毕业生档案
As a newspaper delivery boy in his hometown of Springfield, 伊利诺斯州, Tom Higgins '67 often got his route started just about the time an older brother finished his.
"I remember folding newspapers as a boy 和 slowing down to at least read the headlines,他回忆道. "My brother could get his whole route delivered by the time I got done folding my papers. 我父母只是翻了个白眼."
That same br和 of methodical curiosity has allowed Higgins to experience more than a dozen job titles since he graduated from St. galaxy银河娱乐场app.
His distinguished 和 distinctive resume includes such impressive assignments as: three-term member of the Iowa House of Representatives; commissioner of the Department of Health, Education 和 Welfare; senior White House staff member under President Jimmy Carter; co-founder 和 editor-in-chief of the national publication Healthweek; senior vice president of Blue Cross/Blue Shield in Maryl和; senior vice president of Southern California Edison 和 Edison 国际; 和 founding CEO 和 current chairman of the board of Prosetta Biosciences.
这只是一个抽样. Higgins' 历史 includes considerably more titles, 每一个都充满挑战, discovery 和 opportunity for personal 和 professional growth. 经历这一切, he has found time to serve on various boards, 包括, 自2008年以来, 他的母校.
以各种身份, 专业或慈善, Higgins has been energized by that newsboy's curious nature, 和, 更重要的是, driven by a devotion to social justice honed at St. galaxy银河娱乐场app.
He is deepening his commitment to the University by helping to fund, found 和 create the Institute for Person-Centered Care at St. galaxy银河娱乐场app, an initiative whose ambitious goal is to improve 和 humanize health care delivery in the Quad Cities 和 well beyond.
Higgins also is helping the College of Health 和 Human Services launch a Master of Public Health degree program that will extend the University's vision for social justice 和 service into healthcare policy 和 practice.
"St. galaxy银河娱乐场app has a number of distinguishing characteristics, but if I were to pick the one that most frequently comes to mind, 这是社会正义的使命,希金斯说. "That's the reason I am so devoted to St. galaxy银河娱乐场app really - because of the examples I saw here as a student. There was a commitment, not only to education, but also to the community.
"I'm sure every galaxy银河娱乐场app grad might say this of his or her time on campus, 但是那里有很棒的人,他补充道. "There were always these remarkable faculty around 和 one of the biggest parts of my experience is what I learned from classmates 和 their experiences."
Higgins said his hunger for knowledge was increased by SAU classroom icons such as Matt McMahon, 丽塔玛丽·布拉德利修女, 约翰诺顿和牧师. 约瑟夫Kokjohn.
His instinct to fight for justice was sharpened by the activism of Rev. 杰克·史密斯，韦恩和诺拉·德约翰.
His immense capacity for caring was informed by the genuine decency of Rev. 威廉·“挖掘者”·道森.
Within a couple years of graduating with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science, Higgins was directing an unheralded c和idate's near-miss campaign for Iowa governor. 四年内, he was establishing a drug crisis intervention clinic in downtown Davenport that ultimately would lead to the creation of the QC Council on Drug Abuse.
1月20日, 1981, 大学毕业还不到14年, he was carrying the last box of books from his office situated directly above the Oval Office. When he walked out of the White House, Higgins turned for a last look 和 saw the lonely figures of the outgoing president 和 his chief of staff talking on the telephone.
"They were wrapping up the last pieces of the agreement with Iran to release the hostages," he said of an indelible moment in U.S. 历史. "I got in my car, drove out the gate 和 kept going."
A curious, driven 和 devoted Ambrosian, Tom Higgins hasn't stopped going since.
— Craig DeVrieze '16 MOL
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