Her Story
About Michele
Michele Doyal is an accomplished higher education administrator and Business Officer within the Division of Research at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. She has built a long-standing career in education and institutional operations, beginning in the early 1990s as a student worker while attending college. Her professional journey expanded into her first formal administrative role with City Colleges of Chicago around the late 1990s to early 2000s, where she began developing her expertise in academic operations, administrative coordination, and organizational support within large educational systems. Since 2020, Michele has served in a Business role at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, overseeing business operations, budgeting, finance, human resources coordination, and administrative strategy. Her work spans multiple functional areas of university operations, giving her a broad and integrated perspective on institutional effectiveness. She is known for her commitment to transparency in decision-making, ensuring she has access to accurate and complete information in order to support responsible financial and operational outcomes across the division. Beyond her institutional role, Michele is expanding her work into organizational development consulting, driven by a passion for helping organizations grow, improve systems, and build sustainable success. She is motivated by persistence, intentional networking, and a strong focus on achieving long-term goals despite challenges or external perceptions. Michele is also dedicated to building her personal brand to support others—particularly small businesses that lack access to robust operational resources. Outside of her professional life, she values family deeply and enjoys time with her children and grandchildren, as well as cultivating her interest in gardening and plant care.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Michele
01What do you attribute your success to?
Persistence. I think being very persistent with networking and going after what I want, despite what other people may think. Just setting my eye on a goal, and working hard to achieve it. Seeing and understanding the value in developing connections and maintaining relationships even after the common work has been completed.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
Don't give up. So this kind of mimics what I've attributed to my success. I've conformed to this principle and continue to live by it.
I would always get, Chele, it takes time. Yes. Sometimes the best things do take the most time to acquire, so I choose to not give up during the wait.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
View every situation as an opportunity. Either a connection opportunity or an opportunity to elevate, to learn, or to better yourself. Even what seems to be a horrible situation can be great opportunities if internalized and managed properly.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think that the biggest challenge right now is underestimating the importance of all aspects of educational administration. In my current role there are a lot of leadership shifts; so, when new people come in, often times they tend to only see titles more than abilities. What I've learned is that even in your body your hands don't do what your feet do, your feet don't do what your eyes do, but you're not gonna cut one of them off because you think one is less valuable. Each member serves its own important purpose.
I fully understand how the value of roles and responsibilities can get lost within the repetition of business processes. This is especially true of women working in education. I won't say we always need credit for what we do; however, I do believe that the weight of what we do is not always known, because women tend to make things look a lot easier than what they truly are. But, just because we carry it doesn't mean it's not heavy, So because of this I think the challenge is not necessarily getting the recognition, but just getting the professional respect deserved for being effective. I believe that this challenge may not be exclusive to higher education; however, I know within the dynamics of higher education, that is a major challenge, especially for women.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
The biggest thing for me is transparency.... with respect to confidentiality of course. That goes for both my work and personal life to be honest. People have become so afraid of knowledge transfer for fear that doing so will make them become obsolete. Some people think "If I don't give you information, then you can't...."
This mentality not only makes work challenging it makes any type of relationship difficult.
Because I touch so many parts of administration within the university it is important for me to have all of the information that I need to move strategically and make informed decisions. A lot of times, I run into brick walls because people are not forthright with information. It does make things easier and run a lot smoother if the proper information is available. If I know what I'm working with... I can make it happen, I just need all of the information.
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