Alumni

Public Service: For Alumni, It's a Calling

ROBERT R. KIELY ’79
City Manager, Lake Forest, Illinois

Bob Kiely says he did not know what he wanted to do when he entered Lake Forest College in 1975, but a class on public administration taught by professor Joe Carens answered that question.

Through Carens, Kiely met with Paul Reaume, a former Lake Forest city manager. “[I realized] I could have influence on people’s day-to-day lives by affecting the quality of life in their community,” says Kiely, who has been Lake Forest’s city manager since 1990. “The rest is history.”

After graduation, Kiely earned a master’s degree in public administration at the University of Kansas and returned to Lake Forest as the city’s assistant manger. He worked in Wilmette and Prospect Heights before assuming his current position.

“[Lake Forest] forced me to think, not just react,” says Kiely, who communicates with Lake Forest College President Stephen Schutt on nearly a daily basis. “I’m able to think on my feet; I’m a more articulate individual who looks at all sides of an issue.

“When you’re younger, you don’t appreciate the foundation that school is providing you to be successful. Later on, you can look back and say that the four years at Lake Forest played an important part in your success.”

"[Lake Forest] forced me to think, not just react," says Kiely.