With the Calgary Stampede out of the chute on a loose rein, we went toe-to-toe with one of the town sheriffs who prides himself in shooting straight from the hip.

Shoot a question at John Ballheim and the long-time president of DeVry Institute of Technology (and, as such, the man who has helped to launch thousands of careers) he fires back with refreshing candor, both barrels blazing.

Ballheim, a gunslinger transplanted from a corn field in Iowa, just tells it like it is. And that’s no bull.

1. What values did you draw from a boyhood on a mixed farm in LaPoret City, Iowa?

David Lazarowych, Business Edge
John Ballheim of Devry Institute of Technology believes education is the best way he can help his community.

“Honesty, integrity, openness, transparency and I think just good, old common sense. When I grew up there, we had about 1,200 people. So it was a huge metropolis. Rural people earn their living off the earth, and I think there’s a value system that is inherent no matter which side of the border you’re on.”

2. Would you go back to the farm?

“Only for nostalgic trips, to recharge the batteries. My brothers and I have kept the farm and we manage it from a distance. There was such simplicity on the farm and life was so regular and so unlike the world we live in today. However, I would not want that life for me today and would not want that life for my children because the world has changed. But for me it was a very solid upbringing. The farm is profitable because it is paid for, but farming is no way to invest in the 21st century.”

3. What was your boyhood dream?

“Small towns, as you know, are very community-oriented. It is a community expectation that every individual make a contribution to the community. So my boyhood dream was to help build a community no matter where I chose my community to be. And my boyhood dream is something that has continued throughout my life, and I’m still trying to fulfil that dream 56 years later. I feel good about fulfilling my dream. However, because my dream may be counter to someone else’s dream, the down side is that I get arrows shot at me. But that’s a small part compared to the rewards.”

4. What specific area are you focused on trying to make a difference in the community?

“The reason I chose education as my profession is to make a bigger impact on people and how they grow and develop. I am absolutely convinced that, given my skills and abilities, I can make a bigger difference in education than any other area. So I just do it.”

5. What’s your view of the way the education system is preparing students for post-secondary institutions such as DeVry?

(Laughing) “Loaded question! I think the schools today are turning out better prepared students than ever before. On the other hand, I fear that education is not delivering everything that it could deliver and should deliver. It’s the best it’s ever been, but it’s not good enough. I have concerns that the forces within educational structures are not going to allow us to develop at an accelerated pace. In the world, everything is changing at an accelerated pace.

"Education is changing, but not at the same pace as the rest of society. I think the forces of inertia within the present system are holding it back.”

6. How do you reflect on your grade-school years?

“I have very positive and warm memories. There were 62 students in my high school graduating class and I would say that I’m in contact with 30 to 40 of them several times a year. I feel badly in many respects over the experiences of young people today where I don’t think schools are the positive force in the community that they once were. I think they have been taken over by the professions, rather than being organizations for and of the community. And the focus is on the professions rather than on the students and the community.”

7. Who are the people who have had the greatest influence on your life?

“My parents (Gale and Lucille Ballheim), who taught me my values, my wife (Cynthia), who gives me courage and support, and my two children (Adam, 13, and Justin, 19), who broaden my perspective on what’s important in life.”

8. What achievement are you most proud in the 17 years since your appointment as president of DeVry Calgary in 1984?

“I believe DeVry is a credible post-secondary institution in this community and I think that was affirmed recently by being recognized by the province of Alberta for bachelor degrees. We are the only such fully private institution in all of Canada, I believe, that has that distinction. That’s the outgrowth of being a credible institution.”

9. How do you feel about the people who have been raining on your ‘bachelor’ parade?

“It was expected. People are threatened because suddenly they see DeVry playing in their sandbox, whereas before they had their sandbox to themselves. I think they fear a private institution that has degree accreditation is a threat to the whole public system as it currently exists. I think they’re mistaken. I think they’re badly mistaken. But I think it’s a reactionary reaction.”

10. What is your life’s philosophy?

“I have a philosophy that I am fulfilling through this particular business called DeVry. I want to help the community be the best community it can be and I feel that education is a way that I can best help that community.”

11. In your view, what has made the DeVry company and its 21 campuses so successful?

“Being at the right place at the right time with the right product. When I say that, I don’t think it’s serendipity. I think we have identified what the needs are in the current environment and we have built a curriculum which is one of educating students in areas of technology which are in extreme demand by the society as it exists today. We simply assessed what society — and specifically businesses within that society — needs and wants. We built a curriculum based on those needs and wants. And then we successfully delivered. As long as our graduates attain employment at the very high rates that they do, that’s the evidence that we are achieving our goals.”

12. How are DeVry graduates doing?

“Over 90 per cent of our graduates have obtained employment (in areas related to their education) within four to six months of graduation and I think that’s a very strong piece of evidence that our graduates are prepared for the workforce as it exists at the present time.”

13. Do you anticipate a major overhaul of the curriculum in the next five to 10 years?

“I see it changing in five to 10 months. We’re constantly trying to stay on top of trends and developments. We are truly in a knowledge-based society, and technology is one of the drivers. If you look at the other drivers, the globalization trend is very real and the competitive environment in which we live is very real, the quickly changing environment is very real and the knowledge-based aspect of life is very real. Those four along with technology are the five main driving forces of society today. DeVry must stay on top of each of those forces and constantly do market assessments so that our graduates are best prepared to make a contribution in society.”

14. What’s the best advice you can offer a DeVry graduate?

“Never stop learning. Determine what it is that you’re passionate about and pursue it relentlessly.”

15. One CEO that you admire?

“Eric Newell (CEO of Syncrude Canada) and Rick George (Suncor CEO). Both are in the oilsands business. Their businesses are using technology and driving technology in a new way that will, I think, put Alberta on the map and secure our place in the world because of the tremendous resources that are just laying in the ground in those tarfields up there (in northern Alberta). I have great respect for both those individuals.”

16. If you were in charge of hiring a successor to Nortel Networks retiring CEO John Roth . . . ?

“Oh, wow, what a question! We need somebody with a true global vision. I think perhaps John Roth has been caught in a whipsaw. But I can’t help but feel that somebody in that position should have been much further ahead in his visioning of what was happening in the technology field and I think it is unforgivable that he fed the fires – the unreasonable fires. If I were in charge of hiring his successor, I almost hate to say this, but I’m not sure that person exists in Canada. Canada is not big enough in the area of technology to have a person experienced and proven enough in that area.”

17. If you could do one thing to improve the quality of life in Calgary, what would it be?

“This may sound like a cop-out. In the last few weeks, I’ve had the pleasure of being in San Francisco and New York City and London and Chicago. Calgary has got it good. That doesn’t just happen. If you look at the basic quality of our air, the basic quality of life here, when you look at the opportunities for our youth, when you look at being able to feel safe when you walk the streets, when you look our health care and education system, we are very, very privileged in Calgary. I think our challenge is in being able to maintain the high quality of life.”

18. You take a day off from work. What do you do?

“I would love to get on a mountain with my two boys — climbing on a pathway. I’d love to reach the peak. I love the challenge of getting there. I love the rewards of the vistas when that’s achieved. And I love the company of my boys.”

19. What do you see in your life’s crystal ball?

“I want to consolidate DeVry’s gains and I would like to continue to make meaningful contributions in the community, both through DeVry and through other communities. I want to help make this community the best it can be.”

20. Are there any other aspirations beyond DeVry?

“This is where it’s at for me, but I will say this. In six years, when my youngest child is out of high school, I might be interested in a political career. But it’s when my kid is up and grown and out of the nest and when my being away from home every night is a forgivable circumstance. I think in today’s political arena a person can make a bigger difference locally than provincially or certainly federally. I would say in six years I might take a run at an alderman’s job. I think that might be fun.”

IN PROFILE: John Ballheim

* Born/raised/age: LaPoret City, Iowa; 56.

* Title: President, DeVry Institute of Technology, Calgary (since 1984).

* Education: Bachelor's degree in history and economics (University of Northern Iowa), completed Masters in education administration and counselling psychology (Loyola University, Chicago).

* Family: Wife Cynthia, sons Adam, 13, Justin, 19.

* Career: Ballheim has spent some 30 years in education-related activities in the public and private sectors in Canada and the U.S. He has been a director of the Calgary Chamber of Commerce since 1996 and president in 1999 and also serves on boards of the Alberta and Canadian Chambers. He was an executive member of the Alberta Economic Development Authority from 1994-99.

* Community work: United Way, Calgary Boys’ Choir, Calgary Young People’s Theatre.

* Passions: Mountain hikes, Stampede pancake breakfasts.

THE COMPANY: DeVry Institute of Technology/Calgary

* Mission: To provide high-quality career-oriented higher education programs in business and technology to a diverse student population. These programs integrate general education to enhance graduates' personal development and career potential.

* Milestone: DeVry Calgary recently became the first fully private for-profit educational institute in Canada with the authority to grant bachelor's degrees (in business operations, technology and electronics engineering).

* Parent company: DeVry Inc. operates 21 campuses in North America and is a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange (DV-NYSE). In its most recent quarter, it posted revenue of $149.2 million US and net income of $16 million US.

* Website: www.devry.ca

* Address: 2700 3rd Ave. S.E., Calgary T2A 7W4.

* Phone/Fax: 403-235-3450, 403-235-5400.