Double Duty

When Kathy Davis was asked to step into the office of lieutenant governor shortly after the October death of Gov. Frank O'Bannon, she wasn't exactly blindsided. \nThe former mechanical engineer and Harvard M.B.A. had worked closely with Indiana lawmakers in various capacities since 1989, when she served as deputy commissioner for the Indiana Department of Transportation. As the state budget director from 1995 to 1997, she directly managed state resources and spending, and a stint with the Family and Social Services Administration dealt her the responsibility of doling out a budget exceeding $4 million.\nMoreover, she was familiar with Joe Kernan, who was unanimously selected by the state legislature to succeed O'Bannon in October, and had worked with him on the 21st Century Research and Development Fund. The statewide initiative, geared toward harnessing technological and economic development, linked the interests of the business community while promoting investments on research in higher education.\nHence Kernan's phone call, asking Davis to serve as his second-in-command, wasn't surprising. \n"A couple of days after Gov. O'Bannon passed away, I had this overwhelming feeling it was going to happen," Davis said. "I'd spent the last four months working with Joe Kernan and wrestling with economic issues. I think he knew I would hear him and deliver on what he wanted to offer the state."\nDavis wasn't thinking long-term. \n"When the lieutenant governor stepped into this position, she said she came for 14 months," Ronnetta Slaughter, Davis's press secretary, said. "It wasn't necessary for her to campaign. She wanted to do what was best for Indiana."\nSo Davis hit the ground running, stimulating conversations between research partners and business investors in life sciences and economic development initiatives. The newly-created Indiana Economic Development Corporation is a result of that drive. The idea behind the public-private partnership, introduced as part of the 2003 Department of Commerce economic development package, she says, is to link ideas and technology to create products translating into more jobs for Hoosiers. \n"We're aiming to place technology where universities and other partners can get to it," Davis said "Lasting technology transfers enable and stimulate greater economic growth."\nDavis targeted the issue of workforce development as the primary priority facing Indiana lawmakers, and it's an issue the DOC's Peak Performer's Project aims to address, first by assessing worker skills and training and then by creating checkpoints with which emerging industry can assess progress.\n"We need to create a targeted picture of the skill gap that exists in the state workforce," Davis said. "When industry develops, there are often multiple agencies placing regulations on that emerging business, and it's a chase to figure everything out. We want to bring everyone to the table and establish the needs of each agency at one time."\nThe DOC is currently undergoing a reorganization plan encompassing 12 offices and including a provision to establish advisory councils. \nFurther priorities include increasing the number of high-tech jobs through improved relations between state universities and the business communities; strengthening agricultural exports; and revising policies of smart growth. \nMere minutes after an interview in her cushy State House office in Indianapolis, however Davis is the perennial -- yet perpetually poised -- mother, sitting comfortably in a desk chair before a group of second and third-graders. Her daughter, Molly, sits toward the back of the small crowd, undaunted by the local TV cameras and radio microphones that have suddenly crowded the classroom. After nearly an hour spent pontificating about complex legislative issues, Davis is preparing to read three children's books on the 100th anniversary of Dr. Seuss's birth. \nHow does she manage? \nDavis credits her "great" husband and family for giving her the latitude to tackle workdays that often span from 7 a.m. to late in the evening, and says her mother-in-law and son, an IU-Purdue University Indianapolis student, are instrumental in making things work. \nAnd what does Molly think about Mom's highly visible attention? \n"It's small potatoes," Mom says. "At first, she was all excited. After awhile, though, she asked, 'Mom, can I be president in 30 years?'"\n-- Contact senior writer Holly Johnson at hljohnso@indiana.edu.