WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Former Indiana Gov. Mike Daniels is returning to the top spot at Purdue University – on an interim basis.

Daniels, who served as Purdue president from 2013-2022 after two terms as Indiana governor, will begin serving as interim president effective July 1 after a vote from the Purdue Board of Trustees, the school announced.

The news comes just days after Purdue president Mung Chiang announced he was leaving to become the next president at Northwestern University.

Daniels has been serving as president emeritus and chair of the board of the Purdue Research Foundation since stepping down as president.

“We are extremely grateful to President Emeritus Daniels for his willingness to continue his long and successful service to Purdue University in a role with which he is very familiar,” trustees chair Gary Lehman said in a statement. “We look forward to working with Mitch and the executive team in leading Purdue to even greater heights as it continues to impact lives through its land-grant mission and the persistent pursuit of excellence in higher education.”

The university said Daniels agreed to serve as interim president until the next president is selected and takes office, with a search expected to begin in the coming weeks.

“President Chiang has led Purdue forward in a host of important ways, and it’s essential that the momentum he has generated be maintained,” Daniels said. “If the board believes that recalling me to active duty temporarily can help in this respect, no one as devoted to this institution as I am could say anything but yes.”