Kathryn Lavender, associate vice president of the campus safety department, was recently celebrated for her 34 years of service at Rice University, shortly before she enters her retirement. More than 100 people joined a reception at the Ralph S. O’Connor Building for Engineering and Science to salute her dedication to the university and the people who fill its spaces.
Cavender’s department at Rice includes the police department; emergency management; and environmental health, safety and lab operations. Before accepting this role, Cavender was the director of the environmental health and safety department for 31 years. An industrial engineer by trade, she has worked in the safety field for 40 years and is a licensed certified safety professional. Throughout her career, she has served on numerous committees for environmental campus safety at the university, local and national levels.
“As many will tell you, Rice becomes your family … work a few hurricanes, floods or big events, and you will see that family comes together,” Cavender said. “Through my time at Rice, I worked under four presidents and seven ‘bosses.’ One thing was for sure, my work life at Rice was never boring. New opportunities and challenges greeted me almost every day.”
Kelly Fox, executive vice president for operations, finance and support, described Cavender’s servitude.
“Kathryn is humble, and she is hardworking,” Fox said. “I don’t know anybody else who is harder working. She also always led with integrity. [She always focuses on] the right thing to do, and I’ve always appreciated that.”
Elmer Whitehead, assistant vice president of facilities, engineering and operations, shared personal anecdotes, emphasizing Cavender’s practical knowledge and directness, especially during his informal meetings with her.
“She would give me her undivided attention, and I would sit there sometimes for hours just learning from her, hear her knowledge, her wisdom and the things that she brought to our university,” Whitehead said. “What I found is that she is extremely practical. She has a depth of knowledge about a whole variety of things. She also makes her mind up quickly and confidently. You will always know where she stands. This directness is part of who she is. She tells it like it is. She always has, I’m sure she always will.”
Chris Mize, senior director of environmental health, safety and laboratory operations, noted her care for people and looks forward to her future.
“If anyone has gotten a chance to talk to Kathryn about her life outside of Rice, it is a very full life,” Mize said. “She goes to chili cook-offs all the time, performs lots of charity work and really cares for people outside of Rice, just like she does for people at Rice, and I think that’s a big part of what makes her herself.”
The celebration concluded with a framed image presentation and expressions of gratitude from colleagues, acknowledging her significant contributions to the university’s safety and culture.
Cavender’s duties will be divided among Ken Jett, president of Rice Real Estate Company and vice president of facilities and capital construction, and Tam Dao, associate vice president of campus safety and research security. Jett will add environmental safety and lab management and overseeing the O’Connor building to his current duties. Dao will add directing the Rice police department and emergency management to his current duties.