- Pritzker Fellows
- Former Fellows
- Asa Hutchinson
Asa Hutchinson
Former Republican Governor of Arkansas
Governor Asa Hutchinson served as the 46th Governor of the State of Arkansas. In 2018, he was re-elected with 65 percent of the vote, having received more votes than any other Republican candidate for governor in the State’s history.
Asa Hutchinson’s time as governor is distinguished by his success in securing over $700 million per year in tax cuts, safeguarding the retirement pay of veterans from state income tax, shrinking the size of state government, creating over 100,000 new jobs and leading a national initiative to increase computer science education.
The Governor’s career in public service began when President Ronald Reagan appointed him as the youngest U.S. Attorney in the nation for the Western District of Arkansas. In 1996, he won the first of three consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives.
During his third term in Congress, President George W. Bush appointed Governor Hutchinson to serve as Administrator of the Drug Enforcement Administration and later as the nation’s first Undersecretary of Homeland Security for Border Protection.
Governor Hutchinson’s experience and wealth of knowledge established him as a national resource especially in the areas of trade, energy, and national security. He has been invited to the White House numerous times to participate in discussions regarding healthcare, Medicaid, and education issues facing our nation.
January 10, 2023, marked the end of Governor Hutchinson’s second term. He is a former Chairman of the National Governors Association; Co-Chairman of the Council of Governors; and Chairman of the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission (IOGCC), Southern States Energy Board (SSEB), and the Southern Regional Education Board.
Governor Hutchinson grew up on a small farm near Gravette. He is a graduate of Bob Jones University and the University of Arkansas School of Law. He and his wife, Susan, have been married for 49 years and have four children and seven grandchildren. Firm in his faith and practice, and spurred by his love of country, Governor Hutchinson looks forward to sharing his forward-looking vision of consistent conservative leadership for all Americans.
Seminars
As head of the Drug Enforcement Administration under President George W. Bush, I labored to balance tough law enforcement initiatives with advocacy for drug prevention and treatment programs. I will bring you behind the scenes of our efforts to stomp the supply side - the most powerful and violent trafficking organization in Mexico - and to address the needs of the user side as we tried to improve treatment programs and sentencing reform.
Arkansas, like most of the nation, has been hobbled by the drug crisis. The state, with among the highest opioid prescription rates in the nation, was the topic of the documentary “7 Days: The Opioid Crisis in Arkansas.” Let’s discuss how the decades of the war on drugs have culminated in this moment, how my experience as governor both differs and is informed by my time at the DEA and what challenges are unique to state leaders and how we are trying to respond.