James L. Doti

The son of Italian immigrants, James Doti was born in Chicago in 1946, the third of four children. Both of his parents immigrated to the United States at the age of 12. They met during the Great Depression and married in the mid-1930s. Doti's father was forced to quit school when he was 15 to help support his parents and siblings. He worked for nearly 60 years as a shoe salesman. Doti's mother was a milliner.

Originally, the Doti family lived in Chicago's "Little Italy" but later moved to a mixed neighborhood. "My father thought it would be better for his children," says Doti. "He wanted us to expand our horizons and not just be exposed to an Italian culture. He wanted us to be Americans. My parents spoke only English at home. They loved this country and wanted their children to be American. They sacrificed their personal comfort level and support system in Little Italy because they wanted more for their children."

The Dotis lived in a two-flat building that had two bedrooms and one bathroom. The children learned from their parents the values of respect, honesty, and hard work, and a special regard for education. "My father was not formally educated, but he read a lot," Doti recalls. "He shared with me books that he valued, and I grew to love history and novels. Hardly a day went by without my father and mother telling us to plan to go to college so that we could have opportunities that they didn't have as immigrants."

As a student, Doti began to develop a pattern that would follow him the rest of his life. He was a good student, but that came with great deal of effort on his part. He began to push himself in those areas that were especially difficult for him. "If I thought I was weak in a subject," he says, "I tried harder, and eventually I began to succeed." Because he had always had a problem with his speech, Doti joined the debate team to work on what he saw as a weakness. His impediment kept him from doing well during his freshman and sophomore years, but he became a varsity debater and helped his team win the Blue Island Debate Championship.

Not only were the Doti children expected to work hard in school, but also they were required to work and save for their college educations. Doti had paper routes with his three brothers. Entrepreneurs at an early age, they began to farm out routes to other boys. In high school, Doti started a janitorial business. He cleaned and waxed floors for shops in his neighborhood after school and on weekends. His largest account was with Montgomery Ward. His earnings from this business, coupled with a modest scholarship, helped to get him started at the University of Illinois.

During his junior and senior years at the university, Doti became a work-study student. He helped professors by grading exams and doing research. He originally planned to pursue a career in accounting, but after taking a required course in economics, he decided to become a college professor of economics.

He worked hard so that he would be accepted into one of the greatest economics graduate schools in the country: the University of Chicago. His efforts paid off when he won a National Science Foundation Fellowship, which covered most of his tuition and expenses. He also worked as a faculty assistant and taught part time at Roosevelt University and at a community college. He earned both a master's and a doctorate from the University of Chicago in 1976.

Doti became an economics professor at Chapman College in Orange, California, and later served as dean of Chapman's George L. Argyros School of Business and Economics. He was named president of Chapman University in 1991.

"You don't have to plan the opportunities that come to you; you just have to be prepared for them," he says. "My advice is not to shy away from a new opportunity, even when you are content with your current situation. New experiences expand your horizons. If you do your best at whatever is in front of you, the opportunities will come."

Doti says the members of the Horatio Alger Association are his heroes, making it especially poignant to be selected by them for induction. "This is an affirmation that what I have done with my life is significant," he says. "The award is particularly meaningful to me because it supports young people with their education. What we do for these young people is so important. It will have an effect on their lives beyond what any of us can imagine. It's wonderful to be a part of an organization that does that."