Confessions of the student turned VIP

Last year was Pete Goldsmith’s first as IU’s Dean of Students. The alumnus tells us about his own days as a Hoosier, how he copes with student deaths, and why he wants to dine with the Queen of England.

On what exactly “Hoosier” means to him:
Goldsmith Well, the story I’ve heard most often is that back in pioneer days, folks would yell out of the wagon when they heard voices, “Who’s here?” It got mashed into “Hoosier.” But I’m open to other interpretations.

On dealing with student deaths:
Goldsmith It’s always an extremely sad thing. I don’t ever claim to be able to know particularly how parents feel, but as long as I’ve done this, I just can’t imagine. You just try to provide as much support as you can.

On the biggest challenges he faced as a student at IU:
Goldsmith I think for me it was the fear of failure. My family was living in Maryland, so I came out here knowing nobody. It was kind of figuring out how to navigate in this place and manage in this place, and really just not wanting to fail. I had been a relatively good high school student, not a 4.0 student by any stretch, but trying to think about how I could be successful here.

On what it was like being in ROTC as a student:
Goldsmith In the late ’60s, it was very interesting. For me, it was particularly challenging because I was also a government major interested in developing countries. In my classes, I was reading lots of things that were highly critical of the Vietnam War and of foreign policy and kind of our ways of thinking of the world. In ROTC, I was hearing about the dangers of communism and the dangers of the so-called “domino theory” that if Vietnam fell, the rest of Southeast Asia would fall. So it was really quite a contrast, and I was trying to resolve all of that in my head.

On his hobbies:
Goldsmith My grandson and I love model trains. He and I love to do that when we have a chance. Then I have this car, a VW Thing that I like to tinker with and drive around. It was orange, but now it’s Indiana red. When I was here interviewing, I was asked how I would be known quickly on the campus, and my answer was the car.

On what three people he would like to have dinner with:
Goldsmith I would like to have dinner with Barack Obama because I think he’s really amazing in terms of his energy and vision and calmness. I mean, think about what he’s done in the last few weeks with health care, and yet he seems really focused and not overly exercised. I think also Nelson Mandela. He has this vision for what a better South Africa could be and what a better world could be. And I would love to have dinner with the Queen of England. My wife and I both enjoy British history and culture, and I think it would be fascinating to see the world through her eyes.