The La Follette School of Public Affairs hosted former Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels on February 16 for its annual Spring Spotlight.
Highlighted by a public event in the Memorial Union’s Shannon Hall that drew a crowd of more than 400, Daniels shared lessons from his impressive career in public service and gave his thoughts on the state of higher education and public policy. He also promoted the importance of civility and talking across the political divide in politics and policymaking.
Daniels’ career included two terms as Indiana governor, a decade as president of Purdue University, and two and a half years as director of the Office of Management and Budget under President George W. Bush.
Governor Daniels’ time in Madison also included class visits with graduate and undergraduate students, meetings with campus leaders, an alumni and friends reception, and an event with WisPolitics. Daniels started his campus visit with a meeting with Chancellor Mnookin, followed by a class visit to Professor Tony Lo Sasso’s PA 201: Introduction to Health Policy in the US. His engaging conversation with undergraduates largely focused on his experiences and views on health policy, and he left the class impressed by the students and the quality of their questions.
After lunch, Daniels visited Professor Christine Durrance’s PA 873: Introduction to Policy Analysis. The graduate seminar provided a more intimate setting, and Daniels enjoyed his time with La Follette students who will soon be charting their own courses in the policy world. Several stayed after to ask him additional questions and get career guidance.
The evening’s festivities began with the alumni and friends reception that typically precedes the Spring Spotlight public event. Always a special occasion, this year’s was particularly noteworthy. Chuck Pruitt, who serves on La Follette’s Board of Visitors and Herb Kohl Philanthropies’ Board of Directors, announced a $30 million lead gift from Herb Kohl Philanthropies to support programming and renovations to UW–Madison’s Music Hall.
The iconic building at the base of Bascom Hill will serve as La Follette’s future home under the new name of Herb Kohl Hall.
Immediately after the reception, Chancellor Mnookin made the first public announcement of Herb Kohl Philanthropies’ gift and the renaming of Music Hall to cement Senator Herb Kohl’s legacy on the UW-Madison campus.
Chancellor Mnookin was followed by Spring Spotlight sponsor Ted Kellner. Before introducing Daniels, Kellner spoke of the importance of civility, finding common ground, and breaking down the walls that have driven the United States toward tribalism.
Daniels’ visit concluded the following morning with a policymaker breakfast at the Madison Club in partnership with WisPolitics-State Affairs.
In addition to Ted and Mary Kellner, the 2026 Spring Spotlight was made possible by the Kohl Initiative, the College of Letters & Science, the Paul Offner Lecture Series, the Center for Research on the Wisconsin Economy, the Center for the Study of Liberal Democracy, and the Tommy G. Thompson Center on Public Leadership.