INDIANAPOLIS —
U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar will continue wielding influence in Washington after he leaves office, albeit with a much younger audience.
Lugar is starting a Washington, D.C., internship program with the University of Indianapolis called the Richard G. Lugar Academy. He has also agreed to deliver a handful of lectures each year as a distinguished professor at the private university.
Lugar, 80, said Friday the academy will focus on many of the issues he’s addressed in his 36-year Senate career, including weapons proliferation and global food shortages. He smiled broadly as he talked about mentoring students over the last four decades and said the new program should help more students gain experience in the nation’s capital.
“It will not be mandatory that they have a semester there, or even a few weeks, but many will want to choose that. As a result we will try to introduce them to people in Washington D.C., as well as to problems that everyone there, as well the students, will try to solve,” he said.
He punctuated just how close students could get to international issues by recalling his own experience during the 2001 anthrax attacks on the Capitol, which put the area on even higher alert shortly after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.
“We were rushed out to the Dirksen (Senate office) building, our throats swabbed and told to take Cipro tablets for 48 hours or we might die. And that was not melodramatic, the post office people that handled this died,” he said. “This happened in our country, in my office.”
The question of Lugar’s post-Senate career has lingered since he was defeated in May after a grueling primary battle with the tea party-backed state treasurer Richard Mourdock. Lugar’s name arose as a possible choice to replace the departing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, but aides quickly nixed that idea. He said Friday he was not contacted by the Obama administration about a Cabinet position.
Lugar has travelled the globe promoting non-proliferation since May and was most recently awarded the Defense Department’s highest civilian award for his work with former Georgia Democratic Sen. Sam Nunn.
Lugar said he is looking at potential work with Indiana University and Georgetown University to expand the public service program, and is also in talks with the German Marshall Fund.
Lugar’s announcement marked something of a homecoming for the elder statesman. University President Robert Manuel said in his remarks that it was former University of Indianapolis President Gene Sease who convinced then-Mayor Lugar to teach at the university while running for U.S. Senate in 1976.
“Professor Lugar taught political science that year, giving students a front-row seat to the electoral process,” Manuel said.
Lugar later joked that the job was perfect: he taught in the morning and campaigned in the afternoon and evening.
Breaking News
Related Photos
-
U.S. Sen. Richard Lugar speaks to a crowd of nearly 200 people earlier this year during a Rotary Club meeting at Matterhorn Conference Center in Elkhart. THE GOSHEN NEWS
Lugar starting Washington program for Indiana school
- Breaking News
-
-
Sentence dealt for reckless homicide
GOSHEN — From the witness stand in Elkhart Circuit Court, Kristina Wolfinger could see the man who killed her brother. She described what she didn’t see.
-
Milford Fest activities to fill Saturday
Milford Fest will take place in downtown Milford Saturday.
Events begin at 7 a.m. and continue through 9 p.m. -
Local Memorial Day events set
The following are scheduled Memorial Day services in the area:
-
Charlie Daniels Band coming to Shipshewana
He’s got the hat, the fiddle and the hits. And he’s feeling revitalized.
In a recent telephone interview with The Goshen News, 74-year-old Charlie Daniels said he is feeling like a new man after his pacemaker procedure earlier this year. He says everything is in sync and he is having a great time on the road.
“I’m enjoying this tour and we are looking forward to making music in Indiana,” the country-rock icon said. -
State senate honors Middlebury teen
The Indiana Senate recognized Northridge High School senior Alexandra Hochstetler, who is Indiana’s Distinguished Young Woman.
-
Volunteers help plant annual quilt gardens
GOSHEN - Colorful gardens are popping up across Elkhart and LaGrange counties this week as volunteers plant the annual quilt gardens.
-
Council makes a smart move on tax breaks
The Goshen City Council’s adoption of a tax phase-in policy for local governments will help bring uniformity to a competitive process that has pitted local governments against each other.
-
WWI vet to be honored at dusk to dawn vigil
MIDDLEBURY — Guests speakers at the Middlebury American Legion Post 210 annual dusk to dawn vigil at Grace Lawn Cemetery reads like a who’s who list in Indiana government.
-
Dozens treated after school buses collide
NORTH WEBSTER — A crash involving four Wawasee Community School buses Wednesday resulted in more than 50 injured students, according to Kosciusko County police.
-
Fitness Fridays begin at Parkview LaGrange
Looking for a way to “jump start” your weekend activities? Leaders at Parkview LaGrange Hospital invite the public to join them every Friday at 4 p.m. for a 2-mile walk around the hospital’s half-mile walking track.
- More Breaking News Headlines
-
Sheriff: No Sign Killing of 2 Kids Was Planned
Obama Defends Drone Strikes, With Limits
Raw: Jurors Deadlock on Jodi Arias Penalty
Boy Scouts Decision "First Step" Say Activists
Raw: Utah Teen Arrested in Death of His Brothers
Closer Look at Okla. School Where Children Died
Two Suspects in Murder Known to London Police
Boy Scouts Mom Supports Gay Inclusiveness
"Be Ready": NOAA Warns of Busy Hurricane Season
SeaWorld: Penguins Are Coolest Thing in Florida
Obama Renews Call to Close Gitmo
Obama Offers Drone Strike Defense
Raw: Heckler Interrupts Obama on Guantanamo
A Slice of Apple History Up for Grabs
