Welcome!
My name is Phil Fowler.
As a young man from a small town in Southern Indiana, Indiana University represented the promise of a brighter future. As the first person in my family to graduate from college, IU delivered on that promise. I want to serve as a Trustee to ensure that same dream is fulfilled for all IU students and their families.
The Platform
Improving Our Brand
Creating Better Careers
Creating Better Careers
Per the 2024 U.S. News & World Report, IU ranks 11th out of the 13 Big Ten public universities. Perception matters. It hinders our recruitment of top students and faculty, and it affects the value of our degrees.
Creating Better Careers
Creating Better Careers
Creating Better Careers
All majors and degree programs should place a stronger emphasis on career training by allowing for and facilitating internships and externships, offering more courses aimed at teaching practical job skills and knowledge, and offering robust career placement services for life.
Building Our Economy
Creating Better Careers
Building Our Economy
Our universities can and must play a key role in building Indiana’s economy of the future and creating better and higher-paying careers. Indiana has made significant recent gains in becoming a bigger player in the tech sector, for example, but much work lies ahead.
Why I am running for IU Trustee
As Indiana’s flagship institution of higher learning, Indiana University has both the opportunity and obligation to train our young people to become the leaders of tomorrow. To do that, we must attract and retain our own talented young people as well as the best and brightest from other states and countries, we must attract and retain the best faculty in all of our academic disciplines, and we must give them the tools to strive for and to achieve academic excellence, personal growth and successful careers. To better fulfill that mission, I would target these areas during my term as Trustee:
1. Improving Our Brand. Per the 2024 U.S. News & World Report Top Public Schools rankings, IU ranks 11th out of the 13 Big Ten public universities, behind Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin, Rutgers, Ohio State, Purdue, Maryland, Minnesota, Michigan State and Penn State, and ahead of Iowa and Nebraska. I do not believe that we should be ranked below all of those schools, but perception matters. It hinders our recruitment of top students and faculty, and it affects the value of our degrees. We must work to improve our standing. We should create a task force to aggressively tackle this issue and create a measurable action plan.
2. Creating Better Careers. Most IU graduating seniors enter the workforce directly after graduation rather than attending graduate school. Our young alumni need to be as fully prepared as possible to start their careers successfully. All majors and degree programs should place stronger emphasis on career training by allowing for and facilitating internships and externships, offering more courses aimed at teaching practical job skills and knowledge, and offering robust career placement services for life.
3. Building Our Economy. From my work serving as Senior Vice President and General Counsel for the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, I know that our universities can and must play a key role in building Indiana’s economy of the future and creating better and higher-paying careers. Indiana has made significant recent gains in becoming a bigger player in the tech sector, for example, including semiconductors, microelectronics and data centers, but much work lies ahead. We are also just beginning to fully appreciate the challenges and opportunities presented by artificial intelligence, and IU’s Luddy School of Informatics can be a significant resource in developing ways to use AI to improve our economy and quality of life.
We are one university, and it is vitally important that each of IU’s campuses plays a key role in each of these initiatives. This is especially true for IU – Indianapolis. Its successful rebirth from being part of the former IUPUI is crucial not only for that campus and its students, but for the university as a whole.
IU has done so much for me, both personally and professionally. When I graduated from Kelley in 1994, the education and training I received made me feel that I was prepared to do anything, and it certainly provided a robust foundation for my career in corporate law. As a father of two teenage daughters, I am deeply invested in a better and brighter future for our young people and IU’s role in creating that future.
There is so much to love about our alma mater, but we cannot be complacent. We must work harder to improve our rankings, better serve our students with career readiness and placement, and prepare for and help build the economy of the future. I would like to do my part. If elected Trustee, you will get my best.
Thank you for your consideration and for caring enough to vote. Go IU!
About Me
Education
Indiana University (Bloomington) (B.S., Business, Economics and Public Policy, 1994, with High Distinction). Leete Thompson Memorial Scholarship.
Vanderbilt University Law School (Juris Doctor, 1997).
Employment
Indiana Economic Development Corporation (Senior Vice President & General Counsel, 2019 – Present) As General Counsel, I manage all of the IEDC’s internal and external legal functions, including drafting all contracts and managing and attending to corporate governance issues, corporate transactional matters, labor and employment, HR and personnel issues, litigation and dispute resolution, government/regulatory compliance, leasing and other real estate issues, intellectual property issues and issues regarding the IEDC’s incentives programs.
Professional Honors
Indiana Super Lawyers® (Business Litigation)
Best Lawyers in America® (Commercial Litigation)
Indianapolis Bar Association’s Pro Bono Attorney of the Year (2010)
Indy's Best and Brightest (2009)
Indiana State Bar Association (Past Chair, Litigation Section)
Indianapolis Bar Association (Distinguished Fellow)
Community Involvement
Indianapolis Zoo, Advisory Board (2017-present)
Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, Education and Experience Development Committee (2006-present)
Indiana University Alumni Association (Lifetime Member)
Indiana University Varsity Club
Personal
I live in Zionsville, Indiana. My hobbies revolve around the best times Indiana has to offer. In May, you'll find me at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. In the fall, you'll find me at IU football games and tailgating in the Orange Lot. In winter, you'll find me in Assembly Hall.
