Dr. Tony Frye didn’t even want to go to college, let alone be a college professor.

When Frye was in high school, he played football and baseball and earned good grades, but college was not on his radar. Growing up in the inner city of Chicago, his ancestors immigrated to America from Italy through Ellis Island, and they migrated to the Midwest.  So, when he graduated high school his family wanted him to go to college and be a lawyer and judge. But he did not want to go to college, so he worked multiple part time jobs.

When he later realized his family was right, he went to The Ohio State University and earned his bachelor’s degree in political science. He then went to law school because he thought he wanted to be a criminal lawyer, but he realized the criminal justice system was not perfect.

“ I realized I could defend guilty people.” Frye said.

He did not have a backup and his family wanted him to he stayed for another year. After his second year of law school, he dropped out and went to go get his master’s degree in political science at the university of Akron. During the program they require their students to teach, and this is where Frye found his love for teaching.

“I enjoyed the challenge of explaining things to people in a way they can understand,” Frye said.

He later became a teacher’s assistant while obtaining his master’s degree at The University of Akron.  This led him to go to the University of Miami (Ohio) to finish his schooling and get his Ph.D. in political science.  After He obtained his Ph.D. he went on to be a visiting professor at Miami University and taught there until coming to Piedmont College in 2008.