The U of A community is invited to celebrate Sandy Kizer's remarkable career from 9-10:30 a.m. Tuesday, April 22, in Willard J. Walker Hall 203 (Hembree) over donuts, coffee and fond farewells.

In 1997, Kizer joined the Sam M. Walton College of Business as the director of technology. As a Walton College information systems graduate, she brought valuable experience from her previous technology positions at Superior Industries, Jacob Hartz Seed Company (a subsidiary of Monsanto Corp.) and Ozark Orthopedic & Sports Medicine.

As both a native Arkansan and Walton College information systems graduate, she brought a nuanced perspective to her leadership role.

"I've been lucky enough to live my dream job in IT — where turning it off and on again is practically a sacred ritual — and where customer service wasn't just a task but a mission," Kizer reflects. "Working with the incredible faculty, staff and students at the Walton College has been an absolute honor. Thank you for the questions, the challenges, the laughs and the occasional panicked call before a class. You've all made this chapter of my life one I'll always be proud of."

Throughout her tenure, Kizer built an award-winning, diverse technology team recognized twice by the Walton College's High Performance Team Award, along with the Major Contribution Award and the Diversity Award. Her leadership extended beyond campus through her service on the national Technology in Business Schools Roundtable board, where she recently received the prestigious Wiebusch Award. She also served as Walton Staff Council president, contributed to the campus-level IT Directors Team and earned the U of A Police Coveted Badge Award in 2011.

Kizer and her husband, Tim, a Fayetteville business executive, have two children: Abby Hehemann and her husband, William, of Gdansk, Poland, and Patrick Hartz and his wife, Ashley, of Fayetteville.

Faculty and staff from across campus are encouraged to drop by, share a story or two and raise a coffee cup in personal well-wishes to Kizer as she prepares for an exciting new adventure — retirement.