Nannerl O. Keohane: Everyday Heroes

Something was missing from the Sept. 11 remembrances of police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical workers: Almost no one recalled that most of these heroes were government employees.

So, too, are the regulators now trying to ensure the accuracy of corporate audits, the prosecutors who investigate sexual abuse, and the diplomats working to promote peace in international trouble spots.

Most government service isn't glamorous. Politicians often ridicule it, and many young people, as well as their parents, view it as becoming a bureaucratic drone.

But they're wrong. If we've learned one thing from events as seemingly disconnected as the Sept. 11 attacks and the stock market tumble, it's that we need the best possible people filling the ranks of our local, state, and federal governments. The federal government alone will try to fill more than 200,000 civilian jobs this year, and our most-talented young people need to recognize that these jobs often offer remarkable opportunities to grow professionally while serving society.

I know this from my own experience. As a junior in college, I worked as a student intern for Senator Estes Kefauver. Although my career ultimately took a more academic direction, the experience changed my perspective forever.

I wasn't unique. Eve Veliz, one of our recent graduates here at Duke, tells how she took a prestigious job at a private consulting firm and found herself working atrocious hours, traveling endlessly, and generally being unhappy. She switched to a job at the US General Accounting Office, where she found a supportive team, interesting clients, reasonable travel, and a good salary and benefits. Eve says her job now offers ''a huge amount of responsibility and input'' with ''a lot of room for creativity and free thought.''

When I talk with other Duke graduates who've gone to work in government, I'm impressed by how much authority, latitude, and - dare I say it? - fun they seem to have and by how fast they rise professionally. For instance, another Duke alumnus, Mike Stephens, was a respected congressional staffer for many years before he left to try the private sector. After a few years, he realized he could make a bigger contribution and get more personal satisfaction by returning to government. Now he is working with the Appropriations Committee, helping to write legislation and negotiate public policy on everything from urban housing to scientific research. He's found his niche and is having a big impact on people's lives.

I hear such stories so often that I wonder why so many young people still view government service as a form of noble sacrifice to pursue only if they can't land a position in consulting, banking, or manufacturing. According to the Brookings Institution, fewer than one in eight of the liberal arts students who graduated this past spring even considered working for the federal government. Yet, according to Comptroller General David M. Walker, more than a third of full-time civilian federal workers - and nearly three-quarters of the senior executives - will be eligible to retire by 2005. Who will replace them?

This isn't some abstract ''Washington problem.'' Four out of five federal employees work outside the Beltway. Here in North Carolina, for instance, the federal government hires experts in everything from environmental safety to fighting terrorism. Nationally, opportunities abound for public policy analysts, geologists, economists, engineers, health professionals, language experts, and others.

Such careers won't make you rich, although government agencies do offer relocation and recruitment bonuses, flexible work scheduling, and the equivalent of a 401(k) plan - to say nothing of programs to help pay back student loans. Any savvy student can find the details at Web sites run by the Council for Excellence in Government, the Partnership for Public Service, the government's own Office of Personnel Management, or the National Commission on the Public Service.

No, the proper motivation to enter government isn't wealth but a desire to serve others and make a difference. Colleges and universities can facilitate this by providing the right training and putting students in touch with government agencies through internships, employment fairs, placement offices, and the like.

At Duke, we now award more than 150 undergraduate public policy degrees each year, nurturing a cadre of leaders with problem-solving skills to tackle issues such as health care, globalization, the environment, poverty, and public education. Other universities have similar programs.

What's needed most, though, is a change in attitude - among students and the rest of us. Occasions such as the Sept. 11 anniversary should inspire us to honor heroes not only with speeches and ceremonies, but by incorporating their public service and patriotism into our own lives.

Nannerl O. Keohane is the president of Duke University.