Kansas Wesleyan will honor four individuals for their contributions to the university at Oct. 19’s Alumni Awards, as the university bestows its Young Alumni, Alumni Achievement, Alumni Service and Alumni by Choice recognitions. Zach Brown ’13, Rich Zeeman ’90, Justin Taylor ’16 and Larry Marshall, local business leader, will be recognized.
“These four individuals embody what it means to be a Coyote,” said Ken Oliver, executive vice president of advancement and university operations. “Their service to KWU and their communities, as well as the successes they’ve had in their careers, make them great examples for our students and those around them. We’re privileged to bestow these honors on these individuals.”
Full bios on the inductees appear below. KWU’s Alumni Awards will be held in conjunction with the Jerry Jones Athletic Hall of Fame induction in Muir Gym, beginning at 8 a.m. Tickets can be purchased at https://one.bidpal.net/joneshofandalumniawards.
Zach Brown ’13, Young Alumni Award
Zach Brown ’13 is committed to justice and public service, a dedication that extends beyond what he learned in the classroom. A History and Speech major, Brown spent his last semester in the residency externship program in Public Policy, working full-time in Washington, D.C., for the American Civil Liberties Union and focusing on criminal justice reform.
At KWU, Brown was a four-year starter on the football team and excelled in Debate and Forensics, earning numerous individual/team awards and national championships. He also participated in multiple basketball seasons with the Coyote cheer team, hosted multiple radio shows on KKWU Radio and served in the Student Government Association.
After earning his bachelor’s degree, Brown attended Texas A&M School of Law, where he graduated in the top 4% of his class. There, he was as an editor for the Texas A&M Law Review and participated in high-level competitions, including the Phillip C. Jessup International Law Moot Court Competition and the International Baseball Arbitration Competition.
Brown’s passion for justice and public service led him to his current role as an assistant district attorney in Dallas County, Texas. He has served in varying prosecutorial roles within the district attorney’s office, taking numerous misdemeanor and felony cases to trial.
Brown continues to serve his alma mater as president of the KWU Alumni Association.
He lives in Waxahachie, Texas, with his wife, Kim, and their two sons, JD and Ben.
Rich Zeeman ’90, Alumni Achievement Award
Rich Zeeman ’90 is an accomplished executive with a rich history of leadership in the education and ed-tech sectors.
Zeeman grew up in Salina where he finished third in his KWU class, graduating magna cum laude with a degree in Business Administration. He also holds an Associate of Science degree in Business Administration from Marymount College. Zeeman went on to earn a Master of Arts degree from Baker University and holds an honorary Doctorate of Education from Daniel Webster College. He was the first in his family to obtain a college degree.
Zeeman is a five-time COO, where he has been instrumental in developing operational strategies and overseeing companywide senior initiatives for several institutions over the past 25 years. He successfully managed large-scale operations and strategic initiatives aimed at improving educational outcomes and operational efficiencies.
His career has been distinguished by his ability to drive operational success, develop strategic initiatives, and lead with a visionary approach to achieving both educational and business objectives.
Zeeman and his wife, Nicole Braun Zeeman, live in the Indianapolis area.
Justin Taylor ’16, Alumni Service Award
Nobody knows the KWU computer system better than Justin Taylor ’16.
Now assistant vice president for information systems, he was both student, majoring in Marketing and Business Administration, and staff, lead computer technician, in 2016.
Taylor oversaw the university’s Jenzabar conversion, a nearly 18-month process that upgraded software systems across campus. The upgrade improves the quality of service across campus for students as well as faculty and staff.
On a daily basis, Taylor’s department oversees all the university’s technology needs, including hardware, software and network management.
He has extensive experience in computer science and advanced networking, cybersecurity, database administration and leadership, bringing a wealth of expertise to every project. He is committed to developing cutting-edge solutions, leveraging the latest technological advancements, and staying attuned to emerging trends to bring the latest and best technology to Kansas Wesleyan University.
Taylor lives in the Lindsborg area.
Larry Marshall, Alumni by Choice Award
Salina knows Larry Marshall as a local leader. He, of course, has spent a great deal of time as managing his family-owned car dealership, Marshall Chrysler-Dodge-Jeep-Ram-Nissan. It was the job before that, however, that he calls his most important. Marshall spent two-plus years on a pair of Navy ships in the early 1960s as a lieutenant, junior grade, serving as commissary officer. At just 23 years old, he was responsible for feeding more than 3,000 people every day, all while the ship made six trips from San Francisco to Alaska, Hawaii, Japan, Korea and several south Pacific islands. He narrowly avoided tragedy twice during that experience, first, due to a rogue wave hitting the ship, and second, while steaming in a typhoon with 100-MPH winds and 70-foot waves. That second incident occurred off the coast of Japan and caused a serious breach in the ship’s hull. Marshall calls his time in the Armed Forces his “grand adventure.”
Since returning to Salina, Marshall has served in a litany of roles throughout the community. He is a past president of the Downtown Lions Club, was one of the original members of the board of the Salina Art Center and is a past director of what is now Sunflower Bank. He is on the advisory board of the Spencer Museum of Art at the University of Kansas, and has been a past member of the Chrysler and Nissan dealer councils.
Marshall’s father, Lee, attended Kansas Wesleyan and Larry himself has been involved with the university for decades. He and his wife, Barbara, reside in Salina.
