Daniels ready for new role as Purdue president - 13 WTHR Indianapolis

It may already have the momentum of a freight train, but the "Boilermaker Special" is about to get a new engineer.

Not everyone is happy with the apparent choice of Gov. Mitch Daniels as the new Purdue president.

For nearly eight years he has toiled for Indiana's future. It things progress as expected Thursday at Purdue University, he will continue to do just that, just in a much different capacity.

The man who worked for Presidents Reagan and George W. Bush and for the people of Indiana is now at age 63 weighing yet another option.

"My wife has a good way of cutting through these things. She said to me when you went to do this job you had never seen the White House before. When you went to that job you had never run a small business before. When you went to Lilly you never worked in that business before and on and on. So what are you scared of?" he explained.

When a reporter asked if his family approved of the change, the governor responded, "what change?" to some laughter.

"He's a good man for our times here," said State Sen. Luke Kenley (R).

Sen. Kenley chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee. He has had university presidents testify before him about state funding. He has even had the governor testify before him, but he has never had a former governor testify in the capacity of college president before.

Kenley admits it will be interesting, but he is quick to add, "he's a scholar himself. He will insist on maintaining excellence at the affordable price. He did that in state government. Look at the BMV. The service is better than it has ever been and the budget is as small as it's been for many years."

While most of the feedback has been positive, there is some pushback. An electronic petition is being circulated alleging a Board of Trustees vote in favor of Daniels represents a conflict of interest since he appointed eight of its ten members. It also cites an Indiana State Ethics Commission requirement that all executive branch employees comply with a mandatory one-year cooling off period when considering employment with organizations that do business with the state.

Eyewitness News asked the governor if he still intends to serve out the remainder of his term.

"You are going to serve it out?"

"Absolutely," was his answer.