When asked about his “favorite Kelley moment”, Ken Wendeln replies: the May 13, 2001 graduation.
On that date, Wendeln finished the MS in Accounting (MSA) degree program at the Kelley School of Business and changed careers to begin teaching full time. It was also around that time he passed all four parts of the CPA exam.
“Something my father said years ago has stuck with me,” explained Wendeln, now a clinical associate professor of management. “He said, ‘Ken, you got to the place you’re at as a result of a lot of people helping you. So, in your life, make time to give back.’”
“That’s how I look at my teaching career. As a professor at the Kelley School, I want to give students the same opportunities I had in my business career,” added Wendeln. “My goal is to produce good citizens and get them off to a good career start—because someone did that for me.”
Before starting at the Kelley School, Wendeln spent 30 years working in business across the globe, spending 15 years at the senior executive level.
He received his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame, and he started his career at Honeywell as an engineer. Once he started at Honeywell, Wendeln also began to pursue his MBA at the University of Chicago.