Trojans remember USC alum Kim West

When the late Kim West PhD ’97 arrived as the new residence hall director at the State University of New York at Stony Brook in 1979, she stood out from the crowd.

“She was the ultimate preppy, straight from Connecticut,” said Adlai Wertman, professor of clinical entrepreneurship at the USC Marshall School of Business. “And we were a bunch of kids from Brooklyn and Queens at a state school. None of us knew what to make of her.”

Wertman, who at the time was a senior at Stony Brook and a resident adviser for his dorm building, was technically West’s first employee.

To everyone’s surprise, however, the young woman with the matching pink and green luggage was soon part of the family, cooking for students in her apartment and solving problems large and small.

“It couldn’t have been easy,” said Wertman, founding director of the Brittingham Social Enterprise Lab. “We weren’t an easy group, and we tried everything to corrupt her, but no luck,” he said with a laugh. “She just hung out with us and loved us and earned our trust and respect. It’s just who she was. She was a natural.”

Stories like this abound about West, USC Marshall’s former associate dean for undergraduate programs, who died on July 18 after a short illness. In more than 30 years in higher education, she touched many lives.

For Kim, students came first.

Anne Ziemniak

“For Kim, students came first,” said Anne Ziemniak, director of undergraduate student services. “I have heard from so many people — students, former students, colleagues and young professionals who tell me how she helped shape their lives. She had a reach that far extended our Marshall community.”

A love of campus life

Born in Cleveland and raised in Massachusetts and Connecticut, West spent her professional life on one campus or another. She earned a B.A. in history and American studies at Skidmore College and a master’s in higher education administration from Columbia University in 1983. She completed her doctorate in higher education at the USC Rossier School of Education.

After her early work at Stony Brook and Hofstra University, West arrived at USC in 1985 as associate director of residence life. In 1990, she was tapped to be the director of residence life at the California Institute of Technology, a position she held for 13 years, before returning to USC as associate professor of clinical education. In 2007, she became USC Marshall’s associate dean for undergraduate programs.

In a letter to arriving students in 2011, she wrote: “I love the ‘humming’ of a college campus when our students are here. I love the ‘newness’ of freshmen, the upper-class students who are stopping by after a summer of travel and great internships, and the buzz in the hallway that has been absent since May…. I am a sucker for this time of year.”

Being at a university was what she loved.

Guillermina Molina

“Being at a university was what she loved,” said Guillermina Molina, director of development and parent engagement in USC Marshall External Relations, who worked with West. “Every step of her extensive career in higher education she worked to make the student experience that much better.”

A treat to know

West was known for remembering names and always having chocolate and other treats in her office. Students recall waving to her from outside her office on the first floor of Bridge Hall.

“I always saw her in there, so one day I thought I’d drop her a note to say I admired her work ethic,” said senior Larissa Purnell, incoming president of the USC Marshall Business Student Government. “And before I knew it, she had invited me in and was getting to know me.”

“She was my biggest mentor at USC,” said Sarah Choi ’15. “What was cool was how it extended beyond USC and into my post-grad life. She was the first person to encourage me to go to law school, even though it’s a complete change from what I had been doing.”

West was on hand for the private premiere showing of a documentary Choi had co-produced. “She was one of my first believers and, on a personal level, a huge supporter.”

Colleagues say that the same genuine interest and encouragement that made her so popular with students made her a solid supervisor as well.

“She was always a great sounding board for me and my desire to be a better manager for my team,” Ziemniak said. “She would never ‘tell’ anyone what to do, but she would listen and help you think through different options.”

A people person

Friends agree that her network was wide and deep, and that sometimes it seemed like she knew everyone on campus. Perhaps because she did.

Wertman recalls his first year at USC in 2007, when he was just getting to know his new colleagues. He invited West to coffee, not realizing that she was the same Kim West who had won over his boisterous dormitory 30 years earlier.

“We were walking to Literatea and she was asking me about myself, where I went to school,” he said. When he mentioned Stony Brook, she looked at him, surprised. What dorm had he lived in?

Sanger, he told her. Suddenly they both realized that they already knew each other.

“It was instant family again,” he said. “She made me feel right at home because that’s what she did. I think our coffee lasted three hours.”

West is survived by her 15-year-old twins, Cady and Andy, her mother, Maryln, and brother, Mark West. Memorial services are pending.