Purdue Global appoints John Higgins as Chief Transformation Officer

The former Purdue University Assistant Vice President brings experience across finance, research support and enterprise-wide change projects.

John Higgins became Purdue Global's Chief Transformation Officer in June 2026

Purdue Global has appointed John Higgins as Chief Transformation Officer, giving the longtime Purdue University finance and operations leader responsibility for planning and executing strategic projects across the institution.

Higgins began the full-time position in June 2026. His remit covers project planning, change readiness, and the performance and execution of initiatives involving Purdue Global departmental leaders and strategic partners.

Eva Nodine, Chief Executive Officer of Purdue Global, announced the appointment on LinkedIn and linked the position to the institution's student success priorities.

"At PG, our mission has always been centered around our students, and having John on board means we are ready to amplify our focus on student success," she wrote. "He will be leading our most important strategic projects, bringing the vision and leadership needed to drive meaningful transformation across the institution."

Experience across finance, research and institutional change

Higgins joins Purdue Global after more than 21 years at Purdue University, where his work covered financial management and enterprise-wide projects across research, human resources, capital assets and student financial operations.

Most recently, he served as Assistant Vice President Finance, Research Support from August 2024 to June 2026. The position included developing service expectations for post-award account management, creating centralized onboarding and training for finance and research support positions, and redesigning research support tools.

He concurrently served as Executive Director Research Finance and Account Management between December 2022 and December 2024, providing financial leadership to academic units and parts of Purdue's research enterprise.

Earlier transformation roles included Senior Director, Human Capital Management Transformation Project and Director, Enterprise Asset Management Transformation Project. Those positions involved changes to business processes and system integrations across recruitment, onboarding, payroll, benefits, performance management, construction and plant maintenance.

Higgins described the connection between technology and institutional operations in his LinkedIn profile: "I have a keen interest in ensuring that business and technology are aligned to drive improvement for the consumers of higher education, and the higher education workforce."

Before joining Purdue Global, his final Purdue University role focused on reducing administrative work for researchers through redesigned support tools, centralized training and changes to finance support structures.