Profiles in Power highlights public officials nationwide who are improving their communities through their dedication, enthusiasm, creativity, and experience.
This week’s profile is Frank Dooley, Chancellor – Purdue Global
Public career highlights and education: I have been in the public sector for 40 years, with most of it being in higher education. I spent four years working for a U.S. Department of Transportation research lab focusing on economic research.
One of the highlights of my career is when we host commencement ceremonies. For many of our graduates, they’re coming to us as working adults later in life, and they’re attaining something they thought might not happen in their life. The ceremony is so meaningful to them.
What I like best about public service: One of the best parts of public service is having the ability to meet the public need. About 200 years ago, there were only a handful of public higher education institutions. In 1862, Congress passed, and President Abraham Lincoln signed, the Morrill Land-Grant College Act which recognized that the economy needed a much more educated populace.
We built a new system with the mission of providing educational opportunities to the working classes for agriculture, mechanical arts and military tactics. That mission is still true today, to extend that opportunity to the new populations of students who’ve been overlooked within our society.
The best advice I’ve received: One of the greatest pieces of advice that I received was to show gratitude. I don’t know that in the early days I always took the time to express my thanks and appreciation to all the people who helped, because nothing is done by one person. It is always done by a team. And I think in recent years I’ve become better at this. If you simply say “thank you” sometimes to somebody and show your gratitude for their assistance, it brings smiles to people.
People might be interested to know that: The one thing that people may not know is that I have been a cantor in my church for many years. I’m not a great singer, but I sing with great enthusiasm, and I get a lot of joy from singing. From time to time, I’ll be in a restaurant or out in the community, and someone will be looking at me because they’ve seen me at the front, singing the song at the front of the church.
One thing I wish more people knew about county government: I wish we had more recognition of the importance of having meaningful higher education for working adults. One of the most fundamental changes going on right now is that those individuals who used to be able to have a meaningful middle-class life, surely through hard work, they need more education to succeed on the job.
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