Daniels talks higher education hours before Purdue chooses him as their next president

A day before Purdue University's Board of Trustees decide on their next president, Governor Mitch Daniels spoke about higher education. The Governor is expected to take the job after his term even though he would not directly address the topic in public Wednesday.

It appears, his final term as governor may be his goodbye to politics.

"I said all along this is the one office that I'd ever run for, ever intended to," said Gov. Daniels.

Daniels said there are other ways to be a 'constructive citizen,' and he did not waiver when confronted with criticism about his administration's record on higher education.

"There was a recession, and everyone had to tighten budgets a little," he said.

"We've been in better shape than a lot of other states, but at the same time, we've had tuition increases and budget cuts," said Margaret Ferguson, Chair of IUPUI's Political Science Department.

Ferguson also admits she was somewhat surprised by the news, claiming Daniels has never made higher education a top priority.

"The governor has recently been talking about those things, but it hasn't been a primary focus for him," said Ferguson.

What is clear is the governor's long list of jobs in both the private and public sector.

"Maybe someone who reveres higher education and wants very desperately to see it succeed as well as possible, but comes at things from a sightly different maybe complimentary set of experiences, can contribute something," said Daniels.

Daniels said he will finish his term.

He appointed eight of the university's 10 trustees, three of whom he re-appointed recently.