League of Their Own
October 25, 2021
Model Citizen
October 25, 2021
Life's Important Connections
Tim Regan ’74 owes decades of success to hard work, blessings, and AIC
BY KATHRIN HAVRILLA-SANCHEZ :: PHOTOS COURTESY OF TIM REGAN '74
For Timothy J. Regan II, vice chair of American International College’s Board of Trustees, some of the most fortuitous opportunities in his life have been because of AIC.
Growing up in Westfield, MA, Regan was drawn to AIC because his father’s plumbing, heating, and industrial supply company was just down the road. The proximity allowed him to continue working while going to school full time.
“I was newly married, and I was working thirty to forty hours a week for my father,” recalls Regan. “AIC had a great business school, so I started off as an accounting major and ended up with a degree in economics and finance. Because I was working full time, I didn’t have much time for extracurricular activities.”
In the 1970s, the school year had three semesters, one of which was a short intersession that allowed students to go off and do something a little different. For Regan, that “something different” was unusual for the time.
I spent a lot of time in the West Wing of the White House working with the President’s Economic Policy Board under Gerald Ford, and I was only twenty-three years old.
“Paul O’Day ’58 was an AIC alum living in Washington, DC, and he was a deputy assistant secretary at the US Department of Commerce at the time,” says Regan. “He created an internship program before such programs were as common as they are today. Under the program, he would bring several students every intersession to Washington to work with him at the Commerce Department and live with him and his family.”
Regan was offered one of these roles—to this day he’s not sure why or how—and O’Day and Regan established a friendship that continued for decades, up until O’Day’s passing in 2017.
“Paul was a classic example of a very successful person who went to AIC,” says Regan. “He was a first-generation student who was quite intelligent. He went on to become a genuine Renaissance man who was incredibly well-read and -traveled. Plus, he was always looking to help other people, a characteristic that’s uncommon in Washington political circles. I’m very, very fortunate to have known him. His friendship changed the course of my life.”
Paul O’Day ’58, former deputy assistant secretary at the US Department of Commerce, whose guidance and friendship helped propel Regan into a lifelong career in Washington.
A CHANGE OF PLANS
After Regan’s experience in DC with O’Day, he knew he wanted to work in public service. He changed his major to economics and finance and graduated in 1974, right in the middle of a recession. With no jobs to be found, he and his wife, Barbara, bought an old van, rebuilt it, and traveled the country for three months.
After they returned, Regan took a warehouse job while he interviewed for jobs where he could use his degree. He went to AIC’s Homecoming, where he ran into O’Day, who invited him for a visit in Richfield, CT, where O’Day was on an executive exchange program working for General Electric.
“Paul said to me, ‘How would you like a job in the White House?’” remembers Regan.
After discussing it with his wife, Regan accepted, moved to Washington, and began work as an economist with the White House Council on International Economic Policy.
“I was a numbers cruncher, but I did a lot of very interesting grunt work. I spent a lot of time in the West Wing of the White House working with the President’s Economic Policy Board under Gerald Ford, and I was only twenty-three years old.”
If graduates from AIC like me who’ve been blessed with success don’t help out the next generation, then who will?
When Jimmy Carter took over the White House in 1977, Regan was dismissed from his role, as is typical. However, Carter’s staff told Regan to hang around until he found another job. Regan began introducing himself around and met James B. King ’60, another AIC graduate who did well in Washington. Jim worked for Senator Kennedy, joined the Carter campaign, and was appointed by Carter as the special assistant to the President for Personnel. The connection led to a temporary assignment in White House Personnel.
“Working in White House Personnel is the best job in the country,” says Regan. “You’re on the phone telling people that the President is considering them for a nomination. Everybody wants to hear from you!”
After a brief stint, Regan began to circulate his resume to utilize his international affairs background, landing a position in the White House Office of the Special Trade Representative, where he negotiated trade agreements during the Tokyo round of international trade negotiations under the auspices of GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) and worked on legislation to implement trade agreements by Congress.
Then, Regan began thinking about pursuing a graduate degree, but with a new baby at home, he couldn’t afford the time and expense to enroll. Regan’s solution? Create a government program to provide advanced education to employees in the Trade Office. Using his trade negotiations background, he wrote the regulations for a long-term training program, got his program approved, and began attending Stanford School of Business in the prestigious Sloan Fellows Program, now called the Stanford MSx (Master of Science in Management for Experienced Leaders).
"My interactions with government have given me exposure to some of the most influential officials in the country, including US presidents," reflects Regan, pictured below fifth from right, in the Oval Office with former President Donald J. Trump.
Regan, pictured with 2016 Presidential Candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
HARD WORK PAYS OFF
After earning his degree at Stanford and fulfilling his obligation for public service as a condition for receiving his government-funded degree, Regan then spent thirty-five years honing an impressive career at Corning Incorporated, a high-tech company with unparalleled expertise in glass science and optical physics. Corning is the leading glass technology innovator in the world with over seventy factories and more than 50,000 employees. After beginning as their director of international programs in 1985, he worked his way up until he retired in August 2020 as their senior vice president of global governmental affairs.
“These days it’s unusual for someone to stay at a company for thirty-five years, but not at Corning,” says Regan. “It’s commonplace at Corning because it’s a great company. AMERICAN INTERNATIONAL COLLEGE :: 15 Regan, pictured with 2016 Presidential Candidate and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. 16 :: HIGHER DEDICATION Corning’s culture of innovation dates back to 1879 with the invention of process to manufacture glass bulbs for Thomas Edison’s filament for electric lighting. People get excited to work on things that change people’s lives for the better, like the technologies that made color TV possible, enabled the catalytic converter that has prevented millions of premature deaths from air pollution, and built the backbone of the Internet through the invention optical fiber.”
In his capacity as senior vice president, Regan managed a team of lawyers, economists, and policy experts who represented the company’s interests before governments in the United States, the EU, Mexico, and East Asia, including China, where Corning has over twenty factories. Given Corning’s broad product portfolio, Regan and his team advised government on policies that affect consumer electronics, telecommunications, the environment, health, energy, manufacturing competitiveness, research and innovation, international trade, taxation, and many other areas.
“I’ve had a rewarding and interesting career at Corning,” said Regan. “Its high-tech product portfolio and global standing have given me the opportunity to continuously learn about new technologies and to advocate for policies to bring these technologies to market, “These technologies have generated enormous societal benefit. Plus, my interactions with government have given me exposure to some of the most influential officials in the country, including US presidents.”
As a registered lobbyist, Regan had the opportunity of working with another AIC graduate in Washington, Congressman Richard Neal ’72, Hon ’90. Chairman Neal, as he is known in Washington, is one of the most influential politicians in the country. As Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Neal has led the way in the formulation of the nation’s tax, trade, and social security policies. Neal and Regan were also classmates at AIC.
March 30, 2006: Regan, then Senior Vice President at Corning, Inc., testifies during a US House Committee hearing on Internet Regulation. © 2021 National Cable Satellite Corporation
LOOKING TOWARD FUTURE GENERATIONS
When Regan thinks about his career, he knows that AIC has been a big part of it.
“I owe a lot to my connections through AIC,” says Regan. “If it hadn’t been for Paul O’Day’s generosity and his mentorship, and for AIC giving me the internship opportunity that I never even asked for, I would not be where I am today.”
A member of AIC’s board for the past fifteen years, Regan is an avid supporter of the College and its students.
“If graduates from AIC like me who’ve been blessed with success don’t help out the next generation, then who will?” he asks.
“AIC trained me well for the business world, but they also train teachers, nurses, and public servants who are critical to the community. Through my work on AIC’s board, I’m honored to serve an institution that has the capacity to change the lives of students who work hard and use their energy in positive ways.”
