News Archive

U.S. Senator Dan Coats, '72, delivered the keynote address at the groundbreaking ceremony for the building that will house Indiana University's newest school, the School of Global and International Studies.

The School of Global and International Studies, part of the College of Arts and Sciences, will comprise more than 350 core and affiliated faculty members from across the university. The building will be located on 10th Street near the Herman B Wells Library and the Arboretum in Bloomington. The ceremony was held at the IU Auditorium on April 29. In addition to Senator Coats' speech, Vice President Joe Biden offered remarks via video.

Senator Coats is an Army veteran, and a graduate of Wheaton College, in addition to being an alumnus of the law school. After completing his legal studies, he worked for a life insurance company in Fort Wayne before joining the office of then-Congressman Dan Quayle, '74, as a district representative. He ran for office in 1980 and won a seat in the House of Representatives for the state’s 4th District. When Quayle resigned his U.S. Senate seat after being elected vice president of the United States in 1988, Coats was appointed to complete the term.

Coats stepped down as senator in 1999 in order to keep a term-limits pledge he made to voters. He then worked with the Washington, D.C., law firm Verner Liipfert Bernhard McPherson & Hand. He was named ambassador to Germany in 2001, a post he held until 2005, where he played a critical role in establishing a strong relationship with Chancellor Angela Merkel, and oversaw construction of a new U.S. embassy in Berlin. After serving as ambassador, he worked at the law firm King & Spalding in Washington, D.C.

In 2010, Senator Coats began his second tenure representing Indiana in Congress and serves on four Senate committees: Appropriations; Select Intelligence; Commerce, Science and Transportation; and the Joint Economic Committee. He also serves on one of the Senate's four original standing committees, the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, where he oversees policies relating to transportation, communications, consumer affairs, science and technology.