James Duly

Background

About James Duly

Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity” - Seneca Audentes Fortuna iuvat (“Fortune favours the bold”)- Latin proverb Mahatma Gandhi once said, “As human beings, our greatness lies not so much in being able to remake the world … as in being able to remake ourselves.” A firm believer in Learning Theory, as I reviewed the arc and trajectory of my life experiences, education and career, I saw that I’ve spent a lifetime becoming more comfortable being uncomfortable. Comfortable, experienced and adept at working closely with diverse academic leadership across a wide range of disciplines, as well with other managers and directors and leaders, on both sides of the Academic and Student Affairs aisle, I am able to deftly span those divides to best facilitate common goals. After 15 years in Student Academic Support Services with a diverse range of students of all socio-economic and cultural backgrounds at what is now America’s largest singly accredited state-wide community college system, I have spent 10 extremely rewarding and transformational years working across a diverse, multicultural and international platform as the functional equivalent of Chief Operations Officer (COO) for the Dean and Head of School of the largest school in the College of Law and Management Studies (and second largest overall) at the University of KwaZulu Natal (UKZN) in South Africa, overseeing Finance, Human Resources, Public Relations, Academic Services, IT, Facilities and Student Support. I undertook this challenge not because it was easy, but because it was hard. Dealing at ground-zero with ever increasing student and socio-economic protests and affiliated issues in the headlines each day, I have learned to never let a serious crisis to go to waste. Challenging times of conflict and crisis can be used as a powerful catalyst for change and personal growth. Over the course of my past career, I have often dealt with fast-moving, ambiguous and unstructured situations which require physical and psychological health, energy, intuition, “street sense” and the ability to cope with stress. I seek a position that’s more than just a job – one that's a way of life that challenges the deepest resources of my education, personal intelligence, self-reliance and responsibility.