structures among other administrative units. 

“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,” Elsenbaumer said. “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.”

Mills 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.

Mills 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, Mills 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.

In a message distributed to faculty, staff, and students, Elsenbaumer thanked the members of the university’s search committee, chaired by Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Carl Drummond, for their successful work over the course of multiple months. He also recognized Nakata’s effective guidance of the university’s financial affairs and related accomplishments over the past four years.