Today, Monday, May 20, Chapman University President Daniele C. Struppa announced his plan to retire as president.
His last day as President of Chapman University will be September 1, 2025, at which time he will return to the mathematics faculty.
Struppa joined Chapman in 2006 as provost and chief academic officer and was appointed chancellor a year later. He became the university’s 13th president in 2016.
A native of Milan, Italy, Struppa came to the United States in 1978 to pursue his Ph.D. at the University of Maryland. He is a mathematician who has authored 10 volumes and more than 200 peer-reviewed publications, including co-authoring a dozen papers in the last two years. He holds several patents in the field of signal processing, is a member of the National Academy of Inventors, and has lectured around the world.
As president of Chapman, he has presided over the university during a time of unprecedented success – record applications and fundraising and a growing national profile. Achievements include becoming an R2 research institution, moving into the national rankings, establishing a chapter of the national honor society Phi Beta Kappa, advancing exponential growth in faculty and student research and the graduation of Chapman’s first Rhodes Scholar. Transformational hires under Struppa’s leadership while provost include Nobel Laureate Vernon Smith and National Medal of Science honoree Yakir Aharonov, with whom Struppa had worked while at George Mason University.
“I believe Chapman is living some of its best years. We are fiscally very strong, with indicators such as enrollment, retention and graduation all painting a picture of an institution in excellent health. And our comprehensive campaign thrives as we see a continuous flow of support from our friends in the community,” said Struppa in a statement to the campus community. “I am further convinced that Chapman’s best years lie ahead. We have a well-developed strategic plan, and we have already begun to look far into the future with ambitious and yet reachable goals for our institution.”
Under Struppa’s leadership, Chapman successfully executed the completion of the 2019-2023 strategic plan, “Engineering the Future,” which drove Chapman’s expanded research agenda, established the Fowler School of Engineering and opened the Keck Center for Science and Engineering and within it, the Swenson Family Hall of Engineering, among other accomplishments.
Struppa’s accomplishments also extend to increased enrollment and expanded student housing. During his eight years as president, Chapman’s enrollment grew more than 17 percent, even as many other institutions experienced declines. To meet the growth in enrollment, he oversaw the development and opening of the Chapman Grand Residence Hall in 2018, the K Residence Hall in 2019, and the conversion of Chapman Court, which opens this fall. Combined, these facilities will provide campus housing to about 2,100 more Chapman students, raising the university’s housing capacity to almost 55 percent of the undergraduate population, thus enabling a greater number of students to fully participate in the Chapman experience.
In 2023, under President Struppa’s leadership, Chapman launched “Our Path to Greatness,” the university’s current five-year strategic plan. “Our Path to Greatness” has already completed several initiatives, including enhancing academic and organizational excellence and key building projects. These projects include the completion of the Sandi Simon Center for Dance in the historic Villa Park Orchards packing house, the completed expansion of the Hilbert Museum of California Art, the completion of the Campus Center at Chapman’s Rinker campus in Irvine, and the continued restoration of the Lydia D. Killefer School building. The Killefer building will eventually house Chapman’s Institute of Quantum Studies and its Advanced Physics Lab, presently located in Washington, D.C.
“Our Path to Greatness” also includes Chapman’s most ambitious fundraising campaign in the university’s 163-year history, with over $387 million of its $500 million goal already raised. Chapman’s endowment has more than doubled during Struppa’s tenure, growing from about $300 million to approximately $780 million, and the university’s net assets have also doubled during this time to more than $1.8 billion.
“President Struppa has been an exceptional leader, and Chapman has been fortunate to have his vision and wisdom guide the university to achieve the remarkable growth and success we have seen during his presidency,” said Chapman Board of Trustees Chair Parker Kennedy. “He is a cherished member of the Chapman family and will be missed as president, but we are grateful that he will continue his scholarship and teaching as a member of the faculty.”
Struppa’s awards include the 2016 Cozzarelli Prize from the National Academy of Sciences, which honors excellence and originality in the sciences, the Ellis Island Medal of Honor, which honors American immigrants for their professional, cultural and civic contributions and Advocate of the Year for Higher Ground, an Orange County nonprofit that serves youth and families in under-resourced communities. He has been the Donald Bren Presidential Chair in Mathematics since 2016 and received the CUPA-HR’s 2021 Chief Executive HR Champion Award.
In addition to his leadership of Chapman and in his field of expertise, Struppa has created a partnership and has been personally involved with the Nicholas Academic Center, which supports underserved youth in Orange County. He has served on a number of boards, including the Orange County Business Council, the Richard Nixon Foundation, the Association of Independent California Colleges and Universities, the Center for Media and Public Policy, the Statistical Assessment Service in Washington, D.C., and serves as a trustee of the American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates.
He is married to Dr. Lisa Sparks, founding dean of Chapman’s School of Communication, and is the father of four children, Alessandro, Elena, Arianna, and Athena.
Chapman Board of Trustees Chair Kennedy stated that a formal search committee will be established to lead the search for Struppa’s successor, and updates to the community will be provided soon and throughout the process.
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About Chapman University
Founded in 1861, Chapman University is a nationally ranked private university in Orange, California, about 30 miles south of Los Angeles. Chapman serves nearly 10,000 undergraduate and graduate students, with a 12:1 student-to-faculty ratio. Students can choose from 123 areas of study within 11 colleges for a personalized education. Chapman is categorized by the Carnegie Classification as an R2 “high research activity” institution. Students at Chapman learn directly from distinguished world-class faculty including Nobel Prize winners, MacArthur fellows, published authors and Academy Award winners. The campus has produced a Rhodes Scholar, been named a top producer of Fulbright Scholars and hosts a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honor society. Chapman also includes the Harry and Diane Rinker Health Science Campus in Irvine. The university features the No. 4 film school and No. 60 business school in the U.S. Learn more about Chapman University: www.chapman.edu.
Media Contact:
Molly Thrasher, Director of Public Relations | thrasher@chapman.edu | Mobile: 657-561-4359
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