Donna Carroll, president of Dominican University in River Forest, laughs heartily while recalling a recent conversation with a faculty member around the same age. He complimented her precocious maturity by saying, “but you were always old.”
When she was appointed in 1994, Carroll became one of the youngest female leaders in higher education at age 39 and the first lay president of what was then Rosary College. In her own words, she “grew up on the job” at a time when most staff and faculty members were much older. She has seen two generations of peers retire, but she isn’t leaving any time soon.
Beginning her 22nd year as head of a much bigger and wider-ranging university, Carroll has presided over a long and sustained period of growth. The number of full-time faculty members has doubled, Dominican’s operating budget has quadrupled, and the school raised more than $100 million in recent fundraising campaigns. A second campus was created in 2002 through the purchase of an existing facility nearby. By 2013, the Catholic university had more new undergraduates than the total enrollment when Carroll was appointed.
A self-described “good Irish Catholic girl from New York,” Carroll is small in size, huge in stature on campus. She does not separate her life from her job. That 24/7 mindset, she says, has enriched her life and expanded her world. Conversely, she believes she has lost nothing from what became a lifelong and all-out commitment to one school.
“It’s not a job; it’s a lifestyle,” she says. “You don’t leave it in the office at end of day. I think I’m a more thoughtful adult Catholic as a consequence of the self-reflection needed to lead a mission-centered institution and speak on its behalf.”
Following is an edited conversation.
Q: How have students changed in the time you’ve been at Dominican?
A: In some ways, students are the same. Catholic education has always focused on immigrant students. The demographics change. Now, it’s largely a Latino student body. Five to 10 years ago, we had a large Polish student population. What’s consistent is the outcome. Of 1,600 private institutions, we have the 17th highest graduation rate in the country. That’s a distinctive contribution.
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Q: What is the connection between first-generation college students and their desire to attend Dominican?
A: It’s the Catholic social teaching mission. Catholic education has always focused on solidarity with the poor, who may not have as much opportunity. Think of Pope Francis. He is clearly articulating the Catholic Church’s commitment to the poor. Higher education in the Catholic context has always had that outreach.
Q: When you started at Dominican, was it intimidating to be one of the few women at the top of higher education?
A: The age factor was more significant than the gender factor because I’ve lived a significant part of my adult life, in public, growing up in this role. It took me longer than people would suspect to be comfortable in the role because it was a grown-up role and I was still growing up as a professional. … I was still aching for life experiences I hadn’t had while running the school. I’m still younger than the average age of a university president.
Q: You were the first president who wasn’t a Dominican sister at an institution that’s more than 100 years old. Did the Dominican order believe it was time?
A: (From her desk, Carroll faces a painting of the college’s first president and notes that she has been mistaken for a nun from time to time.) Being “Sister Donna” hasn’t helped my social life; no, it hasn’t. (She laughs.) They did feel it was time to have a president who could balance the academic values and the religious values with the practical, organizational business savvy you need to run a successful institution.
Q: How did you end up here so long?
A. I fell in love with the place. I thought I would be a sprinter and this would be the first of three presidencies, but I discovered I’m a marathoner.
Q: Among your most prominent accomplishments is your outspoken and nationally recognized advocacy for immigration reform and the rights of undocumented students. Why is that such a passion?
A: It started with one student on a bicycle in a snowstorm. I know my students, so I asked him why, and it was because he couldn’t get a driver’s license. It got me into their experience. These are enormously courageous students. Then I did a CNN interview, and my life changed forever.
Q: You’re a voracious reader. What’s your favorite book?
A: Well, the book I’m reading right now is “Girls Like Us.” It’s about Carly Simon, Joni Mitchell and Carole King. It represents the different views of strong women. I read mostly fiction. I spend a lot of time in airports, so I’ve probably read everything on the best-seller list. I always have three books open at a time: a best-seller, something I’m reading for professional reasons and something that’s Dominican-related.
Q: You’re an excellent writer. What would you have done if you hadn’t done this?
A: I still think I have a novel in me, one of those best-sellers I’ve been reading.
Q: Do you have a guilty pleasure?
A: It has always been shoes. Of all the things I’ve ever written, the piece that got more attention was what a president is thinking about when she’s sitting onstage at commencement. You can’t imagine the shoes that pass by. And I’m thinking, “I hope she can get up there before she falls.” Or I’m thinking, “How did her mother let her out of the house in those flip-flops?” Or I wonder where she bought (them).
Q: Do you have a favorite city?
A: Probably one I haven’t been to. I haven’t traveled at all in Latin America. I loved Jerusalem.
Q: You write letters, even though it’s becoming a lost art.
A: I write letters constantly in the position of president. Imagine how many relationships I’ve developed over more than 20 years, and it’s important to me that they be personal.
Q: You have been a mentor to many young people over the years. What do you tell them?
A: I talk a lot about the importance of having mentors. And I always say, don’t fail to do something out of fear. That’s where you get opportunity. I also talk a lot about understanding what networking is. Very often, women build relationships, and they confuse networking with relationships and become disappointed by the quid pro quo. You have to understand that the quid pro quo is part of networking. One of my favorite colleagues — when she’s on the phone asking me for something, she is back on the phone immediately giving me something because she knows there has to be a give.
Q: Do you have a motto to share?
A: Absorb chaos; give back calm; build confidence.
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Richard Asa is a freelance reporter.