Development Updates

Cementing a legacy

Mullen family ‘pays it forward’ with scholarship

As a doctoral student at Columbia University’s Teachers College, Dave Mullen Sr. juggled his time between studying, writing, and teaching full-time to support his young family.

However, once he started writing his dissertation, he quickly realized that without focusing all of his attention on his studies, he would have to postpone his graduation. Fortunately, thanks to a tip from a professor, Mullen Sr. applied for and received a life-changing scholarship that enabled him to complete his dissertation and graduate on time without the added stress of working a full-time job.

In 1969, Mullen Sr. joined the faculty in UGA’s Mary Frances Early College of Education after working in Kabul, Afghanistan for two years. He taught in the Department of Lifelong Education, Administration, and Policy for 14 years before passing away in the classroom doing what he loved most—preparing the next generation of educational leaders.

Today, his legacy in education lives on through the College’s David J. Mullen Memorial Scholarship. “My dad passed away at age 57 while teaching class,” says Dave Mullen Jr. (A.B.J. ’77, M.B.A. ’79), who established the scholarship fund in his father’s name in 1993. “It was all very sudden and unexpected. My intent with creating the scholarship was to provide doctoral students with the funds to supplement their income while they complete their degrees similar to how my dad had his doctoral work supported at Columbia.”

Through the scholarship, Mullen Jr. and his wife Cynthia Mullen (B.S.Ed. ’76, M.Ed. ’79), an alumna of the College, have helped alleviate the financial burden of dozens of doctoral students over the years who plan to teach and work in the field of educational leadership—the same area Mullen Sr. worked in as a long-time educator.

“If you’re a teacher or principal trying to get your doctorate and you get to the dissertation stage, it’s really hard to work full-time,” says Mullen Jr. “My dad always said the dissertation was the major breaking point when getting a doctorate.”

Roots in education, UGA

Education is a running theme in the Mullen family.

Even though he pursued a career in finance, Mullen Jr. believes his passion for training financial advisors to help them excel in the industry stems from his parents’ passion for education.

After spending over 27 years hiring, training, and managing more than 500 financial advisors as a managing director at Merrill Lynch, Mullen Jr. started his own company, Altius Learning, to provide professional development and coaching for the wealth management industry.

“Every entrepreneur faces uncertainty when starting a new company,” says Mullen Jr. “You have no idea what the demand is going to be and how successful it’s going to be. There has to be this act of faith and belief that there’s a need for it, and putting your time and money into something that’s not proven is really scary.”

The biggest challenge of starting any business is having the courage to believe in and move forward with a new idea, he adds. Since 2007, Altius Learning has grown and expanded internationally, creating training and coaching programs for financial advisors and managers. His three bestselling books on financial services provide insights, strategies, and best practices for people navigating the financial industry. 

Today, Mullen Jr. lives in Denver, Colorado, but his connections with Athens, Georgia, where he grew up, and UGA, where both he and his wife received two degrees, run deep. One of his sons—the Mullens have four children—also graduated from UGA.

Recently, these deep roots inspired him to make UGA’s Innovators Pledge, a nonbinding promise to share Altius Learning’s success with the University. The gift is also a way for Mullen Jr. and his wife to make a living pledge—in addition to their planned gifts—to cement his father’s legacy in education.

“My experience at UGA was so positive,” says Mullen Jr. “It’s where I really want to put the majority of my money that I give to nonprofits because of the really positive experience I had with Georgia, my family legacy, and my family history there. My passion and commitment to Georgia hasn’t changed. I graduated over 40 years ago, and through all those moves, my passion and commitment to Georgia and our roots have never wavered.”

Join the pledge

The Innovators’ Pledge is a community of innovators—creators, equity holders, and entrepreneurs—who have made a nonbinding promise to share their future success with UGA. It’s up to the innovator to decide when, how, and how much they plan to give.

If you’re interested in leaving a lasting legacy at UGA and the College of Education, please consider taking the Innovator’s Pledge today.