Dr. Tanuja Singh, President of the University of Indianapolis (UIndy)

Tanuja Singh, president of the University of Indianapolis, argues that higher education remains the highest-return investment a city or country can make. A physicist turned marketer turned academic leader, she points to UIndy's growth in online education, corporate partnerships with companies like Roche, a new Women's Leadership Institute, and experiential learning baked into every program as evidence that universities can evolve without losing their core mission. She is direct about Indiana's talent retention problem, telling business leaders they need to engage students early and invest in quality-of-life basics like childcare, green space, and walkable neighborhoods if they want graduates to stick around. Singh highlights UIndy's commitment to first-generation students (roughly a third of the student body), neurodivergent learners through its BUILD program, and international students, while describing Indianapolis as a city where professional relationships turn into real friendships. Her closing challenge: as the economy shifts, higher education will matter more, not less, and making that case is not just the university's job but everyone’s.