Leader Spotlight: Mr. Byron Bullock

I was always pushed by my mother and a host of other individuals in my life to exceed expectations at every level, who saw potential in me that I never saw in myself.  I grew up poor in Washington, DC and moved with my mother to Connecticut when I was 11 years old.  As I approached the high school years, I wanted to attend the popular public high school in Hartford, but my mother had other plans for me.  She enrolled me in a private Catholic high school as she had a greater vision for my future than I did myself.  She made it very clear that not going to college was not an option for me.  After high school, I enrolled as a freshman in Lincoln University in Pennsylvania.  She was very clear with me on the day she dropped me off that I had 4 years to the day to graduate and that I was never to lose sight of my reason for being there.  Along life’s journey I have never forgotten the infinite wisdom of my mother.  

Attending Lincoln was an eye opener for me.  It was there, at an HBCU, that I discovered my true self as an African-American male.  My Lincoln experience connected me with so many mentors and individuals who again recognized my potential far beyond my own belief.  It was there that I began to immerse myself in leadership opportunities that would define my future. During my senior year, I was selected to serve as the President of the Melvin B. Tolson Society (English Club) and I had the privilege and honor of connecting with a distinguished faculty member who had just arrived at Lincoln from Chicago, Dr. Joanne Gabbin.  The profound impact that Dr. Gabbin had on my life was life sustaining for me.  I can remember that she brought three renowned poets to Lincoln during my senior year, Dudley Randall, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Sonia Sanchez.  She informed me that I would be presenting a copy of the Lincoln Memoirs to each of them in a public program.  Being totally petrified of public speaking, I tried my best to get out of it.  She would not hear of it. As a matter of fact, she insisted that I do it.  Her determined prodding and pushing sparked a light in me in public oratory. It was because of her push that I won the Elizabeth H. Train Memorial Prize in oratory at the end of my senior year. From that point forward, every time I step to a podium, I do so with the power and confidence that Dr. Gabbin instilled in me.  

I went to Lincoln with the hope of becoming an attorney.  The closer I got to graduation, the more disillusion I became at the thought of attending Law school, graduating, and then having to take the Bar Exam, an exam at that time, many African-Americans were unable to pass.  I had worked through high school and summers while in college in the retail industry so during my senior year I began to apply for jobs as a manager trainee.  I landed a job with Sears and Roebuck and they placed me in a little store in the very small town of York, Pennsylvania. I traveled to York one day to look for a place to live and I took a look at that little Sears store and that tiny little town and I look up to God and said, “God, this can’t be your plan for my life.”  I drove away from that town and on my way back I stopped by Lincoln just to say hello to my friends and many staff I had gotten to know.  I went into the Vice President for Student Affairs office to speak to her executive assistant and her assistant could not believe I had walked in.  She said to me that Dean Vernon (Dean Marie Vernon) had just given her my file to get me on the phone.  She sent me into her office and to her amazement, Dean Vernon greeted me and in conversation told me she had a job for me.  She offered me a position in the Admissions office as a recruiter for Lincoln and it was there that I began a 44-year career in higher education.  As part of my responsibilities I was assigned to travel with the president, Dr. Herman Branson, who became a tremendous mentor and incredible friend.  I went into Dr. Branson’s office after working there about a year and at what was for me a very exciting moment, I shared with him my desire to pursue a career in higher education.  Much to my dismay, Dr. Branson said to me, “Son, if you really want to pursue a career in higher Ed, you need to leave Lincoln, find employment in as many different types of universities that you can, and get an advanced degree. I was totally devastated that he was pushing me out of the door.  I was ready to stay at Lincoln forever. But he said to me, after seeing the devastation on my face, “You can always come back home.”  

I left Lincoln, after landing a job at the University of Delaware, where I worked for Pre-Collegiate Programs. I spent 6 years at U of D where I began working on my Master’s degree and in 1985 I was offered a position at James Madison University in Virginia. Little did I know that I would spend 14 years on that campus where I was able to build on the foundation of my success in higher education.  It was also there that I had my first opportunity to travel outside of the US.  I had an opportunity to represent the University at the African/African-American Summit in Gabon, West Africa spearheaded by the late Leon Sullivan.  Upon my return, I was offered chance to serve as the Faculty Member in Residence for the Studies Abroad program in London, England for a semester.  Upon my return to JMU, I had the distinct honor of founding the JMU Academy for the Academic Achievement and Development of African American Males.  In the summer of 1998, I took the academy to South Africa where we ran the program for three weeks.  I left JMU in the summer of 1999 to take a position as the Vice President for Student Affairs at Saint Augustine’s University in Raleigh, North Carolina.  I moved on from St. Aug in 2006 to take a position at the University of Massachusetts Amherst as the Associate Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and Campus Life. At that time, I was perfectly happy in my career and one day I got a call from a headhunter agency asking if I might be interested in a position in Nigeria.  Very reluctantly, I agreed to fly to Washington, DC to meet with the President and a Board member from the American University of Nigeria. They invited me to Nigeria for an interview in December of 2010.  After three days on the campus, the President, offered me a position as the Vice President for Student Affairs.  It was for me the very first time I had been offered a position on the spot.  I told the President that I would have to go back to the US and discuss this with my family before I could commit to what would be a life changing career decision.  Just before I had decided to turn down the position, I attended the Carroll F. S. Hardy Leadership Conference in January of 2011.  Carroll Hardy was my mentor and when I arrived at the conference to greet her in my usually way, she look up at me and said without any hesitation, “You are going to take that job. It’s something that you’ve always wanted to do and you may never get this opportunity again.”  Those words from a trusted mentor have brought me to a 10-year stead as Vice President for Campus Life and Dean of Student Affairs at AUN.  It was an opportunity for me to build a student life program from the ground up at an “American style” institution in a country that was new to the concept of student development. I have been afforded an opportunity to transform the lives of some of the greatest students I have encountered in my entire career. I have been able to build an Emerging Leaders Academy that I believe, produces what will be some of Nigeria’s future leaders. Mentors have always played a powerful role in my life and I am indebted to everyone who has found it not robbery to mentor me along the way. It is because of their impact on me that I have reached out to mentor countless other individuals throughout my journey.  

It is because of my mentoring that I became involved with the Bryant Educational Leadership Group.  I had the opportunity while attending one of the Carroll F.S. Hardy Leadership conferences to meet a young woman by the name of Zephia Bryant.  At the time, I was working at JMU and I had a position that was available in the Center for Multicultural and International Student Services.  I was so impressed with Ms. Bryant and eventually hired her to work for me at JMU.  After the passing of my mentor, Dr. Hardy, standing on her legacy, Zephia Bryant had a burning desire to continue to provide the incredible leadership development opportunities, particularly for students of color, that leadership conferences throughout the country had attempted.  What has impressed me the most about the BELG, is its multifaceted approach to leadership development “in real time.” Additionally, I am excited by the global collaborations it is creating to widen the perspectives of US participants while equally developing participants from other nations.  In the next 10 years, it is my hope that BELG will be the leading force in global leadership development for high school aged and college aged students.  

To students who are working to find their leadership style/brand/pathway, I would encourage them to follow their hearts.  I would encourage them to develop their passion.  I would encourage them to seize every opportunity to develop themselves and immerse themselves in leadership.  I would encourage them to develop relationships with mentors who can provide them with sound advice and structured guidance along their career path.  I would encourage them to take every opportunity to learn along their career path. I always tell my students and mentees, “Every day has a beginning, and every day has an end. What happens in between is learning.” 

I would also tell them to find something outside of your career that interests you or that you love to do.  I love to bake.  I will bake you the best carrot cake, red velvet cake, German chocolate cake, five-flavored pound cake and sweet potato pie you have ever eaten.  My maternal grandmother was a baker by trade and taught me everything she knew. The kitchen is my creative space.