WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. (AP) – Purdue University President Mitch Daniels says he made a judgment error delivering a paid speech at a conservative Minnesota think tank's fundraiser.
 
In a public letter published online Thursday by the Journal & Courier, (posted below) Daniels says he has turned down many appearances because the potential downsides outweighed the opportunity to promote Purdue. He says he should have done the same when The Center of the American Experiment approached him.
 
Some Purdue faculty members have questioned the speech Monday because Daniels has said repeatedly he would avoid partisan political activities as Purdue president. Daniels says his remarks were “scrupulously nonpartisan.
 
Daniels hasn't disclosed how much he was paid. He says he'll use the honorarium to help fund scholarships that he and his wife, Cheri, are providing to Purdue students.

Written by

Mitch Daniels

For the Journal & Courier

 

 

I read carefully the Journal & Courier editorial  about a speech I gave recently, along with similar critiques from others, and I find them persuasive. Accepting this particular invitation  was a close call, and I conclude that better judgment would have been to decline.

I would like to assure those concerned that I gave a scrupulously nonpartisan speech, as I had told the hosts was a requirement of my acceptance. Its themes were how to deliver basic services effectively, how to bring people together across political lines, the importance of civility in public discourse, and the centrality of social mobility and opportunity for the yet-to-haves in our society as goals of public policy.

I complied with every rule of university policy and with every rule of my contract. For what it’s worth, I will use the honorarium to help fund the two full tuition scholarships that Cheri, my wife, and I are providing to Purdue students in each entering class.

But facts and rules aren’t the determining factor here. Perceptions, and understandable misperceptions, matter even more.

At least for now, I am receiving an extraordinary number of opportunities to bring Purdue to the attention of important and influential audiences like the one in Minneapolis, and I consider that a significant part of my job. I try to weigh in each case the opportunity versus any downside as to appearances, and have turned down dozens on that basis.

On reflection, this invitation should have fallen on that side of the line. I accept the validity of the criticism and will try to avoid similar judgment errors in the future.