Higher Ed, Public Policy, and a Divided America with Governor Mitch Daniels

Mitch Daniels, governor of Indiana (2005-2013) and former president of Purdue University, will headline our Spring Spotlight public event.

About the event

The La Follette School is committed to promoting thoughtful, informed policy conversations from multiple perspectives. We are proud to be part of UW–Madison’s commitment to advancing civil dialogue through the Wisconsin Exchange.

In this spirit, we are pleased to host Mitch Daniels, former governor of Indiana and president emeritus of Purdue University, as our 2026 Spring Spotlight speaker. He will explore the state of politics and policymaking, potential solutions for higher education, ways to find common ground amid divisiveness, and more.

In a moderated conversation with Susan Webb Yackee, the director of the La Follette School of Public Affairs, Governor Daniels will share perspectives gleaned from a unique career that reached the highest levels of both state government and higher education.

This in-person presentation is part of our Policymaker in Residence and Paul Offner speaker series.

Governor Mitch Daniels

Mitchell Daniels served as a two-term governor of the state of Indiana from 2005 to 2013 and as the 12th president of Purdue University from 2013 to 2022. He currently serves a Distinguished Scholar and Senior Advisor at the Liberty Fund.

Prior to becoming governor, Daniels served as chief of staff to Senator Richard Lugar, senior advisor to President Ronald Reagan and director of the Office of Management and Budget under President George W. Bush. He also was the CEO of the Hudson Institute and had an 11-year career as an executive at Eli Lilly and Company.

Daniels earned a bachelor’s degree from Princeton’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs and a law degree from Georgetown. He is the author of three books and a contributing columnist in the Washington Post.