2021 Bender of Twigs

It seems fitting Amy Easum is being honored with 25 years of service and recognition for Bender of Twigs at the very same time the university's enrollment is rounding into a 30-year high in the fall of 2021. Her tenure transcends major enhancements to the university and Amy has been along for a joyous ride to grow Shocker Nation. Amy has worked with hundreds of people on campus through thousands of projects big and small, creating a memorable impact on all the university's colleges and most departments. Her work has been critical to celebrating the university's brand, successes and the storytelling of our students, faculty, staff and community.

After attending the Columbus College of Art and Design in Ohio for her undergraduate degree, Amy began her service to Wichita State as a graphic designer in 1996. With a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Graphic Design from K-State, and having grown up across the street from the University of Kansas where her father was the director of the student health center for 30 years, she found a fit at Fairmount Street, helping departments with their publications, creative work, special projects, and marketing strategy. She earned her way through numerous promotions, becoming a serving as art director, project manager, client services manager and rounding into her current role as creative director for a division that supplies 24/7 marketing and communications support to a thriving university.

Amy works closely with her clients, campus departments, and personnel who trust her to facilitate their department’s outreach and marketing goals. She advises on brand voice and look, counsels on audience research, considers data and information that can drive decisions, and strengthens the creative assets that are brought into focus. She develops and guides the creative team that is consistently buried in projects ranging in volume and budget from billboards to social media to print publications to campus signage to digital. Amy has a limitless capacity to juggle projects that vary in scope and audience, while meeting any major milestone and deadline her clients need.

Amy's star shines brightest when she dedicates time to addressing a department’s challenges, delving into brainstorming, conceptualizing paths forward, and executing decisions. She is a problem-solver, gathering individual pieces of information, merging ideas, moving them around, and ultimately creating a clearer and beautiful picture. Amy can discern the finest details in various mediums like paper, gloss, color, contracts, printers, and timelines, ultimately finding efficiencies to help her clients feel excited about the outcome. Her clients deliver high praise and satisfaction for her support and performance on their projects, with additional outside metrics available to gauge her talents. She is part of many of her department’s historical accomplishments, receiving awards from ADDY, CASE MidAmerica District VI Higher Education, Clarus, and the University and College Designer Association.

Amy has been one of the greatest campus partners the Office of Admissions has worked with over the last decade, in a period of unrelenting demand for new publications, fresh creative approaches, and sound marketing strategy. Attracting new students, which involves investing thousands of dollars into a university experience, is no small feat, and her team has had a dependable partner who delivers results. Despite personnel transition throughout the university and even her own department, Amy's team has been a steadfast teammate and champion for recruitment success. It is with zero hesitation and 100% enthusiasm that Amy has been a part of the machine that has recruited the largest several freshman classes in the university’s 126-year history.

In addition to managing a household with her husband Pat, and having two children, Mason and Abby, Amy has found time to achieve a Master's degree in Innovation Design from Wichita State, which she believes is the best educational experience she has ever had, learning so much and loving the program that will help carry her into the next phase of her career.

The university celebrates Amy Easum as a colleague, emphasizing that her achievement as a Bender of Twigs is well-deserved, and expressing confidence that the campus community will benefit from her continued presence.