Former two-term Indianapolis mayor Greg Ballard returned to the classroom this week as the teacher. Speaking with Marian University business students, Ballard reflected on his unlikely rise to public office and the lessons captured in his new book, Urban Republican Mayor.
Ballard served as the 48th mayor of Indianapolis from 2008 to 2016, but his path to the mayor’s office was anything but expected. A retired lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Marine Corps and political outsider, he stunned Indiana political observers when he defeated two-term incumbent Bart Peterson in 2007. What followed, he told students, was a crash course in leadership, strategy, and the weight of public responsibility.
During the conversation, Ballard revisited several defining moments of his administration. His team brokered the sale of the city’s water and wastewater utilities to Citizens Energy Group. This agreement generated hundreds of millions of dollars for major street and infrastructure improvements throughout Indianapolis. He also launched the city’s first Office of Sustainability and introduced the environmentally focused SustainIndy initiative, which accelerated local momentum around clean energy and long-term environmental planning.
Ballard shared how these efforts, alongside work in innovation, infrastructure, and international relations, positioned Indianapolis as a competitive global city. Under his leadership, Indiana saw new foreign investment, expanded international partnerships, and increased national visibility, including hosting the 2012 NFL Super Bowl, a milestone he described as “a turning point for the city’s confidence.”
“ I would encourage you to run for office because we need good, smart, ethical people to run for office. ”
— Former Mayor Greg Ballard, speaking to Marian University students
Throughout the discussion, Ballard urged students to view public service not as a distant possibility but as a real and meaningful career path, one grounded in integrity, courage, and responsibility.