When Daniel J. McKee ‘73 was sworn in as Rhode Island’s 76th governor this spring, his decades of public service and liberal arts education had him well prepared for the task.
“I’ve been able to use skills I’ve developed over the years, including from my time at Assumption, to understand the priorities of keeping people safe,” said Governor McKee, who majored in education and political science, adding that “both degrees played a major role in the fact that I am in public service. The basic principles of Assumption, which teaches you to take good care of people and be a good person, are engrained in the fiber of the Assumption community.”
After graduating from Assumption, Gov. McKee opened his own businesses and immersed himself in the community, becoming president of the Boys & Girls Club and starting its endowment fund, and serving on the Cumberland, RI, town council en route to the mayor’s office. As mayor, he created Blackstone Valley Prep, Rhode Island’s first mayoral charter school, which has since become a national model for education. He became the state’s lieutenant governor in 2015 and will serve out the remaining 22 months of former Governor Gina Raimondo’s term after she was called to serve in the Biden administration.
“It’s about your roots in your community,” Gov. McKee said of his shift from business to a career in politics. “You want your town to be a good place.”
Gov. McKee is a firm believer in the importance of education and has set it as one of three priorities as governor. He’s also committed to small business development and the economy, as well as the issue of equity and justice. And he’s using his Assumption education to guide him.
“At Assumption, you weren’t just talking about politics and political science; you were really talking about important questions,” he said, adding that then Professor Patrick Powers, Ph.D., shared important philosophical lessons. “He would ask the question, ‘Is it good for the community or for the good of the individual?’ It’s something I still think about today.”
