Wendell Crosser’s dad always told him to respect everyone and “be forever thankful for anyone who helped me.”
To Crosser, “anyone” is named Dr. Darrel Davis. Until this spring Crosser hadn’t seen his accounting professor in 25 years, yet Davis’ influence was always evident.

“There have been maybe three people in my life who have affected me. You go down a lot of roads and there are mentors along the way. Dr. Davis was one of those people,” said Crosser. “I’ve never met anybody who spent his time helping other people with really no focus on himself. I remember sitting in his class, thinking, ‘I don’t know what college professors make but this guy could make a whole lot more money doing something different.’ I was very thankful he was here. The guy is brilliant.”

Davis began teaching at UNI in 1969 and retired in 2005 as associate professor of accounting. “He helped UNI consistently rank among the top 10 colleges and universities in the nation for first-time candidate performance in the Uniform CPA exam,” said Crosser, who serves on the CBA Accounting Advisory Board.

Wendell Crosser
1981, B.A., accounting
CFO, Allied Insurance, Des Moines
Hometown: Iowa Falls
Family: Two sons, Bryan, an accounting major at UNI and Russ, at home

Mark Oman’s career with Wells Fargo has been on a steep ascent since he joined the company in 1979. In just 10 years he became president and CEO of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, which he helped shape into one of the largest mortgage lenders in the nation. By 1997, he was group executive vice president of Wells Fargo & Co. Today, Oman is senior executive vice president, overseeing the Wells Fargo Home and Consumer Finance Group, which is composed of Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, Wells Fargo Financial and Wells Fargo Consumer Credit Group.

Given that remarkable rise, it’s tempting to ask where in the professional stratosphere he ultimately wants to go.
“I don’t tend to set career goals that way,” Oman said. “I’m fortunate to have been with great organizations that have prospered, so you can say I chose well or was lucky. But one of the keys to growth is surrounding oneself with a strong team of people. I measure success by how well the team is doing. If our employees are happy and enjoy what they’re doing in helping our customers succeed, then we’re going to be successful and our shareholders will be rewarded. I’d rather pay attention to that and let the career take care of itself.”

Mark Oman
1976, B.A., accounting
Senior Exec. VP, Wells Fargo & Co.
Hometown: Cedar Falls, Iowa
Family: wife, Jill ’85; daughter, Lexie (15); son, Scott (13).

It’s a philosophy that’s clearly effective. Positioned as the second-largest employer in central Iowa, Wells Fargo is in the midst of a $360 million construction expansion in the Des Moines area. Its goal of adding 2,000 jobs has been met a year and a half early, bringing the area total to 10,000 employees.

No wonder Oman is out front on the issue of workforce readiness, a major focal point of the Greater Des Moines Partnership, of which he is chairman for 2006.

“With the aging of our population, our workforce is not projected to grow enough to keep up with what business in the state will require,” Oman said. “Attracting and retaining a high quality workforce is a serious, multifaceted issue. It really comes down to lifelong education and training, from early childhood development to universities and beyond. People can never stop learning because the environment of the economy and its technologies keep changing. It’s important our workforce keeps its edge.”

Closely tied to workforce concerns is a commitment to living in Iowa, Oman said. “Our quality of life is good here, but we have to keep improving. We’re in a worldwide competition, and we have to emphasize the quality of life aspects of living in Iowa. That’s something the Greater Des Moines Partnership is focused on, and it needs to be talked about more broadly. As an importer of talent to Iowa, we have to be aware that people have choices.”

Oman advised that students competing for high quality jobs concentrate on fundamentals: a combination of the appropriate skills, a strong and collaborative work ethic, common sense and motivation.

“The character of Iowans fit that profile very well,” Oman said. “Not only are they highly skilled, they have a customer focus. If someone comes equipped with those traits, likes to learn, questions how things are done and truly learns the industry, they’re going to be successful no matter what they do.”

Surprisingly, Oman’s success in business was not part of a master plan the Cedar Falls High grad carried across town to the UNI campus. “Frankly, I had no idea what I was going to major in when I came to UNI. Business was not really on my radar screen. I’d historically done well in math and science,” Oman said. “I had a number of very good professors, not just technically, but with those same qualities of being focused on the customer, in this case the student. It was through a mentoring relationship with various professors I found what I really wanted to do.”

As busy as he is, Oman credits his wife, Jill, with helping him keep perspective. “I try to maintain a good balance among faith and family and work. We have two teenage children so our life revolves around what they’re doing,” he said, with a laugh, “…We’re no longer in control of our calendar.

“We take our vacations, and I try to make sure all our employees do. I think having a work-life balance is incredibly important. I’m not saying I’m the role model there; it’s difficult. But it’s another reason why Iowa is a great place to live and work—the commutes are short and there’s not a lot of downtime in between.”

—Denton Ketels

These seventh- and eighth-graders are in one of the last classes that Mary Ann Quint taught at East Buchanan Middle School

Mary Ann Quint
One-year teaching certificate 1944; two-year teaching certificate 1946
B.A., early childhood education, 1966
Retired English teacher
Hometown: Winthrop
Now living in Ames
Family: son David of England; daughter Mona Ball of Iowa City; daughter Angela Nespor of Ames, six grandchildren

“I wanted to make it to 50 years. The 50-year mark was my goal; my children thought I’d done enough. I promised my children that if things got to be too much, then I will quit,” she said. “I want to enjoy life while I have my health.”

Quint took a 12-year teaching break to stay at home with her three children during their preschool years. Her only other break came in late 2004 when she had open-heart surgery and spent several months recovering at her daughter’s home in Ames. Returning to East Buchanan last fall, she scaled back her schedule to four classes and a study hall. “If it weren’t for the children, I wouldn’t be here. I love them.”

Students have changed a lot since she first began teaching, but Quint continued to teach English the “old-fashioned” way: assigning weekly papers and homework assignments as well as a daily practice of spelling, vocabulary and grammar.

Quint also has “many pithy statements,” said daughter Mona, that Quint’s students have no doubt heard. “They are things that have carried me through life and especially my career, such as ‘everything you do is worth doing well,’ ‘plan your work and work your plan,’ always do your best,’ ‘don’t be lazy’ and ‘push yourself.’”

East Buchanan High School Principal Tom Mossman said Quint’s enthusiasm and love for teaching have made her a remarkable teacher. “Mary Ann really liked doing what she was doing, loved being in the classroom, she loved the kids and loved working with the kids. She was very active in planning their parties and she was the student council adviser for the middle school, which is great, at the age of 80,” he said. “She remains young at heart.”

Quint passed on her passion to her daughters, who both received education degrees from UNI. Mona Ball has a bachelor of arts in elementary education/preschool and a master’s degree in special education and teaches in the Iowa City school district.

“I grew up hearing that UNI (at that time SCI) was the best place to receive teacher training. Because Mom’s teaching touched so many lives I also wanted to be a teacher,” Ball said.

Angela Nespor, who has a bachelor of music education, said going to UNI was an easy decision. “UNI was the school for us. Growing up I remember Mom was gone a lot in the summer pursuing her degree. My sister, who is nine years older than me, went to UNI and became a teacher and that’s where she met her husband. So I heard about UNI for a long time. I had always been told growing up I would make such a good teacher that I didn’t have anything else in my head.”

Others who have felt her impact include fellow teachers, such as Jan Short, who taught English alongside Quint for 30 years.

“It has been a joy and inspiration for me to have worked with Mary Ann. It’s amazing to see an individual who has known so many, remember their names, their families and special moments. The students are not the only ones who have learned and grown from this wonderful little lady.”

—CJ Hines

To teach is to touch a life forever. Mary Beth Kourey ’56, knows a bit about touching lives. The third of five generations of UNI-trained educators, she has been in the classroom for 49 years.

Kourey, a Janesville native, received her two-year teaching certificate from Iowa State Teachers College, thanks in part to her brother. “I had a brother in Salt Lake City in the Air Force. He sent me $75 a month. That paid for books and housing. I had a tuition-free scholarship. I paid $11 a quarter and the school paid the balance.” She would later earn her B.A. from Drake University in 1972.

This UNI tale begins with Kourey’s grandfather Ray Smalling, Iowa Normal School, Class of 1895. Her mother, Isabel Smalling Johnson, graduated in the early 1920s from ISTC. Next came Kourey.

Following graduation from ISTC with her two-year teaching certificate, she set out to secure her first teaching job. She recalled teaching during a time before maternity leave gave her limited options. She would begin a teaching job, but once she became pregnant, she was asked to step aside. “In the ’50s, your job was never safe. I had four kids in the ’50s, but I’d always go back in the next year. I never had trouble getting a job.”

During her career, Kourey taught in 11 school systems, including a 25-year stay in Fort Dodge, a post that presented some challenging situations. “I had 27 children on seven reading levels … and one Laotian boy who didn’t know English.” Despite the diverse learning levels, Kourey’s photo albums show groups of children smiling proudly as they pose for the local newspaper, displaying their class projects.

Having just celebrated the 50th anniversary of her UNI graduation, Kourey is still teaching. She lives in Ankeny and is a teacher associate in the high school and two middle schools. “I work in the library, the computer room and in all the special ed rooms, including severe and profound children.” She also keeps busy with family events, square dancing and baking for her guests.

As for her family’s legacy of UNI-trained teachers, it is up to generation No. 5 now. Kourey’s son, Neal Thompson, attended UNI in the late ’70s, and her granddaughter, Melanie Thompson, received her B.A. in history in May.

With her granddaughter about to begin her own teaching career, is Kourey ready to retire? “This is Year 49 and I’m gonna’ be teaching next year too.”

—Nick Linde & Jennifer Noehl