"When I think about what my friends have done, in my peer group, most of them are not in 'women's' professions, like nursing and teaching. My friends went to law school, they went to medical school, they went to business school, they became entrepreneurs and started businesses, they went into government," Decyk said.

"At the time I was going to school, it was not unusual at all for girls to be making these choices. It was unusual for girls to be guided into making these choices. I can remember in high school the guidance counselor said to those of us at the top of the class, 'Oh, you've done really, really well, and of course you are going to go to college, and you should think about being a teacher,' and all of us went, 'Well, that was stupid advice,' and we just ignored it. It was like, 'Don't you know what the world is doing? Get with the program,'" Decyk said.

"That really was the time the women's movement was gaining momentum, and if you had any curiosity, if you were reasonably well-read, you were beginning to be aware of the writings and influence of people like Simone de Beauvoir and the early great thinkers of the women's movement. The high schools just hadn't caught up with that."

The University of Illinois, on the other hand, was very much with the program. "I was lucky enough to meet a few professors I felt comfortable enough to go to for guidance," she recalled. "There was a philosophy professor whom I got to know quite well, and he and a couple of his graduate students and I used to meet periodically. And I'm sure they thought I was a complete intellectual parvenu, but it was great fun to feel that I was part of that group and to learn from them. They were kind to let me tag along."

Decyk herself arrived at the U of I as a tagalong to her then boyfriend, giving up a scholarship to Wellesley College along the way. Though the romance broke up in a few months, she doesn't regret having chosen Illinois. "The U of I is a fine place to go," Decyk said. "I got a good education there." It was also a place where she honed her work ethic, working 20 to 30 hours per week on top of a full course load.

Decyk, who has been married "more than once," still works hard today, doesn't procrastinate, keeps her desk tidy, doesn't get nervous meeting important people or giving speeches. She doesn't expect anything from her colleagues that she doesn't expect from herself. This trait creates a deep loyalty among her subordinates.

"Roxanne is awesome," said executive assistant Sharon Rapp, whose typical day runs 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., the same as Decyk's. "She is a hard worker, she's fair, she takes people's feelings into account. She is firm, but she is a nice firm. She is secure in who she is and what she does, so when she has a bad day she doesn't take it out on other people. I never met one person who didn't like Roxanne."

Decyk, however, is candid about what she sees as her shortcomings. "I push my sense of my skill at multitasking," she confessed. "And if I didn't have terrific people around me to pick up all the dropped balls, like a wonderful assistant and many good colleagues and an understanding husband, I'm sure I would have made a lot of messes that I've managed to avoid. I tend to over-commit, but if something looks like an interesting challenge, it's hard for me to resist saying, 'Oh, that might be fun to work on.'"

Ironically, perhaps, considering her decision 30 years ago, Decyk looks forward to the day she might return to Oxford and finish her doctorate.

"As hokey as it sounds, I'd like to make some contribution to the body of knowledge that has an impact after I am no longer around," Decyk said. "I have had a peculiar and advantaged opportunity to look at how large organizations operate and be part of some quite dramatic changes in those organizations and maybe to marry, in some way that can be helpful, my practical observations and experience with some sound theory.

"But if I go back and finish a doctorate and teach for a while that would make me very happy," she said. "Maybe the circle will come fully around."