VA CIO Baker’s Gandy Dancer Career

In an aside during his monthly press call, Veterans Affairs Department Chief Information Officer Roger Baker said he put himself through college at the University of Michigan working as a “gandy dancer” on the Grand Trunk Railroad between Port Huron, Mich., and Chicago.

In plain English, Baker explained, this meant he was issued a 12-pound sledge hammer and told to pound tie spikes as part of a track gang.

So, Baker said, today he has no complaints about sitting in an air conditioned office and talking.