Alumnus James L. Dunbar Honored

On October 19th, alumnus James L. Dunbar, chairman and CEO of the Dunbar Companies, was awarded the Nichols College "President's Distinguished Business Leadership Medal" for his lifetime of achievement in the security industry.

"It is my pleasure to bestow on Jim this first medal," said President Debra M. Townsley. "He is most deserving of this award." President Townsley thanked Dunbar for his help in starting the College's Criminal Justice Management Program and for his generous gift which supports an annual endowed scholarship for a deserving student seeking a security career.

When Dunbar accepted the award, he stated that his experience at Nichols taught him the value of being willing to learn. "And while I take great pride in what I have been able to achieve in business," he said, "I am forever grateful to all of my mentors at Nichols who invested so much time and effort in a young man whose ability and promises were not readily apparent...not even to himself."

"Entrepreneurs Are Risk Takers"
Earlier in the afternoon, Dunbar presented "Entrepreneurs Are Risk Takers" to Nichols business students in which he emphasized that he was short on business theory, but that he was an entrepreneur, and therefore, he usually broke more rules than he followed.

He gave students a brief summary of his company: "I started what was then Federal Armored Express in Baltimore in 1956 with one truck, two guns, and a full tank of gas...I am still CEO and chairman, with day-to-day operations in the hands of my son, Kevin," he said. "In between were fifty plus years of challenges, opportunities, successes, failures, disappointments, excitement, and sheer terror--sometimes, all in the same day. That's how it is when you're an entrepreneur."

"This is what I think I know," said Dunbar, "it is absolutely imperative that you understand your strengths and weaknesses...My first job every day is to make an accurate, honest assessment of myself--my abilities and my limitations--in handling the potential challenges of that day. That's the hardest thing I do every day because I would like to think that no one can do what I do better than me. After all, I built this company. But that's just not the case, and in reality it never was."

Mr. Dunbar stated that not isolating himself inside an executive office was his greatest strength: "I'm really good at walking around. And the bigger my company gets, the more room I have to walk."