MANSFIELD, PA— Dr. Francis (Frank) Duffy, distinguished educator,
author and a 1974 Mansfield graduate, will be the speaker at Mansfield University’s 149th Commencement on Saturday, May 10, at 11 a.m. in Decker Gymnasium.
“Dr. Duffy is a leader, an innovator and a real Mansfield success story,” MU President Fran Hendricks said in making the announcement. “We want our newest graduates to hear his message of commitment to education, leadership and helping others. We are honored to welcome Frank back to campus to speak at our Commencement.”
Duffy is a professor of Public Administration and coordinates a Master of Public Administration program at Gallaudet University in Washington, D.C. He has been at the university for 32 years and specializes in leadership for change in organizations, especially in school systems.
He is also the co-director of a national initiative to transform America’s school systems called “FutureMinds.” It is sponsored by the Association for Educational Communications and Technology. Duffy is the co-founder of an international movement to transform education called the “Voices of Vision Network.”
Duffy is the author of nine books, many articles, and numerous chapters on how to transform organizations.
He has a master’s and doctor of philosophy degrees in curriculum and supervision from the University of Pittsburgh and a second master’s degree in business administration from The Johns Hopkins University. Duffy also held an honorary postdoctoral faculty position in the Harvard University Graduate School of Education to study organizational learning. In 2002, he was awarded a one-year fellowship with the Institute for Educational Leadership’s Education Policy Fellowship Program.
He started his professional career as a special education teacher, working for Intermediate Unit 1 in Southwestern Pennsylvania where he was assigned to a high school special education class in Burgettstown.
Duffy’s life experience also includes serving as a member of the U.S. Army’s elite 5th Special Forces Group (the Green Berets), where he was also trained as an Army Ranger and a Special Forces Combat Diver.
He serves on the boards of directors for the Mansfield University Foundation and the Association for Educational Communications and Technology’s Division for Systemic Change.
Duffy has been married to his wife Marcia (Arnold), also a 1974 Mansfield graduate, for 39 years. They have two adult children, a daughter-in-law, and four grandchildren.