On May 16, 2008, Marian College president Daniel J. Elsener sent a letter to the president and vice president of the Indiana Debate Commission, as well as the campaign managers for Governor Mitch Daniels and Jill Long Thompson, extending an invitation to hold a gubernatorial debate on campus this year. The proposed topic was: the role science and technology will play in the future of Indiana’s economy.

“Although many of the resources are in place for Indiana to become a science and technology leader, we lack the most important resource of all: people capable of filling these jobs and taking advantage of these opportunities in the future. Our hope for the future of our economy lies in our ability to train students to excel in math and science and prepare them for jobs in the technical fields,” president Elsener stated in his letter.