Creating World-class Engagement
What’s the purest form of engagement? Mitch Daniels, former Governor and presidential timber class of 2012, traveled south to Columbus Indiana May 5 to address a group of people responsible for bringing almost a billion dollars in fresh capital investment to the Hoosier state. Referencing his current role as president of Purdue University, Daniels outlined the impact that a land grant university can have.
Signed into law during the Civil War, a main purpose of land grant universities like Purdue is to “throw open the doors of college beyond the elite,” said Daniels. The former high-impact Governor noted that Purdue’s extension programs first helped develop what is today commonly called “engagement” between universities and communities.
He noted that Indiana had the second highest rate of per capita personal income growth in the nation, a turnaround trend that began during his tenure as Governor. As a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) – centric institution, Purdue helps drive that trend as a research university which, in Daniels’ view, has became a “hub of economic opportunity and growth.”
The Purdue president cited Purdue’s capacity to “change the world,” noting that “a good business model is to do more of what you’re good at.” What is Purdue good at in terms of being a world-changer? Two key opportunities lie in advancing plant science research (“how will we feed eight-nine billion people?”) and investing in drug discovery. (Purdue obviously impacts the world on a grand scale beyond those two sectors, but these offer great opportunity)
So what is the purest form of engagement from Daniel’s perspective? “The purest form of engagement is to give birth to new hope and opportunity that holds a free society together.”
During his presidency, that will constitute Daniels’ vision now and for the future.
Humor note: the typically dry former Governor cracked several anecdotal stories during his address to the Columbus economic development group, including a summary quote from the founder of Jimmy Johns, who had been approached to move his operations from Illinois to Indiana. Johns said that following the pitch from the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, he received a call from then-Gov. Daniels, which was most impressive. Daniels even gave him his personal e-mail address and cell number, with an invitation to contact him at any time.
Quipped Johns (as quoted in the story): when one receives the cell number of an Illinois Governor, one is usually talking about something quite different.