Purdue Business School Taps Former World Bank Leader for Fellowship

The former president of the World Bank will head to Purdue University starting next year, becoming the latest high-profile economic leader to join the school’s Mitchell E. Daniels, Jr. School of Business.

David Malpass, who stepped down as president of the World Bank earlier this year, will become a distinguished fellow of international finance at the business school on Jan. 1, 2024, the school announced in a press release. He will also serve as the inaugural fellow of global business and infrastructure at Purdue@DC, the school’s initiative in the nation’s capital.

Purdue University President Mung Chiang underscored Malpass’ leadership of the World Bank at a challenging time for the world economy. Helming the global financial institution from 2019 through early 2023, Malpass oversaw the organization through the COVID-19 pandemic and the widespread economic disruptions it caused.

“As president of the World Bank, David Malpass has been a truly impactful leader of international finance, infrastructure and business, especially his leadership during the major disruptions to the global economy from the COVID-19 pandemic, the Ukraine war, and the sharp increases in inflation and interest rates,” Chiang said in the release.

“His joining the Daniels School of Business is another transformative growth of talent at Purdue University that will provide many exciting opportunities for many of our students and for Purdue@DC.”

Malpass won praise for his efforts to fight poverty and bolster supply chains during the pandemic, according to the Purdue release. He will lead lectures and help with thought leadership at the school in his dual fellowship roles.

“I’m very pleased to be affiliated with Purdue University, its innovative leaders and the business school that builds on Mitch Daniels’ contributions to educational excellence,” Malpass said in the release. “I look forward to sharing my public and private sector experiences to strengthen business leadership and am happy to become part of Purdue’s mission of being a leader in business education.”

Malpass isn’t the only major economist to join the Daniels School of Business this year. Purdue selected James Bullard, previously the head of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, as the first dean of the business school in July.

Bullard is a leading economist and was the longest-serving sitting president of Federal Reserve Banks when the school announced his appointment. He called Malpass a “brilliant leader” in the release.

“He is well respected in the business world and was a steadfast leader at the World Bank, creating solutions for some of the world’s most pressing issues,” Bullard said. “His insights and contributions will be relevant and timely to our faculty, staff, students and alumni, and his presence will only add to the momentum that the Daniels School is building.”

Malpass and Bullard come to Purdue as the school reimagines its influential business school. The university earlier this year renamed its business school after Daniels, who retired as Purdue’s president last year. School officials have revamped the business program to focus heavily on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) and business analytics.

The university received a $50 million gift from the White Family Foundation earlier this year to help that effort by launching the Bruce White Undergraduate Institute, which includes a revised engineering- and business analytics-focused curriculum as officials look to grow the business school’s undergraduate enrollment.