Statement from Purdue President Mitch Daniels on Matt Tully's passing

"In a sense, Matt and I were in school together. In 2003-04, I was a no-name, first-time candidate, traveling all over Indiana virtually every day. Ours was Matt’s first major statewide campaign, and he covered us closely, occasionally traveling with us and learning some of what I was learning about the varied peoples and problems of our diverse state.

"Then, and always, Matt probed, and challenged, and criticized when he disagreed. But he was a thorough, tireless, away from the desk journalist, even as technology and market pressures were endangering that valuable species.

"And he was fair. When he saw real results, he acknowledged and reported them. He never fell into the cynicism that “they’re all the same” or that serving in public life automatically marks a person as an untrustworthy self-seeker.

"He loved his son, who has cruelly lost his father just as he enters the years when a boy most needs a firm hand and a good role model. I hope Reid will remember enough of the fine person Matt Tully was to grow up in a way his dad would be proud of."

Mitch Daniels
President, Purdue University