Busting drug-smugglers with the U.S. Coast Guard and managing the E.J. Ourso College of Business do not exactly go together, but Dean Richard White Jr. accomplished both.
Before overseeing the College of Business at the University, White served as a captain in the U.S. Coast Guard. He helped seize over 50 tons of drugs off the coast of South America.
“The weather is just as dangerous as the drug-smugglers,” White said.
White was also captain of an icebreaker ship. During his sailing years, White sailed to the South Pole and back using a sextant, a marine navigation instrument, before modern GPS was available.
“Looking back on it, it’s ‘did I do that?’ It’s challenging,” White said of the job, “but it’s extremely rewarding.”
White has traveled all over the world and listed numerous countries he has visited for work or pleasure.
“I’ve really seen a lot of changes,” White said. “Venezuela was one of the finest places I’ve ever visited. Now that’s not the case.”
In addition to commanding ships, White has worked for the CIA, the U.S. Department of State and the White House as a special assistant writing speeches for presidents Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush.
White didn’t learn any conspiracy theories during his time at the CIA, but did say the U.S. government is not as smart as people might think.
“You’ve got a lot of conspiracy theorists out there, the Oliver Stone kind of movies,” White said. “The Tom Cruise kind of thing, all the technology where you know everything that’s happening everywhere, we’re not that good. Neither is the opposition.”
While at the Department of State, he found himself in Moscow during the Cold War. He was there to help negotiate the border of Alaska and Siberia. The disputed land was valuable for oil, fishing and defense purposes.
“It was a pretty sad place, to tell you the truth,” White said. “Communism doesn’t work. You couldn’t get anything done.
No one had any incentive to wait on you in a store; the system just did not work.”
White also has a love for academia. After the Coast Guard, he earned his Ph.D. in public administration and eventually became a tenure-track professor at the University.
Growing up in Williamsburg, Virginia, and seeing presidents visit the city as a child, instilled in him a love for history, White said. So much so that he has written three biographies: on President Theodore Roosevelt, former Louisiana Gov. Huey P. Long and early 1900s performer and political commentator Will Rogers.
White described the book-writing process as a “marathon.” He spends about a year researching, followed by a year of writing and more research, then a final year of editing.
“I edit so that you would turn the page and see that next thing,” White said. “I put a lot of work into transition, into getting the right word at the right time.”
White said he drew on all his life experiences in his role as dean of the business college.
“You put those skills there together with the leadership skills that I had as captain of a ship, and there’s not a day that goes by in this job that I don’t fall back on that wealth of experience in all my careers,” White said.
But at 74 years old, White said he feels his time as dean should come to an end, as he will retire in June. White wants to return to writing, spending time with his family and traveling with his wife while they are still healthy.
“I’ve accomplished so much here, it’s time to let somebody else move the College forward,” White said.
Reflecting on the many changes in the world throughout his life, White feels optimistic for society’s future and said he has seen a lot of progress in the way human beings treat each other.
White encourages students to travel and experience other cultures to help diversify their worldview.
“I want them to have a thirst for knowledge, always trying to get close to the truth, but you’re never there,” White said. “And to do that means really opening your eyes traveling, getting internships, getting foreign study.”
White has enjoyed being dean, helping set business students up for success and expanding the College of Business, but said he is ready to leave it behind.
“I’ve really felt good after [deciding to retire],” White said. “When I retired from the Coast Guard, I didn’t look over my shoulder, and I don’t expect to do so with this job. There are challenges ahead and some great times ahead.”