Mike Pence '81
U.S. Rep. Michael R. Pence graduated from Hanover College in 1981 as a history major. He is a member of Phi Gamma Delta, which he served as president. He also was president of Vespers, served on The Triangle staff, and was senior speaker at his graduation. He later earned his law degree from Indiana University.
Following graduation from law school, Mike unsuccessfully ran for Congress as a Republican in 1988 and 1990. In 1991, he was named president of the Indiana Policy Review Foundation, a conservative think tank based in Fort Wayne. That led to a career in radio broadcasting, which began in 1992. Two years later, Network Indiana syndicated "The Mike Pence Show" on 18 stations statewide. He also hosted a Sunday morning political television show in Indianapolis from 1995 to 1999.
Mike was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2000 and re-elected in 2002 and 2004. He chairs the House Republican Study Committee, which includes more than 100 House Republicans. Mike is a member of three of the more noted House committees – International Relations, Judiciary and Agriculture. In his role on the International Relations Committee, he led a congressional delegation to Afghanistan and Pakistan in December 2004. As a member of the Judiciary Committee, he is a member of the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism and Homeland Security.
Mike authored the Truth in Domain Names bill, passed by Congress in 2003. The law punishes those who use misleading domain names to attract children to sexually explicit Internet sites. In this Congress, he is the author of the Farm Flexibility Act, which would allow U.S. farmers to diversify their crops without fear of excessive penalty.
Mike and his wife, Karen, have three children. The Pence family lives in Columbus, Ind., and in Arlington, Va., when Congress is in session.