We recently spoke with alumni Dr. Carmen Battaglia
about his academic and career journey. Here he shares, in his own words, a bit of his story and what FSU and FSU Sociology has meant to him.
Growing up as a sick child in the border town of Niagara Falls, New York was nothing to write home about: I was behind in school, held back in second grade, small for a boy, and socially isolated. I made two promises during my childhood, however, that would unequivocally change my life. In November of my senior year of high school, before my father died unexpectedly, I promised him I would take care of my mother. Soon after, when Florida State University offered me a football scholarship, I promised my mother that I would quit playing if I was injured. Those promises motivated me to work hard, to take care of myself, and to always put forth my best efforts.
My studies at FSU went well and they would be the beginning of a long and lasting relationship with faculty and friends. Upon graduating with a Bachelor’s in Psychology in 1958 and a Master’s in Criminology in 1960, faculty from FSU Sociology helped me to obtain an Assistant Dean position at Emory University. After a few years, Dean Oglesby from FSU urged me to return for more graduate work in a new joint Sociology and Criminology PhD program. I did, and I quickly learned that completing two programs at the same time meant no sleep and a lot of work. Determination and my promise to my father pushed me on.
When I was close to graduation, another unexpected death occurred. My father-in-law was visiting during Easter weekend. On Sunday morning, right after church, he died of a massive heart attack at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital. This was a day from hell for me, my wife and my four children, two of whom were still in diapers. But on that day, the Dean who had encouraged me to return to FSU showed up at my home and handed me a large roll of money. He said, “Go to Chicago, bury your father-in-law, and get back here. You are needed in school.” When I promised to repay him Dean Oglesby replied, “I don’t want the money back, but I do want a promise that when you get a job and are successful, you will find two students just as desperate as you. Help them and make them promise to repay it by helping two others.”
Within the next ten years, I would go on to work for the U.S. Department of Education and manage educational programming aimed at helping disadvantaged students in the eight Southeastern states of the U.S., first as the Associate Commissioner of Education and then as the Regional Administrator of Education. I worked with college and university presidents, deans, and financial aid officers in about 400 post-secondary institutions. This job truly was a gift and a way to pay back the Dean many times over.
During the next 30 years, I would be recognized for my work with postsecondary institutions and would go on to publish scholarly work, including a co-edited volume titled, “Educational Perspectives: Non-Traditional Students.” My work also led to an invitation to serve on a study team established under the direction of President Gerald Ford to examine small, private, liberal arts colleges. In June of 1976 we issued a six-chapter report titled, “Study of the Causes of the Demise of Certain Small, Private, Liberal Arts Colleges.” It was widely circulated throughout the academic world, and it helped me to better understand my job as a Regional Administrator.
My travels for work took me to campuses across the Southeastern states, exposing me to all kinds of research. I found that many researchers had projects that included dogs. As a side project, I began to write about these studies and how dog breeders could use this information. Over time, I would go on to write four books and publish more than 70 articles, mostly about breeding dogs and the dog sport. My third major research study, which involves 1,300 children who participated in junior showmanship in the dog sport, is currently pending peer review. I also now serve as a Director of the American Kennel Club and co-chair of the American Kennel Club’s Dog Detection Task Force, a program aimed at developing a much-needed domestic breeding program for the detection dogs that are used to protect our country.
Throughout my careers in education, research and the world of dogs, my relationship with FSU has remained strong. I have been honored to serve as the elected President of the National Alumni Association for FSU, I continue to meet for dinner once each year with my old football team, and my SAE fraternity keeps up with brothers in the local chapter by Zoom once a week. The local FSU Atlanta chapter also is active, meeting for games and helping FSU graduates network to find jobs. Craig Meyers at the FSU Foundation and Kathi Tillman, the Chair of Sociology, have become regular collaborators for me as well. Together, we discuss the values of FSU and ways to help graduates keep in touch and make a difference.
It’s not surprising that after all these years FSU continues to find ways to keep up with me and its many graduates. Looking back, my studies at FSU and my long association with the faculty there clearly shaped so many things in my life. FSU gave me amazing opportunities, taught me in and out of the classroom, and became my laboratory for learning and finding new friends. At the end of the day, I can summarize it all by saying that FSU has a special way of teaching and mentoring its students, continuing to invest in their lives long after they have graduated.
Dr. Battaglia lives in Roswell, Georgia, is married to Nancy Hart Battaglia, and has four children. His children include a daughter who graduated from the nursing program at FSU, a daughter who is a third grade teacher, a son who is a paramedic and two-time recipient of the Bronze Star, and a son who was an All-American football player at the University of Louisville (leading the nation in tackles for two years in a row) and now is a Golden Globe-winning actor in Hollywood.