Niaz Latif to Serve as Interim Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

I am pleased to announce that Dr. Niaz Latif has agreed to serve as interim provost and vice chancellor for Academic Affairs beginning January 8, 2024. He will provide leadership for the six academic colleges as I launch a national search for PNW’s next provost.

Niaz currently serves as the associate vice chancellor for Commercialization and Research and executive director of the Commercialization and Manufacturing Excellence Center (CMEC). He will continue to oversee those areas as the Interim Provost, as well as oversee the Office of Institutional Research, Center for Faculty Excellence, and the Office of Academic and Student Success.

Niaz brings a strong background in academic leadership and sponsored research to this role. Since joining PNW in 2007, Niaz has been responsible for bringing in a combined $15 million in grants from internal and external sources, including major grants from the National Science Foundation, National Security Agency, National Institutes of Health, and U.S. Department of Labor.

As a PI and Co-PI, Niaz has received a total of $5 million in Federal grants. In addition, he raised more than $4 million in private gifts from donors to establish new laboratories and centers, including: the David Roberts Center for Innovation and Design; CMEC; the future Roberts Impact Lab; labs for the Construction Engineering and Management Technology, Mechanical Engineering Technology, and Mechatronics Engineering Technology programs.

Under Niaz’s leadership as dean, the College of Technology was recognized as the Best University for a Technology Degree by Northwest Indiana Business magazine for 14 consecutive years. During his tenure the college added five degree programs, notably including the Doctor of Technology (DTech) and BS in Cybersecurity,  recruited an increasingly diverse student population, and increased retention.

Niaz has twice held additional leadership roles while serving concurrently as dean of Technology: interim associate vice chancellor of Research and Graduate Studies (2008-2012) and interim dean of the College of Engineering and Sciences (2020-2021). He also served as PNW’s interim provost and vice chancellor of Academic Affairs in 2019-2020.

Niaz has been a Fellow of the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE) since 2018. He has been recognized by his alma mater, South Dakota State University, as a Distinguished Alumnus and Distinguished Engineer and received the Frederick J. Berger Award for programmatic and individual excellence in engineering technology education from ASEE. He is a past honoree as Outstanding Administrative Leader of PNW.

I am excited to welcome Niaz to the Senior Leadership Team of Purdue Northwest. Please join me in congratulating him on this new role.

Chris Holford
Chancellor-Elect and Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs