Commencement 2023

A longtime public servant, Dan Coats has held office in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate, served as ambassador to Germany, and as the U.S. director of national intelligence and is the proud grandfather of Jack Wolf '20 and Anna Wolf '23.

He is a graduate of Wheaton College and a veteran of the U.S. Army. Following his military service, Coats attended the Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis, where he received his law degree in 1972.

In 1989, he began his first term in the Senate, where he served for 10 years, earning distinction for his work to strengthen national defense and security. Senator Coats returned to the U.S. Senate in January 2011 to focus on reducing the national debt, promoting pro-growth economic policies to put Americans back to work, and addressing terrorist threats. He retired from the Senate in January 2017. 

In 2017, Coats was sworn in as the United States' fifth director of national intelligence. He led the U.S. intelligence community and served as the principal intelligence advisor to President Donald Trump. He has since departed from this position, joining the Washington law firm of King & Spalding as a Senior Advisor.