2021 Bender of Twigs

Over the past 25 years Kevin has had a positive impact on Wichita State both professionally and personally. Kevin's career at WSU started with being hired to perform basic website development, moving through the selection and implementation of the Banner ERP system, to now being the Manager of Data Warehousing and Reporting. But Kevin is more than just a resume of jobs he has performed over the past 25 years. His willingness to say yes to service opportunities, his ability to relate to people and build bridges with them, and his commitment to family complete the picture of who Kevin is.

Kevin started working at WSU in November of 1995 for the University College doing website development for the LAS Advising Center. This introduction to web development in the early years of website design and development inspired Kevin to enroll in the Management Information Systems program here at WSU. Kevin's pursuit and completion of a second bachelor's degree in MIS shows that he is a lifelong learner, a trait that would serve him well in the years to come. With his MIS degree completed, Kevin transferred to the Office of Financial Aid in January of 2001, to become their Information Technology Coordinator. Kevin was serving in this role when WSU started exploring moving to an ERP system. He was vital to Financial Aid's needs being represented on the ERP steering committee. Noticing his ability to represent and champion Financial Aid's needs, the Student Affairs division had him take on the responsibility of representing all of Student Affairs' needs on the committee. In this role, Kevin demonstrated he was able to work across divisions, with diverse personalities, challenge norms, and successfully reach consensus on decisions to move WSU toward a better future during the Banner implementation.

In June of 2010, Kevin joined Information Technology Services, then University Computing and Telecommunications Services, as a web application developer. He worked with a team that helped move WSU forward by working with the campus community to meet their needs through the development of web-based applications. As WSU started leveraging the large amounts of data collected by Banner and other systems, Kevin took on the challenge of learning and working with new reporting tools and data warehousing concepts. Through this new challenge, Kevin helped move WSU toward becoming a data-driven organization. Because of his willingness to continue to learn, his ability to work with and lead others, and his tactical thinking, he was promoted to Manager of Data Warehousing and Reporting in May of 2017. In this role, Kevin leads a team of four others who continue to meet the data needs of WSU's community.

While important, the list of jobs Kevin has held at WSU just paints part of the picture of who he is. Kevin served two terms on the Unclassified Professional Senate representing employees from Academic Affairs. During his two terms on UP Senate, Kevin not only provided a voice for those he represented but also automated the senate voting process, which he continues to support today. Kevin is always participating in Senate service activities such as the annual Stuff the Bus and Shocker Locker food drives.

Kevin also has an infectious sense of humor which helps put others at ease. It is through the use of his sense of humor that Kevin builds bridges with others, as it is hard to have conflict where there is laughter.

Finally, Kevin has a tremendous love of baseball, especially the Los Angeles Dodgers. We around the office always know when opening day of the baseball season is and, as we head into October, who will be playing in the postseason playoffs. We can even get background on the two teams that make it to the World Series. By sharing his knowledge with those of us who are not as knowledgeable about baseball, he makes the games more interesting and exciting.

I have been honored to have worked with Kevin for most of his 25 years here at WSU. I value his professionalism, candidness, and sense of humor. I look forward to continuing to work with him in the years to come.