I would expect Berghoff and the Trustees to have made it clear the importance Athletics has as the front door to the university. Mitch has done a tremendous job for Purdue for the past decade, but honestly the unsung heroes in the turnaround in Athletics this past decade is tied largely (IMO) to the BOT shifting towards a group of folks that actually understand the shared dynamics between Athletics and Academics. They have been the impetus for the change in funding and operations management that has allowed Purdue to climb out of the Hazell/Cordova debacle. Whether or not Chiang has previously been a follower of athletics, during his 6 month apprenticeship I expect he will be tutored accordingly as to his role in putting a supportive face to the cause. The Cordova Lessons Learned regarding athletics have not yet been forgotten, and as he works for the BOT, and if he were for some reason to give any indication of returning to that direction (in part or in whole), I would guess he wouldn'tienhart be president very long. I could be wrong I suppose, but this is how I read it.
