Dallas A. Grundy
Associate Dean, Finance and Administration Rutgers University Graduate School of Education Somerset, N.J.
Age: 35
Dallas A. Grundy is a Rutgers man. Not only does he hold a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from the university’s College of Engineering and a master’s in management information systems and marketing from its School of Business, but he also returned to the university as associate dean of finance and administration in the Graduate School of Education after a successful career as an entrepreneur.
“I like my job as an associate dean,” he says. “Like most of my career positions, I currently feel that I am challenged, have great opportunity to further develop my skills and most of all, I have a chance to significantly impact others positively.”
Grundy the entrepreneur co-founded BCT Partners with engineering classmates Randal Pinkett, Lawrence Hibbert and Jeffrey Robinson. The group also founded Access One, providing digital solutions for low-income housing, and MBS Enterprises, an educational-services and training firm. While several mentors “helped me to think more broadly about who I am and where I could go with my talents, skills and interests,” Grundy says he is still gaining “a foundation of solid entrepreneurial skills,” including strategic planning, problem solving, personal leadership.
Grundy has tutored public-school children, mentored young entrepreneurs, served as assistant director of youth programs at his church and was an advocate for the youth of his hometown, the historic African-American community of Lawnside, N.J. “My sense of personal accountability — to God, to myself, to my family and friends, to my community and co-workers — has been the major source of inspiration,” he says.
Quote: "A child cannot be taught by anyone who despises him and a child cannot afford to be fooled." - James A. Baldwin
Fun Facts
Favorite book/author: The Greatest Salesman in the World by Og Mandino
What actor should play you in a movie: Don Cheadle
First car: Volkswagen Rabbit
First job: Paper route
Number of countries visited: Seven
Favorite charity: Local firefighters
