Few alumni have gone on to more influential careers than the Honorable Dan Coats ’65, LL.D. ’92. He spent more than two decades in Congress and currently serves as the senior U.S. Senator from Indiana. In 2001, he became the U.S. Ambassador to Germany, one day before 9/11.

"It totally changed the dimension of what I was doing, because Germany was such a strategic ally and the regional headquarters for all functions of U.S. government in Europe, Africa, and some of the Middle East,” Coats explains.

During his four years in Berlin, Coats worked closely with German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder and oversaw 23 different government agencies and more than 1,500 employees.

Coats attributes much of his life’s success to his liberal arts experience at Wheaton.

"Had I not had the basis of the discipline of study that I learned at Wheaton, I don’t know how I could have handled it,” he says. “I am deeply grateful that I had the foundation, not only of academic diversity taught at a very high level, but also the faith-based foundation. Thatcombination has been essential to my thinking, my faith, and my career.”

Yet Coats received far more than a political science degree from his alma mater.

“I had the chance to meet my wife, Marsha Crawford Coats ’66, on campus, and we just celebrated our 50th wedding anniversary,” he says. “I owe her a great deal of gratitude because the demands placed on me in public service required a stable home, which she provided. Without that, I couldn’t have achieved what I’ve achieved.”

Together they enjoy a family of three children and 10 grandchildren.

Senator Coats currently serves as an Advisory Life Trustee for Wheaton. In 1999, he received the Wheaton College Alumni Association’s Distinguished Service to Society award.