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Recently retired Indiana Chief Justice Randall T. Shepard has been named the first executive in residence at the Indiana University Public Policy Institute in IU's School of Public and Environmental Affairs. The appointment also includes a relationship with the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law.

As executive in residence, Shepard will work with PPI on finding ways that nonpartisan research and data can help leaders understand the challenges and opportunities of the future. Under the two-year joint academic appointment with SPEA and the law school, Shepard will lead executive seminars and mentor faculty and staff as they develop academic programs focused on the relationship between law and public policy.

"When I decided to leave the bench, it was with the hope that I could find new opportunities to contribute in a meaningful way, and my appointment with PPI certainly fits the bill," Shepard said. "I find it attractive as a combination of public policy exploration that's anchored in rigorous academic enterprise and focused on engaging audiences beyond the university who are charged with leading public institutions."

Shepard has co-chaired two recent projects for PPI: Policy Choices for Indiana's Future, which provides policy guidance for Indiana officials and candidates for office; and the Indiana Commission on Local Government Reform, which was formed by Governor Mitch Daniels and staffed by PPI.

"The chief justice's years as leader of one branch of Indiana government have prepared him to be an expert resource and mentor for the work we do at the IU Public Policy Institute," said institute Director John L. Krauss. "We are gratified and pleased that he has chosen to give us the benefit of his knowledge and experience and to use the institute as a forum through which he can continue to help shape Indiana's future. And his past work with PPI ensures that he will hit the ground running."

Shepard retired in March after serving on the Indiana Supreme Court for 27 years. He had been chief justice for a quarter of a century, making him the nation's longest-serving state court chief justice. He will continue judicial services as a senior judge at the Indiana Court of Appeals, and he anticipates being involved in other endeavors.

A native Hoosier who served in city government and as a judge in Evansville and Vanderburgh County before being appointed to the Indiana Supreme Court in 1985, Shepard has been recognized nationally for his service and expertise. In 2006, he was appointed by U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts to serve on a committee that advises the U.S. Supreme Court.