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Former United States Attorney General Eric Holder visited the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law on March 2. Holder spoke to a rapt, capacity crowd in the Wynne Courtroom at Inlow Hall, and to an overflow crowd in Room 300 who viewed the lecture via a live video feed.

After making a few opening remarks, Holder opened the floor for questions directly from the audience. In the crowd, Holder recognized his former colleague, Anderson University president John Pistole, ’81. Pistole began a career with the FBI in 1983 before rising through the ranks and being named deputy director in 2004. Pistole was director of the Transportation Security Administration in President Obama’s administration, a post he took over in 2010.

Holder served as the nation’s 82^nd Attorney General from February 2009 to April 2015; the third longest term of service for anyone in that post and the first African-American to hold the office. Since leaving the Attorney General’s office, Holder has resumed his position as a partner at Covington & Burling in Washington, D.C.

Including his term as Attorney General, Holder has served in government for more than 30 years, and has been appointed to various positions requiring U.S. Senate confirmation by Presidents Obama, Clinton, and Reagan. Holder served as Deputy Attorney General from 1997 to 2001, as U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia from 1993 to 1997, as Associate Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia, and as a trial attorney in the Public Integrity Section of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Criminal Division.

The event was organized by IU McKinney’s Office of Professional Development, and several students were given the opportunity to meet Holder and ask questions. Holder’s visit was part of the 2017 Steward Speaker Series. Holder also spoke before a capacity crowd at the IUPUI Campus Center after the event at Inlow Hall.