News Archive
IU McKinney Marks IUPUI 50th Anniversary with Alumni Jeffrey Boles and Doug Boles
11/19/2018
A luncheon with IU McKinney School of Law students and the Honorable Jeffrey Boles, ’74, a retired judge from the Hendricks Circuit Court, and his son, Doug Boles,’00, president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, (left, with students) on November 13 celebrated the 50th anniversary of the IUPUI campus.
Father and son discussed “risky business” as a legal concept and at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, and made the case for the benefits of a law degree.
“That law degree will open more doors than anything you’ve done,” Judge Boles told students.
Doug Boles followed in his father’s footsteps by graduating from Butler University and earning a law degree at IU McKinney, but motorsports is another passion they share.
Judge Boles began law school after a successful career as a classroom teacher. He was engaged in the private practice of law in Danville, Indiana, for several years, and was elected Judge of Hendricks Circuit Court in 1978, and re-elected for six-year terms, retiring in 2014. He has been involved in some of the most prominent trials in central Indiana. Judge Boles taught at his alma mater, Butler University, and has served as an adjunct faculty member at IU McKinney, teaching in our trial practice course.
He is a life Fellow of the Indiana Bar Foundation, and past president of the Indianapolis Law Club. He was president of the Indianapolis “500” Old Timers Club, a board member of the U.S. Auto Club Benevolent Foundation and a member of the selection committee of the Auto Racing Hall of Fame.
As a lifelong Indy 500 super fan, Judge Boles described the thrills of race day, calling the pageantry leading up to the start as “the best half hour of the day,” only followed by the competition between “humans in cars at 200 miles-per-hour.”
Doug Boles was quoted in a 2013 article in USA Today as saying that one of the reasons he went to Butler was so he could be close to the Speedway. He joined the IMS staff in 2010 as vice president of communications, later adding the title of IMS chief operating officer. Prior to his affiliation with IMS, he was a co-founder of Panther Racing, which won Indy Racing League championships in 2001 and 2002, and also served in leadership roles in two marketing agencies.
At the luncheon, Doug Boles talked about the risks that need to be managed during the month of May at the Speedway, including weather and exuberant race spectators. He also shared personal stories, including the support he received from his parents when he took the bar exam.
He encouraged students to look for opportunities to follow their passions, noting that in 1992 he began working for Indianapolis Mayor Stephen Goldsmith as director of governmental and corporate affairs, with one of his accomplishments being the creation of the Motorsport Task Force, with the goal of bringing motorsport businesses to Indianapolis.
“Keep working at it,” he said.
In addition to student attendees, Dean David Russomanno of the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology at IUPUI was a guest at the luncheon. IUPUI was the first university in the United States to offer a bachelor's degree in motorsports engineering.
