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INDIANAPOLIS -- The inauguration for newly sworn-in Gov. Mitch Daniels came Monday with a roar from the crowd of more than 10,000 people. Daniels pledged to continue aiming high and made a plea for publicly-funded institutions to help the areas within which they reside.\n"Our universities must also use every opportunity to help the neighbors whose tax dollars support them," Daniels said.\nWith those words, "My Man Mitch" became "My Gov. Mitch," Indiana's 49th Governor, Monday morning at the Pepsi Coliseum in Indianapolis. Lt. Gov. Becky Skillman also was sworn in during the ceremony. Daniels told Hoosiers to expect great things, but cooperation is needed.\n"It's time to raise a new barn in Indiana, a new, stronger structure to house new tools and to make possible far richer future harvests," Daniels said. "We will need the whole community to show up."\nDaniels also emphasized his desire to get to work and deliver his legislative agenda to the speaker of the House, Brian Bosma, after his inauguration. \nDaniels' legislative package includes eliminating ineffective city boards and state commissions, creating a department of agriculture, restoring public trust in government by enacting tougher ethical standards for executive branch employees, strengthening misconduct penalties for big business and improving schools for Hoosier children. \n"In the seats of honor at this ceremony are the VIPs of this weekend, people I met and came to know during my 16-month interview for the job I undertake today. They come from the largest of our cities, from the tiniest of our towns and from the rural spaces in between," Daniels said. "I love them as individuals, but I love equally the way in which they personify the qualities which, if called forth now, will surely carry us over our current difficulties and back to greatness as a state." \nDaniels also spoke about many younger Hoosiers' discouragement regarding current economic opportunities for college graduates in Indiana.\n"The young people of Indiana are watching us today, whether their classroom is tuned in or not. I know, from having met thousands of them in their schools, at their games and on the streets of their towns, that they love this state, and overwhelmingly they hope to make it their home as adults," Daniels said. "Over and over, they have told me in identical words: 'I want to stay, but?'..."\nTodd Perkins, a dairy farmer from Stroh, Ind., pop. 250, said he saw RV1 -- Daniels' mode of transportation for 16 months on his tours of Indiana counties -- driving through his small town two weeks after the late Gov. Frank O'Bannon died. Perkins was struck by Daniels' charisma after a half-hour discussion about the concerns of being a farmer in a small town.\n"I'm from a very small town, and I saw the RV going into town, so I told my son, 'Let's go meet the next governor of Indiana,'" Perkins said. "I talked to him for a half hour about my concerns. I'm a dairy farmer, so I'm worried about environmental issues. (When I talked to Mitch,) I was struck by how genuine and authentic he was, and I had always wondered about people in his position. It's time for change."\nDawn Stephenson, a resident of Monroeville, Ind., spoke about how personable Daniels was when she met him during breakfast one day in her town. \nStephenson's son was left disabled in an automobile accident. With this concern in mind, she talked to Daniels about her worries regarding disability issues and offered him a special gift.\n"He was so personable when I talked to him, he talks with his eyes. I was so impressed, and he wanted to know about me," Stephenson said. "As I left that room, I remember touching the cross pin that was on my shirt. I had been wearing it ever since I found out about my son's accident. I went back inside the restaurant and gave my cross to Mitch and told him might need it. He said he'd been given a lot of things, but he'd never been given a cross off someone's shirt. I'm so very blessed to have met Mitch and have him lead us in a new direction."\nAmong new friends were old friends, like Will Ukes, a former teacher from Westlane Middle School - known as Westlane Junior High School when Daniels attended. Ukes said he remembers Daniels as a trouble-free student. \nMike Aycok, a former classmate of Daniels' at Westlane, said the governor was "fun-loving, respectful and highly energetic."\nDaniels reiterated the need for change as a key topic Monday.\n"Let's nobody sit home. ... Every person who volunteers at a free clinic, a food bank, a nursing home, is putting a plank in place. Every young person who studies a little harder or signs up for a tougher course is driving a nail," Daniels said. "Every citizen who stops smoking, or loses a few pounds or starts managing his chronic disease with real diligence, is caulking a crack for the benefit of us all."\nNewly sworn-in Lt. Gov. Skillman, a member of the Indiana General Assembly since 1992, became the first woman elected to Senate Republican leadership. Skillman said she is excited to go back to the General Assembly and preside over the Senate. \n"I'm very excited, this is the first time I've not seen many of my colleagues in awhile," Skillman said. "I'm eager to see my old friends on both sides of the aisle."\nDaniels concluded his speech by saying it's time to get to work.\n"We know our assignment; we will spare no effort. We ask only that you join us, each in your own best way, in rebuilding an edifice of excellence in which a great Hoosier future can be housed," Daniels said. "And now if you will excuse me, I have to get to work."\n-- Contact Senior Writer Lindsay Jancek at lmjancek@indiana.edu.