KEARNEY – One quote from Bev Mathiesen best summarizes her 53-year career at the University of Nebraska at Kearney.

“It’s been a lifetime of good memories.”

Mathiesen, who retired last week, can share story after story from her time as a Loper.

She worked in five different offices across campus, lived with the Alpha Omicron Pi sorority for nearly a decade, helped coordinate a visit from President Bill Clinton and organized commencement ceremonies where thousands of students received their degrees.

“I also suggested the name for Village Flats, but nobody remembers that,” she said with a laugh, referencing the UNK-owned apartments in the University Village development. “It came from ‘Harry Potter.’ You know, everybody lives in flats.”

SUPERVISING SORORITY SISTERS

Raised on a Thayer County farm just north of the Kansas border, Mathiesen attended high school in the small town of Byron, graduating with a “fairly good-sized class” of nine students. She earned an executive secretary degree from the Lincoln School of Commerce and was employed at a law office in nearby Hebron, where her husband Roger grew up and worked at the local co-op.

In 1972, the year after the young couple got married, they decided to move to Kearney to attend UNK, known then as Kearney State College. Ironically, they paid $60 a month for an efficiency apartment at University Heights, the student housing complex that would eventually be replaced by Village Flats.

Mathiesen’s first job on campus was in the Housing Office, now called Residence Life. The 20-year-old was one of three full-time employees in the office at that time.

“I could not have landed in a better place – right from the start,” Mathiesen said. “It was a fun job, and I had a wonderful boss.”

She also had a unique opportunity to fully immerse herself in college life. Kearney State officials were encouraging fraternities and sororities to move into campus housing, and Alpha Omicron Pi was the first chapter to accept the offer.

However, the sorority members needed house parents to live with them. The late Dan Duffy, then-director of housing, asked the Mathiesens to take on this role.

“I said no way,” Mathiesen recalled. “I’ve been married a year; I’m not going to move into a sorority house.”

Then she gave it a little more thought: free rent, free telephone, free utilities, plus a garage at another property. Sold.

The couple spent their first year as house parents in Case Hall, which was torn down in 2006. For the next eight years they were in Conrad Hall, which stood until 2021.

“It turned out to be a very fun experience. We really enjoyed it,” Mathiesen said.

“When we finally moved into our own house on Fourth Avenue, we couldn’t sleep at night because it was so quiet,” she added with a laugh.

As you can imagine, sharing space with a sorority led to some interesting moments. The Mathiesens were invited to socials and other sorority events – both formal and informal.

“Streaking was big at the time. One night, all the fraternities decided to streak from across Highway 30 through campus. In anticipation of the show, the girls popped popcorn and many of them, including us, sat and watched,” Mathiesen said with a smile.

The house parents also had to deal with a ghost that reportedly haunted the third floor of Conrad Hall.

“We didn't believe in such things, but you don't know how many times in the summer, when the building was quiet and empty except for us, we charged upstairs in the middle of the night to investigate the sound of furniture moving. We found moved furniture, but never a person. Or a ghost.”

Spirits aside, Mathiesen enjoyed the long talks when she got to know each sorority member, and she even attended the chapter’s 50th anniversary celebration in 2019.

“We still keep in touch with some of the members. You know, they’re all grandparents now, but we still keep in touch,” she said.

CLIMBING THE LADDER

Roger earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Kearney State. He was a history teacher and legendary track and field coach at Kearney High School, leading the Bearcat boys to 16 Class A state titles, including a state-record 11 in a row. KHS also set a national record with 123 consecutive invite victories during the regular season.

A recipient of the UNK Alumni Association’s Distinguished Alumni Award and member of the Nebraska High School Sports Hall of Fame, he retired in 2018.

Mathiesen took classes while working full time, earning a bachelor’s degree in elementary education and English in 1986.

“I loved student teaching and I was offered a job when I got done, but I decided to stay at UNK,” she explained. “Roger and I decided that it would be more fun to have different careers. And I liked UNK a lot, too.”

She kept her teaching certification up to date just in case, but never needed to use it.

After five years in the Housing Office, Mathiesen spent the same amount of time in the Department of Mathematics, Statistics and Computer Science and College of Education Dean’s Office before transitioning to an administrative assistant position for the senior vice chancellor. She moved to the Chancellor’s Office in the 1990s, when the late Gladys Styles Johnston was leading the university.

“Every time I moved I was scared to death, because I thought there was nothing as good as the office I was in,” Mathiesen said. “But I think I grew in every position, and I was ready to learn something new each time.”

As executive assistant to the chancellor, Mathiesen was part of the team that coordinated the visit from President Clinton in December 2000, a month before he left office. This included working with the Secret Service, White House staff, media and many other people who wanted to attend.

“I was always on edge when I called the White House, which happened about 10 times,” she noted.

She was equally nervous in 2002, when Styles Johnston left UNK and was replaced by an attorney and former state senator named Doug Kristensen.

THE PERFECT PARTNERSHIP

During his 14 years in the Nebraska Legislature, Kristensen had an “outstanding” staff. He was worried that couldn’t be replicated at UNK – until he met Mathiesen.

“We hit it off on the first day and became a great team,” Kristensen said. “Outside of my wife Terri, Bev probably knows me better than anybody. I was so lucky to have her. Honestly, I don’t think I could have done my job without her.”

The former chancellor uses words like kind, professional and patient to describe Mathiesen, who was his right-hand woman for 22 years. Among her many duties, she handled his scheduling, planned campus events, drafted and proofread communications, responded to inquiries and served as a liaison between UNK and the University of Nebraska System, NU Board of Regents and other state entities.

“Bev did a lot of things that weren’t even part of her job description,” Kristensen said. “And she did them gracefully for a long, long time.”

One of the most monumental tasks was organizing commencement every spring, summer and winter. A “stickler for details,” Mathiesen oversaw nearly every aspect of the ceremonies, from the programs, scripts and schedules to the speakers, performers and awards. This process was “extra fun” during COVID, when the ceremonies were held outdoors to allow for social distancing.

“Commencements ran really smooth, in large part because of Bev,” Kristensen said. “The amount of work that went into each event was so incredible.”

Giving credit to everyone involved – “There are a lot of people who play a part” – Mathiesen always considered commencement to be the most rewarding day, a special event when hundreds of students are recognized for their achievements. The day after was the most relaxing.

“I never felt good until it was over,” she said with a smile.

Calling her a “steadying influence” for faculty, staff and administrators, Kristensen also appreciated the wealth of institutional knowledge and experience Mathiesen brought to the Chancellor’s Office and wider campus community. She was always willing to help out a colleague or take a lost freshman by the hand and lead them to the correct building on the first day of classes.

“She had a great feel for the culture of the campus and for its history,” said Kristensen, who retired last year as the longest-serving chancellor in NU history. “I think that’s her lasting legacy. And it’s going to take a while for somebody else to develop that.

“I’m definitely going to miss her, and I know the campus will miss her, as well.”

THE RIGHT TIME

During her more than five decades on campus, there was rarely a day when Mathiesen didn’t look forward to coming to work.

UNK is a special place, she says, and it’s easy to understand why.

“It’s the people. It’s the college atmosphere and the energy of being around all the students,” Mathiesen said. “I think their energy makes you feel like you’re younger than you are. And you can’t beat that.”

Over the past 20-plus years, she enjoyed the “fast and furious” pace set by Kristensen, a visionary leader who brought a “Never let good enough be good enough” motto to UNK. Mathiesen respected his tenacity and willingness to work with others, which led to a number of significant campus improvement projects during that time.

“I think we clicked on a lot of things,” Mathiesen said. “He was a wonderful boss and friend, and I got to know his family quite well. I got to see his kids grow up here.”

“It’s hard to think of working for somebody else,” she added. “I think I still have the energy to do it, but it just felt like the right time to retire.”

At age 73, she wants to learn Spanish, teach reading skills to local schoolchildren and maybe even get a part-time job at her favorite bookstore. The Mathiesens also have two Shetland Sheepdogs to spoil.

After a lifetime of good memories, there are still plenty more to make.