Note: The accomplishments listed on this page are current as of Spring 2025
Kevin Chapman
R Kevin Chapman is a Technology Support Specialist at Carleton College in Northfield, MN, where he has spent his entire higher education career.
Starting in 2005, he served as the Student Computing Coordinator, focusing entirely on providing technical support to Carleton’s student body. In this role, he had the pleasure of supervising and mentoring approximately forty student colleagues, creating a workplace that balanced the students’ personal and professional growth with providing an important service to the campus. In 2013, his role expanded to include technical support for staff and faculty, and Kevin now works with a team of professional staff in addition to the student staff. He’s remained at the ground level within his department as he prefers the “boots-on-the-ground” work that this affords him. His current role keeps him in close working contact with his student colleagues whose development remains a professional priority for him.
Kevin’s first SIGUCCS was in Norfolk, VA, back in 2010, and he was an annual attendee through 2022, when other professional commitments took priority. He’s presented many times and has a particular fondness for Lightning Talks, which he finds offer good food for thought and great starting points for continuing conversations. His lightning talk “A Time For Sleep” from the 2018 conference prompted an overwhelming response from the community and a subsequent recurring panel on the topic of “Mental Health in the Workplace”. The normalization of conversation around these and related issues is one of his proudest professional accomplishments.
In addition to presenting, Kevin has been a SIGUCCS volunteer at conferences since 2018, serving as Hospitality Suite Coordinator, Volunteer Coordinator, and the developer and host of the SIGUCCS Gather Town, which offered a virtual meeting space for the 2021 and 2022 conferences. He considers SIGUCCS to be the most accessible and directly beneficial professional conference available to IT Professionals in higher education, and the community beyond the annual conference to be particularly supportive.
Eric Handler
Eric Handler is Senior Academic Information Associate – Science Division at Macalester College in Saint Paul, MN. Eric has spent his entire higher education career at Macalester.
While Eric’s information technology career started with training friends and family on how to use technology as early as middle school his first true workplace experience with higher education IT was as a student worker at Carleton College as part of the faculty/staff support team known as Rapid Response. After graduation Eric tried out software development for a few years prior to returning to both Minnesota and Higher education by joining Macalester as an AIA. As part of jumping into the role of an academic technologist Eric learned and relearned many things, technical support for NMR Spectroscopy in the Chemistry department, lab management using JAMF in support of Math, Statistics and Computer Science, as well as antivirus software, supporting major OS upgrades (Win 7 to10 and soon 10 to 11) and more. Over the past years Eric has grown into the Learning Management System Lead on the academic technology team and participated in projects rolling out new systems around campus like Zoom, Voicethread, and more. Supporting students, faculty and learning technology through the pandemic was an adventure that Eric hopes to take many good lessons from but never to repeat!
Eric’s first SIGUCCS was in Saint Petersburg, FL in 2015. As he was just learning about the organization and conference he didn’t get to stay at the conference hotel and he has fond memories of the nautical themed off the beaten path hotel room he found. His fondest memories of SIGUCCS conferences tend to be at less humid locations however. Eric started contributing to SIGUCCS by volunteering to be on the conference committee in 2016 and started presenting with a poster in 2017 before starting to do lightning talks and full presentations in the years to come. Eric was selected to serve as a Program Co-chair for the ill fated Nov 2020 conference and subsequently elected to the executive committee, seated as the Vice Chair in July 2020.
Eric’s comments: Navigating the pandemic as part of the SIGUCCS executive committee has been a giant challenge but I can’t imagine navigating such times an organization more deserving.
Becky Klein
Becky Klein is a dynamic technology leader with over 25 years of experience in higher education IT. As Assistant Director of Campus Engagement at Drake University, she manages the campus ITS Support Center, oversees service management and departmental communications, and mentors a talented team of student technicians. Known for her authentic leadership and collaborative spirit, Becky is passionate about creating opportunities for students to develop professional skills, preparing them for future success. She also serves as adviser to Drake’s Pi chapter and as president of the Des Moines Alumnae chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity, where she continues her dedication to mentoring and building connections.
Becky is a dedicated advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion, bringing her expertise as a trained facilitator with the National Coalition Building Institute to her work. She has delivered interactive workshops to guide participants in exploring privilege and bias, fostering more equitable and inclusive environments. Her leadership extends beyond campus, as she champions inclusive practices in every professional setting she serves.
A committed member of the SIGUCCS community, Becky has published seven papers, delivered multiple presentations, and served in key leadership roles, including program co-chair for the 2024 SIGUCCS conference and co-chair for the 2025 and 2026 conferences. Her dedication to advancing the IT profession and her contributions to SIGUCCS earned her induction into the SIGUCCS Hall of Fame. Becky holds an M.A. in Arts Management and blends technical expertise with a passion for mentoring, service, and inclusion.
Shawn Plummer
Shawn Plummer is currently the Director of Infrastructure and Operations for Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, NY. In his role he leads 4 teams: networking, systems, identity and access management, and client engineering. He also contributes to the strategic direction of central Information Technology Services at RIT as part of the senior leadership team.
Shawn’s career in higher education IT began as a student employee at SUNY Geneseo’s IT department. He progressed from desktop support to system administrator for the Computer Science department, eventually rejoining central IT and later leading the Systems team. In 2022, he became Director of Enterprise IT Infrastructure and Operations at Rochester Institute of Technology.
Shawn Plummer has been an active member of the SIGUCCS community since 2006, when he first presented at the conference in Edmonton. Since then, he has regularly attended, presented, and volunteered in various roles, including registration chair, reader, sched wrangler, web master, and program chair. In 2020, he was elected to the SIGUCCS Board and has served as Information Director since.
Throughout his career, Shawn has prioritized customer focus, leadership, and building high-performing technical teams with psychological safety. SIGUCCS has played a key role in his professional growth, providing a strong community of leaders, practitioners, and many friends dedicated to improving IT support in higher education.
Shawn’s comments: I am honored to be selected as a hall of fame winner. SIGUCCS has kept me grounded in higher education support and leadership for my entire career and I am so glad I have been able to give back to the community.
Ella Tschopik
Ella is currently the IT Help Desk Supervisor for the UW Madison School of Education in a combined IT/Library Service Unit. Ella manages two full time staff along with several students, 8 academic computer labs and supports 1200+ endpoints and 700+ users.
Ella’s journey with SIGUCCS began in Salt Lake City 2014 with an invite from a colleague. The people of SIGUCCS were welcoming and enthusiastic, the conference was a place to connect with people who have the shared interest and understanding of higher ed IT. Ella found talking to someone else who managed a computer lab but with different tools and tactics to be endlessly fascinating, both from the tools side and from the people side.
Ella served as a conference volunteer and later as a track chair after being asked directly by a fellow SIGUCCSian. In addition to her engagement as a volunteer she presented in Seattle, Orlando and New Orleans on topics of self assessment, small group communication and (hands on) leadership improv.
Ella began volunteering with the conference committee, filling in wherever was helpful from website to treasurer and then in 2024, co-program chair. As co-program chair along with Becky Klein she brought together plenary sessions on ethics in AI and community building in higher education IT, leading to rich and thoughtful discussions in groups large and small.
Ella has strived to embody the welcoming spirit of SIGUCCS that helped her find a passion for higher education IT. Whether it’s sitting with new friends at lunch, facilitating a leadership improv session or karaoke in the hospitality suite after dinner, Ella is the person who models the SIGUCCS spirit and qualifies her for this Hall of Fame Award
Ella’s comments: SIGUCCS has brought so much into my life – passion, connection, friendships, growth. In looking over past recipients of this prestigious award, I am humbled to be considered among them.