In July, Gates was appointed associate dean of Harvard College for administration and finance at Harvard University in Cambridge, Mass.

Gates' title carries many jobs. He is the chief administrative officer in the college's undergraduate division and he manages a $90 million budget with 237 employees. The departments under that budget includes human resources, information technology, communication operations and strategic planning.

Benedict H. Gross, dean of Harvard College and a Leverett professor of mathematics, said: “It is our extraordinary good fortune to have someone as talented and accomplished as John join the college staff. With his broad background in higher education, including working with minority students, international programs, student services and academic planning, he will help us manage our administrative functions.”

Gates said being at Harvard will allow him to use his background to the fullest.

“Harvard has a student population that is very diverse, beyond the black and Latino background,” he said. “We are talking about Asians and the black dispora, meaning Caribbean, Brazilian, South Americans and Africans. “We have many ways of bringing in broader aspects and a greater transition, where Harvard is more modern as an institution.”

Gates' position is the latest in a career that is leading toward his ultimate goal: president of a college or university. The dream job would be at his alma mater, Morehouse College in Atlanta, where he earned a bachelor's degree in 1993.

“I never in the beginning figured I would develop a career in education administration,” he said. “My original goal was to return to Gary and manage and operate a business. But, as I became more involved in public speaking, and while at Morehouse, I worked under former Atlanta Mayor Maynard Jackson as the coordinator for youth services. It was that and what I did off and on in Gary that eventually developed my plans toward education.”

While in Gary, Gates participated in citywide public speaking events organized by then-Mayor Richard Hatcher's administration.

The sixth child of seven of Jimmy Lee Gates and the late Clemmie Gates, John said his parents came to Gary in the 1950s.

“Dad worked at U.S. Steel and mom took care of the children,” he said. “They instilled hard work and discipline within all of us. And the neighborhood took care of us, too. If you got in trouble and the neighbor caught you, you got a whipping ... and then go home for another one!”

Gates added that his self-esteem was tested at one point. He said a counselor at Lew Wallace High School told him not to bother going to college.

“ 'Just go and get a job' is what he told me,” Gates said. “I reflected on that negative advice now and am grateful that my family did not let me brood on that.