Ken Sedgley: Opening lines of communication

	Evolution of communication — Ken Sedgley, manager of UNT's telecommunications department, has seen communication methods change drastically since his early years working for Union Pacific Railroad.

Ken Sedgley knows what he's talking about.

He has more than 40 years' experience in the communications industry. As UNT's telecommuni-cations manager since October 2000, Sedgley is responsible for, among other things, the voice mail system on campus. He proudly supports the university as if it were his alma mater.

"Green now flows in my blood," he says.

Sedgley says he has come full circle. A journalism student at West High School in Salt Lake City, he hoped to one day become a journalism teacher.

"Those dreams changed," he says, "but I did make it to a place of higher learning."

As a sports editor and photographer for his high school newspaper, the Red and Black, Sedgley won a chance to attend a special press conference for teen journalists sponsored by the Ford Motor Co. in 1958.

Once he reached Detroit, Sedgley was admitted to a showing of the new Ford hardtop convertible, the Edsel. He scooped other journalists when he returned to Utah and the story was printed in the Salt Lake Tribune. Since he was one of the first journalists in the country to report it, he received a visit from Henry Ford II and a personal serenade by "Tennessee" Ernie Ford.

"It was definitely a highlight of my life," he recalls.

After high school, Sedgley took classes at the University of Utah. For two years he majored in educational journalism. To pay his way through school, he began working for the Union Pacific Railroad in 1960.

What started as a side job for college money turned into a lifelong career as he moved from a low-level position into the field of communications. He left the University of Utah to work full time for Union Pacific.

"You might say that I got ‘railroaded' into another line of work," he says.

Sedgley's UPR job moved him to Nebraska in 1966. Despite his change in plans, he finally earned his bachelor's degree in general business in 1985 from the University of Nebraska.

After 32 years with UPR, he left in 1992.

"I worked with telegraph keys all the way up to microwaves and fiber optic lines. The workplace changed drastically during my stay," he says.

Life hasn't been all business for Sedgley. He has filled up the last 40 years with raising his three children with his wife, volunteering with the Boy Scouts of America and supporting his church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Sedgley says he would still like to teach or share his knowledge of communications engineering in some other way.

His co-workers say he is an asset to the university.

"Ken is thorough. He is very sensitive to people's needs," says Joe Adamo, director of communication services. "Ken is one of the most respected people in this office."

Sedgley says his personal philosophy is summed up best in an old Walt Disney film, So Dear to My Heart. Stealing a line from an animated owl in the film, Sedgley smiles and says, "What you do with what you got — that's what pays off."

BY PETER HOFSTAD paiswri2@unt.edu

Other featured articles in this issue:

• Regents approve senior vice president appointment
• Medical geographer researches spread of infectious diseases like SARS
• UNT parking permits for 2003-04 now for sale through intercampus mail
• Two UNT programs ranked high this year by U.S. News and World Report
• Elm Fork Education Center to conduct summer camps
• Staff Council holds its final meeting of the 2002-03 academic year
• Staff awards presented at President's Staff Sack Lunch
• Tips to help control mosquitoes

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