Media

When Shelly Kovacs went to a homecoming event on Oct. 15 at the University of Michigan’s Michigan League, she had no idea that her friends, family and co-workers had been keeping a secret for weeks and even months.

On that night, officials from the University of Michigan School of Kinesiology announced that an endowed scholarship had been named after Kovacs, who is director of the Office of Student Services in the School of Kinesiology. (See a short video of the presentation on YouTube.)

“The most amazing thing about the scholarship is that most people don’t have the opportunity for recognition and appreciation in their lifetime,” Kovacs said. “Most people have to retire or die to receive such a special honor.”

To the co-workers and formers students who nominated her for the honor, though, it seemed natural. University officials estimate that Kovacs has touched the life of at least 80 percent of students in the kinesiology programs and in the School of Education, where she worked before coming to the School of Kinesiology.

Kovacs said she attended the University of Michigan and worked an internship there before she started as an advisor in the School of Education. From that early role, she worked her way up to senior advisor, then assistant director. She also took on a part-time role in development and fundraising for the university, eventually becoming director of the School of Kinesiology when it was restructured to be separate from the School of Education.

“I never intended to stay, but I never left. Clearly I love what I do so much,” she said. “Every summer, the students graduate, and I’m sad to see them go. Then the new students come, and I’m excited and invigorated for the opportunity to impact the lives of all the newbies.”

She said she was initially “resistant” to being named a director, because she felt she would miss working directly with students. She said the dean convinced her that her impact as director could be terrific, because she’d be mentoring the staff that worked directly with students. To keep current with student affairs and concerns, Kovacs still keeps small advising load.

She said the biggest challenge right now in student services is “providing career services in a tight economy.”

“Students are very concerned about getting into graduate school and finding jobs after graduate school,” she said. “Part of our mission is to help them develop skills and make them as competitive as possible.”

She named electronic communication as both a boon and a challenge, saying she and the staff talk about whether new technologies, such as texting, are appropriate for use in advising students.

“For example, there’s a sort of diminishing return benefit to email, because now students are inundated with it,” she said. “My rule of thumb with students has been that they can email me three times, but the fourth time, I need to see them face to face.”

Kovacs said that important interactions tend to happen in person, not on email. She added that “the most important advising discussions are often not planned, but evolve out discussions about other things.”

Kovacs said she felt honored to not only have the scholarship for undergraduates named after her, but also to find that the scholarship fund already had nearly $150,000 in it less than two months after the announcement of its establishment.

“I love what I do and I feel very lucky to have had the opportunities I’ve had in my professional life,” Kovacs said.

Background

Age: 56.

Education: Master’s degree in higher administration and counseling, 1976, U-M ; received award for graduate student with most potential and promise; bachelor’s degree with concentrations in psychology, political science; received Angell Scholar Award for two consecutive terms of 4.0.

Family: Husband Harvey for almost 30 years, imported him from Cleveland; Josh, 26, U-M undergrad in political science and psychology and now attending UCLA’s Professional Screen Writing program; Julia, 23, currently U-M senior with econ and psych majors, assistant manager of Lululemon Athletica showroom in Ann Arbor, will graduate in May.

Residence: Ann Arbor since 1972.

Business Insights

Best business decision: Expanding roles from Academic and Student Affairs to include alumni relations and development.

Worst business decision: Reducing my appointment to 80 percent after Julia was born until she started pr-school; I should have gone half time or full time.

Best way to keep a competitive edge: Follow my guiding principle that every interaction is an important opportunity to impact the life of another person.

Personal hero(s): I have to say both of my parents, because they were a package deal. Both passed away of cancer in 2000, just short of their 50th wedding anniversary. My mother was an incredibly strong, loving, devoted, and independent woman. She worked full time while raising four children and that was not at all typical when I was growing up in the 60s. She and my father were business and life partners in the purest sense. Thanks to her Hungarian heritage she was also a fabulous cook and baker. My father grew up in Czechoslovakia. He came to Michigan when he was 17 to go to law school because his mother’s sister was already living here. Aside from his worldly exposure (he could speak six languages), his amazing legacy as an American soldier in World War II, and his business and financial savvy, he had an intense commitment to his family that was spread across the world, especially after the war. I often think about how much he would have loved Facebook. He instilled the importance of family, loyalty and integrity to his children. I learned so much from both of my parents.

How do you motivate people? Focus on what’s important to them and what they want to accomplish and then create an action plan to get there, taking into account foreseen and unforeseen obstacles. This approach works with baby steps, short- or long-term goals, specific or big picture goals, conflict resolution and targeted problem solving.

What advice would you give to yourself in college? Lighten up.

Word that best describes you: Passionate.

First Web site you check in the morning: I discovered the best time management tool for me is to not check websites first thing in the morning; but at some point during the day, I check U-M’s site and AnnArbor.com.

Confessions

What keeps you up at night? Perfectionism. Even if something had a great and positive result, I can still find the faults and have trouble letting go of the “wouldas, shouldas and couldas.” It drives my husband crazy.

Pet peeve: Narrow-mindedness.

Guilty pleasure: Hot fudge sundaes at YOZ, my favorite frozen yogurt shop.

First job: Working for our family lamp manufacturing business during summers. My first job outside the family business was as a drug store clerk at local mall in 10th grade.

First choice for a new career: I love what I do so a “new” career would likely be an outgrowth of what I do now. I recently co-authored a book on academic success for college athletes, and I loved writing it. If I ever made a change (which is unlikely), maybe more books and/or speaking engagements.

Treasures

Favorite cause: Fighting cancer and the University of Michigan, especially the School of Kinesiology.

Favorite book: A parenting book for adolescents, “Get Out of My Life, But First Could You Drive Me and Cheryl to the Mall?” by Anthony Wolf. It liberated me from the notion that to be a good parent I had to be rigidly consistent and not change my mind.

Favorite movie: “Funny Girl.”

Favorite hobby: Fixing things that appear unfixable. I have a really good track record!

Favorite restaurant: Castle on the Hill in Rhode Island.

LinkedIn, Facebook or Twitter? No Twitter.

Typical Saturday: ‘Typical’ is not a word that describes anything in my life; how about “ideal Saturday”? May through August, get up at 6 to enjoy the quiet morning hours reading while sipping my homemade latte in our screened in porch. After that, catch up on something in the house that’s been on my list, call the one or two people I’ve been meaning to talk to, leisurely work out at the gym, lunch with a girlfriend followed by a few hours of unscheduled time in the afternoon and an evening with my wonderful husband and friends.

What team do you root for? Go Blue.

Wheels: Lexus SUV; I love it, but my next car will be a Ford.

Who would play you in a movie? The “good girl” in a romantic comedy with a happy ending.