June 15, 2015
Contact Rick Kyte at 608-796-3704 or rlkyte@viterbo.edu
RICK KYTE NAMED TO VITERBO’S FIRST ENDOWED PROFESSORSHIP
LA CROSSE, Wis. – Rick Kyte has been named Endowed Professor of the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership at Viterbo. This appointment is historic, representing the first endowed professorship in the university’s history.
Made possible with the support from benefactors, the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership opened in 1999. In 2000, Kyte joined the Viterbo faculty and was named the Institute’s first director, a position he has held ever since. Interest income from the endowment will fund Kyte’s position, creating the opportunity to hire a Program Coordinator, consistent with the new strategic plan recently adopted by the Institute’s advisory board. This additional staffing will assist with the increased demands for programs and partnerships and will further the Institute’s outreach and regional and national reputation.
Under Kyte’s leadership, the Institute’s programming and outreach has grown significantly over the years to include an annual series of lectures by prominent speakers, Leadership at Noon programs featuring regional business leaders, an annual ethics conference with international participation, and Holocaust educator workshops receiving national recognition. Institute presenters have ranged from Holocaust survivor and Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel, best-selling author Mitch Albom (Tuesdays with Morrie), and nationally syndicated columnist Amy Dickinson.
“Dr. Kyte has been an outstanding leader as director of the D.B. Reinhart Institute for Ethics in Leadership and it is very fitting that he hold the university’s endowed professorship, said Rick Artman, president of Viterbo University. “This is an exciting time of growth for the Institute and with Rick’s proven leadership, there will be even more opportunities to expand the scope of activities the Institute sponsors. None of this would have been possible without the vision of many benefactors, especially D.B. and Marge Reinhart and the Reinhart family, whose generosity created the endowment. ”
Kyte attended Hamline University where he earned a B.A. in philosophy. He obtained a Ph.D. in philosophy from The Johns Hopkins University in 1994. Since then he has taught at several colleges and universities including Pikes Peak Community College in Colorado Springs, Colo., Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich., and Christian Brothers University in Memphis, Tenn.
In addition to his role as director of the Institute, Kyte also teaches in the philosophy and religious studies department and in Viterbo’s College of Business and Leadership.
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