James T. Tiedge Memorial Award
Kevin B. Boyd, Comm '91
Chicago, Ill.
Kevin Boyd says his admiration for the remarkable staff and faculty he met at Marquette led him to a career in higher education. Today, as chief information officer at the University of Chicago, he is passionate about supporting the research and teaching that happens there. “My teams are an important enabler for the success of faculty, staff and students at the University of Chicago,” he says.
At Marquette, Kevin studied broadcast journalism and gained hands-on experience at the campus television station, first as news director and then general manager. He also worked as a student for Milwaukee’s WTMJ-TV Channel 4, where he witnessed major news events as they unfolded, including the Tiananmen Square standoff and massacre, the arrest of Jeffrey Dahmer and the October 1987 stock market crash.
After graduation, his diverse career included a tenure at the Chicago Tribune, where he was vice president of product management, and an adjunct faculty position at Northwestern University, where he taught ecommerce. In 2012, he joined the University of Chicago in his first CIO role.
Kevin serves in his field as the chair of ChicagoCIO, an organization for CIOs of the largest companies in the Chicago area. “It’s been a great opportunity to collaborate with other CIOs on topics like AI, quantum computing and enterprise resource planning,” he explains.
Receiving this award “feels like a moment that brings my Marquette journey full circle,” Kevin says, “recognizing not only the education and experiences that shaped me, but also the mentors, friendships and values that continue to guide my life today.”
Name a Marquette faculty or staff member who had an impact on you, and how.
Jon Pray from the Instructional Media Center was both a mentor and a friend during my time at Marquette. His thoughtful coaching shaped several important decisions I made as a student and influenced how I aspired to lead a meaningful life. Jon’s dry wit, steady wisdom and quietly insightful humor modeled a style of leadership that has stayed with me ever since.
What is one of your favorite Marquette memories?
One of my favorite memories was attending a campus talk by Allen Ginsberg and William Burroughs. Sitting in the audience and listening to two of the most iconic voices of the Beat Generation share their reflections on art, rebellion and the creative life felt electric. It opened my world a little wider and reminded me how transformative it can be to encounter great thinkers up close.
