When Mitch Daniels went from Governor of Indiana to president of Purdue University, I wondered if he would remain true to his reputation as a no-nonsense guy who cared about efficiency rather than being popular. It would have been easy to just take the reins and then coast along, making a few minor changes but doing nothing of much importance. Now that Daniels has been at Purdue for more than a year and a half, it seems that he is remaining true to his reputation. Rich Vedder writes about Daniels in his latest SeeThru.Edu piece.
While big-spending college presidents who devoted most of their time to fundraising and trying to enhance the image of their schools were the rage for the last three or four decades, Vedder argues that the new model of a successful leader will be much more like Daniels than, oh, Gordon Gee.