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Keys to the future Volume 44, Issue 12
Eastfield College
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Retiring chancellor passes wisdom on to students By Ginny Morris etc4640@dcccd.edu
Dr. Wright Lassiter Jr. gained a love for learning early in life. His father taught him at a young age that knowledge would be an important key to his future. “What my dad told me was, ‘If you want to get ahead, get something in your head, because that which is in your head, no one can take from you,’” Lassiter said. Lassiter’s passion for learning led him to dedicate 55 years of his life to working in education. He has spent 27 years working in the Dallas County Community College District, including 20 years as the president of El Centro College, and the last seven years as the district chancellor. In March, Lassiter announced that he will be retiring at the end of the year, or as soon as the search committee can hire a new chancellor. Because he approached life as a learning opportunity, Lassiter gained unique insight throughout his experiences. He learned one of his most important life lessons in the military. After he was drafted in 1956, Lassiter applied for officer candidate school. To his disappointment, he was not accepted. However, 15 years later, a friend who was serving in the Army Reserves suggested that Lassiter apply for an officer’s opening at the hospital where he looked. Lassiter applied and was appointed captain. “So, [in spite of] what some might consider my disappointment at not being admitted to officer candidate school, I became an officer and retired as a colonel from the Army Reserves,” Lassiter said. “During that period of time, I became one of the few non-physicians in the country to be named head of a hospital.” Lassiter believes his ability to move forward and learn from disappointments has been key to his success.
“No one goes through life without what I would describe as disappointments — things that you had hoped to achieve or find that did not occur at that point in time,” Lassiter said. “You’re going to have some setbacks, but keep your goal uppermost in your mind and continue working on it.” Another important experience came when Lassiter was serving as the vice president of finance and management at Morgan State University. A friend wanted to submit Lassiter’s name as a candidate to replace the retiring president of the university. Before giving an answer, Lassiter consulted his mentor. “As you go through life, always seek to have a mentor, someone you can turn to for advice and counsel,” Lassiter said. His mentor gave Lassiter two pieces of advice. “He said, ‘The presidency is not a job, it’s a calling. You have to be convinced that you have been called to work in it,’” he said. “The second point that he gave me was, ‘You are almost an expert in the financial field, but that’s just one little piece of leading a college or a university. If you are going to be an effective leader, you must be able to lead leaders. Individuals around you are experts in their respective fields and obviously know more about that area than you. But you must know enough in order to effectively lead them.’” Lassiter decided he was not ready to be considered for the presidency. “It was another two and a half years before I considered myself worthy of being called,” he said. Lassiter went on to lead three colleges as president and has succeeded in his ability to lead leaders. As chancellor of DCCCD, he has had an enormous impact on the district, according to Eastfield President Dr. Jean Conway. See CHANCELLOR, page 2 ➤
ana nunez/the et cetera
Dr. Wright Lassiter has served as the DCCCD chancellor for the past seven years.