After spending most of his three-decade-long professional career at the University of Michigan, B. Joseph White officially will be inaugurated as the University’s 16th president Thursday. As a young man, he never imagined he would end up here.

White applied to the Harvard Business School on a whim in January of 1969. He read an article about the school in the New York Times Sunday Magazine, and thought he might like to go there for an MBA in business and finance. Things worked out in his favor, but not the way he planned.

During his first year at Harvard, White realized the courses he liked most were in organization and management. Going into this field, however, meant the need for a doctoral degree- four more years of studying, poverty and student loans for him and his wife, Mary. White called the decision his “turning point” that put him on the path to his post today.

“I think when you’re in school it’s really important to pay attention to, ‘What do I have a passion for? What path makes sense for me?'” White said. “And even if it’s inconvenient and difficult, I think it’s important to pursue it.”

White said he always thought he’d go into business like his father, not teaching.

“I never dreamed I would be doing a Ph.D.,” White said. “I never dreamed I would become a professor. I certainly didn’t dream I would become a dean or the president of a university.”

In 1991, he was named dean of the University of Michigan Business School, a position in which he served for a decade.

“When he started as dean, he started telling us that we could be number one,” said Jane Dutton, University of Michigan professor of business administration and psychology. “It took us all awhile to believe it was possible.”

Dutton said White deeply believed in his staff and institution. She said he was a nice guy, but competitive, which made him a balanced leader.

“He would say over and over again, ‘Facts are friendly,'” said Paul Courant, University of Michigan professor of economics and public policy, who was provost during White’s deanship. “Even bad news, he wanted to hear about.”

Tom Kinnear, University of Michigan professor of entrepreneurial studies, said White’s

efforts improved funding and pushed the school to become one of the top public business schools in the country.

White said working hard is something he actually enjoys.

“It’s easier to work when you know why you’re working,” White said.

And he said he believes this generation is worth working for. When folks his age and older start complaining about what’s wrong with the college kids today, White tells them they’re plain wrong.

“You watch,” he said. “All the problems you’re concerned about in the world are going to be addressed and solved by these young people.”

He said he has tremendous confidence in the next generation, including his own two children, whom he called “remarkable people.” Like his father, White’s son received his undergraduate degree from Georgetown University. He went to England to study and now lives there with his wife and kids, running a chain of linen stores.

“In ten years I’ve watched my son go from being extremely uncertain about where he was headed, to really being a great husband, a great dad, a determined athlete and a good business guy,” White said.

White’s daughter graduated from Michigan and moved to Vermont to work with troubled youths. She now lives there with her husband. White said he’s proud of his children, but wishes they “lived next door. I miss them terribly.” He adds that Mary holds the family together, and for that, she is a great wife.

In 2002, after unexpectedly being passed over for the position of University President at Michigan, White addressed a gathering that year by admitting his outright disappointment instead of skirting the issue.

“We can choose how to think about and react to disappointment,” White told the crowd, according to the Wall Street Journal. “At the extremes, one line of thought leads to bitterness and a shriveled soul. The other leads to wisdom and growth.”

White embarked on the latter path and now looks forward to his new role at the University.

“I love being the president of the University, more because of the opportunity to help students learn, grow, develop, find their way and contribute than for any other reason,” he said.

White’s inauguration ceremony will take place Thursday at 2 p.m. at the Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, 500 S. Goodwin St., Urbana.