The University’s new president, Bernard Joseph White, has an impressive resume – graduating from top schools, serving as dean of the University of Michigan’s business school and excelling as interim president of Michigan. But, to those who know him, “Joe” is more than the degrees and awards he’s earned. They describe him as a people person with a knack for bringing out the best in others.

Born in Detroit, White spent most of his childhood in Kalamazoo, Mich. In 1965, he graduated first in his class from Hackett Catholic High School.

David Gardner, a high school friend of White’s, said White was great at building relationships, even in high school.

“He could relate to the smart kids, but he could also kind of relate to the pure jocks,” he said.

Tall and lanky, White didn’t have the physique to play high school sports. Instead, he became the football team manager, helping the team win the state championship.

White’s high school sweetheart was Mary Decker, who lived two doors down from him. They later married and had two children.

After high school, White attended Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, entering one year after Bill Clinton. When not attending classes, he worked at the Securities and Exchange Commission, looking at stock figures.

After graduating magna cum laude from Georgetown, White applied to Harvard Business School after reading an ad for the school in the Wall Street Journal.

While at Harvard, White joined a student strike with hundreds of others to protest the United States’ invasion of Cambodia.

Graduating with an MBA from Harvard with distinction, White moved to Ann Arbor to earn his Ph.D at the University of Michigan. To support himself, White also taught classes at Wayne State University – an experience that he said led him to consider teaching as a career rather than finance.

“I found that faculty members had the best job in the world,” he said.

After a couple years of teaching at the University of Michigan, White left to become an officer at Cummins Engine Co. in Columbus, Ind.

“I wanted to practice what I was teaching,” White said. “I wanted to see if what I was writing in my articles and teaching was valid.”

White went to work during the 1980s at a time when the United States was coming out of a deep recession.

“It was a very, very tough experience, but an extremely valuable one,” White said. “I tell people that I got 20 years of experience in six years of working there.”

By 1990, though, White was ready to pursue a dream he had since he was a student at Harvard – to become a dean of a top business school.

“The thing I’ve always done best is understand the dreams of talented people and support them,” White said. “Being dean seemed exactly that role.”

Sue Ashford, the current senior associate dean of the Michigan business school, said White “set a climate for innovation” as dean.

“He just created excitement about possibilities,” Ashford said. “People were energized to create new programs, new ways of thinking.”

Both Ashford and Gardner noted that White is friendly with people but very focused on results.

“He’s a person that brilliantly combines hard and soft aspects of leadership,” Ashford said. “He expects a lot, but he’s also very supportive.”

“He has kind of a soft style, but he’s not afraid to ask hard questions,” Gardner said.

In 2001, White was named the University of Michigan’s interim president. In the year that he served, students lauded White for his approachability and willingness to listen.

After White left the presidency, he remained at Michigan to teach life science. In 2003, he took a leave of absence to help the Alger Company, an asset management firm in New York City. The Alger Company’s headquarters were in the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001, and the terrorist attacks killed most of the firm’s employees, devastating the company.

White’s focus on people is evident. At a ceremony the other week to announce White as the new University president, he said he wanted to reach out to all members of the University community.

“I never forget that every day in an institution the size of the University of Illinois, there are people who don’t get a lot of recognition who really make an important difference in the quality of the place – nurses, technicians, aides, secretaries, support staff of all kinds, custodians,” he said. “I want to take an opportunity to meet those people and express my appreciation for what they do to our University.”

White said he also wants to reach out to students. Last week, the Board of Trustees named White the James Towey Professor of Business and Leadership at the Urbana campus. White, who currently teaches a life science course at the University of Michigan, will be an occasional lecturer at the University’s Chicago, Springfield and Urbana campuses.

“The students are really my favorite thing about being in the University,” White said. “The opportunity to cultivate talented, aspiring, often idealistic, often challenging young people – it’s a joy for me.”

In his free time, White said he runs, reads and listens to music on his new iPod.

“I’m just having a ball with it,” he said. “I’m so impressed with the iPod.”

He also spends a lot of time with his family.

White said when he first learned that he was named the University’s 16th president, he was neither scared nor nervous – he was energized.

“My comparative advantage seems to be in leadership work, so I’ve taken opportunities like that when they’re presented,” he said. “My goal is to leave (the University) an even greater University by a substantial margin.”

Gardner said White differs from most University presidents, who often act superior to others.

“I think you’ll find Joe very different in that regard. He’s very modest, very humble – a real servant-leader,” he said. “You’re very fortunate to get him.”