We Can Be Podcast - The Heinz Endowments

As a United States Air Force pilot, newly engaged to his South African fiancée, Chris Howard ejected from his aircraft as it fell into a nosedive during a solo training mission in January 1995. Twenty years later, he was one of the youngest university presidents in the United States.   Dr. Chris Howard, president of Robert Morris University since 2015, grew up in Plano, Texas, the great-great-grandson of an enslaved man, and the son of parents who instilled in him the values of humility and service.   As a high school and United States Air Force Academy football star, Dr. Howard guided his teams to championships, and used those leadership skills in active duty tours in Afghanistan and Bosnia. Through it all, he credits a strong cohort of mentors as key to navigating his path.   “Mentoring is a form of service where you don’t have to be a billionaire to change someone’s life,” he says. “It’s empowering, and it’s an honor.”   In this episode of “We Can Be,” Dr. Howard discusses the “only-ness” of being