Dr. Depew became the fourth Dean of the School of Technology at Purdue University on July 1, 2002. Prior to returning to Purdue as Dean of Technology, Dr. Depew served as the Dean of the College of Applied Sciences at Western Carolina University from 1999-2002.

He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from East Tennessee State University, before coming to Purdue to pursue the Doctor of Philosophy degree in 1985. He joined the faculty of Purdue's Department of Industrial Technology in 1987, as an assistant professor. During his tenure at Purdue, Dr. Depew served as Head of the Department of Industrial Technology, University Coordinator of Excellence 21, and Assistant Dean of the Graduate School.

During his days in the classroom, Dr. Depew won or was nominated for numerous teaching awards, including the James G. Dwyer Award presented to the Outstanding Teacher in the School of Technology. He has served as principal investigator or co-principal investigator for over 1.8 million dollars in external grants to support academic programs and applied research projects in his department and school. He is the author of more than 50 technical publications and papers and has served as a technical consultant for Fortune 500 companies on the subject of quality and productivity improvement.

Dr. Depew has served the National Association of Industrial Technology as president of the university division, chair of the executive board, and is currently chair of the foundation board. He is also a senior member of the American Society for Quality, the American Association for Engineering Education, and Epsilon Pi Tau Honorary Society.