In the News - Who's Who [ back to top ] Featured Stories | Through the <strong>Sallyport</strong> | On the Bookshelf | Who's Who Students | Arts | Scoreboard | Yesteryear | Previous Issues Copyright ©<strong>2002</strong> <strong>Rice</strong> <strong>University</strong> http://www.rice.edu/sallyport/<strong>2002</strong>/winter/whoswho/inthenews.html (2 <strong>of</strong> 2) [10/30/2009 11:00:43 AM]
Closet Full <strong>of</strong> Hats - Who's Who <strong>Winter</strong> <strong>2002</strong> VOL.58, NO.2 Closet Full <strong>of</strong> Hats Kathy Felker gets tired <strong>of</strong> people oohing and aahing over her husband’s job as a flight controller at NASA’s mission control. She’s got a pretty good job <strong>of</strong> her own. She’s a recruiter, an external relations pr<strong>of</strong>essional, a counselor, and more—all rolled into one. Felker does a little bit <strong>of</strong> everything as the assistant director <strong>of</strong> the MBA for Executives program at <strong>Rice</strong>’s Jesse H. Jones Graduate School <strong>of</strong> Management. And she’s so good at what she does that she recently was recognized with the university’s Distinguished Employee Award. <strong>The</strong> honor is presented to employees who go above and beyond their job descriptions. Felker was praised for her ability to work with students and faculty as well as with other university staff to make the MBA for Executives program run seamlessly. She started working in the field as an undergraduate at the <strong>University</strong> <strong>of</strong> New Mexico, and she was the only Jones School staff member who had experience working in executive education when the program was initiated at <strong>Rice</strong>. Kathy Felker, shown above in front <strong>of</strong> the Jones School building that currently is under construction, was honored with a Distinguished Employee Award. “Kathy has succeeded in winning respect and friendly cooperation from both faculty and students,” stated Wil Uecker, associate dean for executive education, and Kay Henry, director <strong>of</strong> MBA for Executives, in a letter nominating Felker for the award. “She handles all her tasks with a spirit <strong>of</strong> excellence as well as with considerable tact, diplomacy, and concern for the feelings <strong>of</strong> co-workers and customers alike.” “My diplomacy skills have been fine-tuned in this job,” explains Felker. “<strong>The</strong>se are <strong>of</strong>ten top-level managers, so I have to deal with them on their level.” Her diplomacy likewise extends to faculty. Felker is charged with handling the registration <strong>of</strong> students and administrative responsibilities, such as ordering books and producing grade reports. But she notes, “My job changes depending on what time <strong>of</strong> year it is. During the admissions season, I’m a recruiter. During graduation, I’m almost like a public relations/external relations staff person. But all year round, I interface between the students and the rest <strong>of</strong> the university.” She counts working with the executive education students as her favorite part <strong>of</strong> the job. Students attend the program only on weekends, and they must have at least 10 years <strong>of</strong> work experience, meaning most <strong>of</strong> them are middle- and upper-level managers. Felker describes the students as “incredibly demanding, but not in a negative way. <strong>The</strong>y have high standards; they challenge rules that don’t make sense because they work in the real world. <strong>The</strong>y certainly challenge our faculty, but the faculty love to work with them.” Felker adds that the environment in the MBA for Executives program is like a family. “I’m here whenever the students are here, and it’s a smallenough program that it really is like a family. We don’t just know the students, we know their spouses and kids too.” She admires the fact that the http://www.rice.edu/sallyport/<strong>2002</strong>/winter/whoswho/closetfull<strong>of</strong>hats.html (1 <strong>of</strong> 2) [10/30/2009 11:00:41 AM]
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