Thomas Reilly Jr.: 'IU will have to increasingly act more like a private university'

Sacred cows aren't even safe from the critical eye of IU trustee Thomas Reilly Jr. The former Indiana business leader with a passion for higher education won't be afraid to ask questions about widely accepted University policy, his associates said.\n"He's not only open-minded, he's also an envelope pusher who asks people questions to see their reactions, then follows up with more questions," said Kent Weldon, the deputy commissioner of the Indiana Commission for Higher Education, who worked with Reilly for about five months. "He'll raise questions about policies that are otherwise seen as sacred cows and ask, 'Is this working?' It's a quality you'd want for that position."\nGov. Mitch Daniels recently appointed Reilly and two other trustees to positions on the nine-member board. Co-workers said he'll use years of business and higher education experience to bring vision, accountability and new ideas to trustee meetings. Relating individual campuses' missions with the needs of the state, and keeping current in the fields of life sciences, information technology and research are some of his goals for IU, Reilly said. \nIn the business world, Reilly served for 13 years as chair of Reilly Industries, Inc., a private, family-run chemical company in Indianapolis that makes everything from coal tar to vitamin B3. He also served as president and CEO for the American Chemistry Council, an organization representing leading U.S. chemical makers.\n"He has a collaborative leadership style -- he would always seek out other people's opinions," said Jackie Simmons, the vice president and general manager of Reilly Industries, Inc., who worked with Reilly for 12 years. "He's very outgoing, warm and genuine. He's a very open person."\nIn the hallowed halls of higher education, Reilly served on the Butler University board of trustees and was chair of the Committee on Higher Education for the Indiana Government Efficiency Commission. The six-member committee reviewed Hoosier higher education and decided the state's economy depended on major changes in the entire system's organization, according to a report released by the council. \nHe received his bachelor's degree from Stanford University and a master's in business from Harvard University, both private schools with high rankings. His experiences as a student and board member at private universities will also be an asset, with falling state funds becoming a major problem for IU.\nAdopting some business practices from private schools, which don't rely on state funds to run, will be key for IU, Reilly said. \n"We're having to build buildings with little help from the state," he said. "IU will have to increasingly act more like a private university"