Kevin Keith, as a growing Leader

Photo from https://www.landmark.edu/

Meet Kevin Keith, an Associate Professor in the Computer Science Department at Landmark College. He has worked with many students and faculty alike. Professor Keith has worked as a high school Math instructor and as a Computer Science consultant before working at Landmark as a Computer Science professor. He grew as a leader after experiencing learning under various leaders and mentors. According to him after meeting many, “horrendous managers in my life that I didn’t want to emulate, it was mostly from the bad leaders that I learned what I didn’t want to emulate.” This led him to decide what he did not want to be like, which in turn helped him become a great leader as a teacher,
project manager, advisor, and more.

Recently Professor Keith has worked with the Biology department faculty and with students to make an educational game about action potential across a cell membrane. I had the opportunity to work
on this project myself. He set out clear goals for each member of the team to complete as well as helped unify all the progress that each member made. When I joined the project, it was in its later stages,
during which I helped change the game from a single player game to a multiplayer game. Professor Keith laid out clear goals for us and walked us through what we needed to do, even providing sample material
to used. When we were stuck, he answered our questions, while at the same time, allowed us to figure some parts out ourselves, so that we could grow as programmers.

He has described himself as a people pleaser who has a hard time saying no. Kevin further talked about one of his key challenges; “If I’m trying to delegate a task and it is not being handled properly, I tend to take them on myself just to get them done. I am very amiable, so working with
people that are ‘difficult’ it is a challenge.” This held especially true when he is trying to get students and group members to make progress on tasks. On the flip side, he makes lots of lists to keep track of what
things need to be done, by when, and by who. This allows him to communicate with who needs to get things done effectively and to properly delegate tasks. This is one of his greatest strengths: being
organized.

In order to be more effective as a teacher, he does a lot of research and learning into the things that he is trying to teach so that he has the ability to provide better guidance for others. He describes the process of become a leader, as being gradual. “It is a slow process to become a leader. You gradually take responsibility within your organization before you become a leader within your organization” Keith explained. He is still growing as a leader, while at the same time, he helps his students grow. Keith takes a hands-on approach to teaching, and a democratic approach for leading projects. He also makes sure to step back to give students the opportunity to grow on their own.

Kevin has showed many qualities of a great leader. “Kevin is a fair leader who encourages teamwork. He encourages us to make progress on our own before reaching out to him for help. This has helped me learn in a more hands on manor than in other computer science classes that I have taken in the past” states a student. As an advisee and student of Professor Keith, I have also seen his love of learning and decisive judgment in making decisions. I am grateful for all I have learned from him as well as all the help that I have received from him. I am not alone in this opinion, as many have the same attitude towards him. A student also described, “Kevin is level-headed and patient when talking with us
and helps us with our pin-point problems that we have.” As a student, Kevin is one of the best Computer Science teachers one could ask for.

References:
Mankowitz, Zachary, and Kevin Keith. “For LC Voices.” 18 Oct. 2022.
Mankowitz, Zachary, and Undisclosed. “On Kevin Keith.” Various Dates.
Northouse, Peter Guy. Introduction to Leadership: Concepts and Practice. SAGE Publications, Inc., 2021.