Suzanne Crouch reflects on the values that led her to politics and talks about humility and history 100 years after the passage of the 19th amendment

Suzanne Crouch (LA’75) arrived in West Lafayette as a sophomore, having spent her freshman year at the University of Southern Indiana. 

“My father insisted we spend our freshman year in our hometown,” reflects Crouch, Indiana’s 52nd lieutenant governor. “He didn’t want us going off to a big school until we had some good study practices and experience under our belt.”

Purdue, it turned out, was a perfect fit.

“I had to work hard; I had to study hard,” says Crouch. “Purdue was a good fit for me — I think it really fit my values and helped prepare me for the future.”

And although she didn’t grow up in a very political family, Crouch cites the Catholic values of her upbringing for leading her to public service.

“My parents raised me to believe in God and to believe it takes hard work to get ahead,” shares Crouch. “They also raised me to readily accept that I have a responsibility to help others who are less fortunate. We are here for such a short period of time, and if we can’t make a difference, if we can’t improve life for the people around us, then why are we here?”

One of the key ways that Crouch is doing just that is as the head of the state’s Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Task Force. Across the state, there are 100,000 people with autism, cerebral palsy, or Down syndrome. 

“The task force looked at housing, support services, sheltered workshops, day care services — all the different facets that affect individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.” 

The task force came up with a list of 34 recommendations, including accessible and affordable housing. 

“We’re working to ensure that these individuals have equal opportunity in life and access to a safe, affordable environment,” says Crouch. “We work to ensure that they can live the life they want to live and help build the dreams they dream.”

Indiana and Women’s Right to Vote

A hundred years ago, women across the United States had a dream of their own — to have a voice in the political process. As the nation marked 100 years since the passage of the 19th Amendment earlier this year, Crouch chaired the Indiana Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission, working to bring awareness to an aspect of the state’s history that’s not popularly known.

If you’re familiar with the women’s suffrage movement, you likely recognize the name Seneca Falls, New York — the site of the first women’s rights convention in 1848. But what about Dublin, Indiana? Just three years later, the small town in eastern central Indiana held another convention, bolstered by the community’s sizable Quaker population. 

“The Quakers believed that all humans were created equal in the eyes of God, and women should have the right to vote,” says Crouch. “In terms of the women’s suffrage movement, Indiana was truly a leader. National leaders would be writing to Indiana saying, ‘How are you doing? How’s the movement proceeding?’”

The fact that many don’t realize the state’s impact on the women’s suffrage movement, Crouch says, is attributable to the no-nonsense way of getting things done typical of Midwesterners. 

“I think it speaks to who we are,” says Crouch. “We work hard. We put our nose to the grindstone. We do what’s right. That makes me proud, and I think it speaks to the character of who we are as Hoosiers, that we respect one another and we collaborate to get things done.”