Institute director to retire this year

IU-Purdue University Indianapolis professor John Krauss will be leaving his position as a professor and director of the IU Public Policy Institute on the Indianapolis campus.

Krauss is the founding director of the IU Public Policy Institute, an applied research organization within the IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs.

In addition, he teaches classes at the McKinney School of Law and SPEA. 

Krauss has accepted a one-time financial incentive for retirement, making this his last year working full-time at the University.

Although Krauss works exclusively at IUPUI, his work through SPEA has affected all IU campuses.

“I have come to appreciate the talent and creativity that is throughout the University system,” Krauss said. “There is a tremendous amount of resources and intellectual capital that the University and its schools have as well as its students. My job is trying to harness some of that to deal with today’s and future issues that are facing this state.”

His colleagues said few people have had such an overarching influence on public affairs within IU and the state.

“I feel very fortunate that I was able to take the class,” Grant Kirsh, a third-year student at the McKinney School, said. “After talking to different judges and lawyers, I realized that he is kind of a celebrity amongst the legal community.”

Although he is technically retiring, Krauss said he will not leave the University completely. He said he plans to continue to teach at McKinney as well as continue his work with mediation and public policy.

“I want to continue to be engaged,” Krauss said.

His retirement is merely the close of one chapter of his career, Krauss said.
“On to the next,” he said.

Through the IU Public Policy Institute, Krauss has worked on a variety of influential projects throughout Indiana.

In 2007, former Gov. Mitch Daniels asked the IU Public Policy Institute to undertake the job of looking into options for a reorganization of Indiana local government. Krauss and his colleagues staffed and researched this project. 

Former Chief Justice Randall Shepard collaborated with Krauss on the project.
“Better than almost anybody I’ve met, he manages to take very complicated subjects and sort out the choices that decision makers will need to make for the future,” Shepard said.

Krauss also worked on a project that informed Indiana voters about the three gubernatorial candidates in 2012.

Krauss and the IU Public Policy Institute identified the major issues facing Indiana, met with the governors’ campaign staffs and organized a public forum that was broadcast on public television.

In addition to Krauss’s work through the University, he also works with nonprofit organizations throughout the state.

He has worked as a consultant for the Indianapolis Neighborhood Housing Program, which works in neighborhood development and helps low-income families become real-estate owners.

“He cares so deeply about Indiana,” Shepard said. “He throws himself into every worthy project where he has the chance.”