GSU Connections: Tyrone Ward

As a native of Robbins, Illinois who has devoted his talents to serving the Black community, Mayor Tyrone Ward believes in the difference a strong role model can make. From his 17-year career in the schools, to serving as mayor since 2013, Ward, a Governors State University alumnus, has spent his professional life leading by example. And his efforts have been noticed.

In April 2020, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot included Ward among high-profile leaders named to her COVID-19 Recovery Task Force. In August of the same year, the Chicago Defender honored him with its “Men of Excellence” award. What has enabled him to make an impact, Ward says, are the two master’s degrees he earned at Governors State — one in curriculum and Instruction and another in educational leadership.

“I strive to be a mentor and educate people by my actions,” Ward said. “I want to be a positive public vessel for all, so I’m focused on what counts: the people.”

Getting to GSU

After graduating from college, Ward returned to Robbins where he began his career in public service. Over the next five years, he worked as personnel director, comptroller, purchasing agent and project manager for the Village of Robbins. 1992, he was elected to the Robbins Park District Board of Commissioners, then named its President in 1993. When Ward’s friend, a school superintendent, was looking for professionals to speak to children, he invited Ward. It went so well that he asked Ward to serve as a substitute teacher.

“He told me, ‘It would be great to have a male role model,’ Ward said. So, I did it for a day, and that turned into a week, then a couple of weeks,”

Ward decided to make a full-time career of teaching. But first, he needed his certification, and a friend pointed him to Governors State’s College of Education. After earning his master’s in curriculum and instruction in 2010, he went straight into the classroom at Kellar Middle School.

When Ward had a chance to become dean of students there, he headed back to Governors State for a master’s in educational leadership, which he earned in 2011.

“It was a struggle because I was always doing two or three things in addition to going to school,” he said. “But I wanted to keep moving forward.”

Faculty and cohort connections

During the 18-month program, Ward formed lifelong friendships in his cohort and came to admire instructors.

“Dr. Larry Cross really pushed me, and had the greatest effect on me on not only doing the work, but doing it to perfection. He wouldn’t accept average,” Ward said, adding that his peers supported him then, and sustain him now.

 “All of us had been in the workforce, and most of us were self-starters,” Ward said. “That made a difference because when you’ve already earned your bachelor’s degree, you understand the responsibility and importance of doing the work. We reinforced each other. The GSU cohort really made a difference because we were all working and we supported each other. Because of that, a lot of us became friends.”

Ward said when he decided to run for the Village Board and later on, for mayor, he relied on his former classmates for support. “We had bonded, and they encouraged me. It was almost like Dr. Cross pushing me again. They’d say, ‘You can do this. You’ve got to believe in yourself.’"

Practical lessons still apply

The high-profile position of mayor has put Ward in the spotlight in Robbins, and the lessons of persistence and hard work that he learned at GSU are still valid, he said. “People say, ‘I saw you on TV!’ But what they don’t see is that I work seven days a week,” Ward said. “And I’m a hands-on person. I do it all.”

Advice for current Jaguars

“Be mindful of your career choice, and understand what it’s going to take to achieve those goals. Really think it through,” he said. “Once you decide, you have to focus. Going into it, expect pitfalls. If you anticipate them, you can take them better and recognize that failure is part of it. Bouncing back is the key. That’s what will enable you to stay on track.”