Not many employees at the University of Michigan have had the journey that Kathleen “Kati” Bauer has had on this campus. This January, people across the U-M campus and community gathered to celebrate Bauer’s retirement after 50 years of working for the university. Beginning as a clerical assistant for the ophthalmology department at Michigan Medicine in 1976 to becoming Chief Operating Officer of the Duderstadt Center, Bauer has had a storied career of maize and blue.
An Ann Arbor native, Bauer started working when she was only 14 years old at a local fast food chicken restaurant. At 16, she became the first female gas station attendant in Ann Arbor. As a senior in high school, she worked half-days at a local bank. Finally right out of high school, Bauer started her career at the University, getting paid a mere $3.65/hr as a clerical assistant.
In an era of no computers, Bauer recorded everything the ophthalmology staff needed using a typewriter, literally penciled in doctor’s appointments, and gathered pages of patient records ahead of visits for doctors to look at.
“To go from a typewriter with carbon paper to being able to do everything on your phone … things are really different,” Bauer said.
After working for ophthalmology and later the radiology department, Bauer transitioned to a central campus position at the Medical Service Plan Office where she utilized her prior accounting experience to help the hospitals with their statements and billing.
Then, in 1981, Bauer began working at University Audits for director Carl Smith. As one of her duties she helped compile Standard Practice Guides for various U-M units. In the 1980s, the guides used to be thick, physical books assembled by Bauer and other staff members. But, with the rise in computer technology, Bauer asked about the possibility of publishing computerized guides for easier general access.
“I started going around and talking to departments about putting their guides online,” Bauer said. “That was when the first desktop machines came out and we had to initially type the guides all in. Every two years, I’d check with the publishing units and say, ‘These ones haven’t been updated. Can you read through them and make sure they’re still accurate?’ Then people could just go in and look online, and they didn’t have to put together books anymore.”
Following her time with University Audits, Bauer’s technological experience gave rise to a new opportunity in the late 80’s: an IBM-funded research project. Under the direction of Ted Hanss, director of the Center for Information Technology Integration, Bauer worked as an administrative assistant for the project which focused on developing an institutional file system that would allow users to laterally transfer files from Macs to PC systems.
“You couldn’t share files back then, so this system was the first,” Bauer said. “The same department also developed Kerberos, which was the first authentication system for the University, and it’s still used today. I didn’t have anything to do with developing it, but it was fun to be involved with such a dynamic group and I learned a lot.”
From working for the IBM project, Bauer’s career naturally transitioned into working for the Information Technology Division (ITD, precursor to ITS). It was at this time she managed main office activities for ITD such as HR, bookkeeping, policies, office renovations, and ordering, and supervised all the building support staff of ITD, with around 40-50 people reporting to her.
It was at this time in the 90’s she decided to go back to school to pursue her Associate’s Degree in Construction Management from Washtenaw Community College. “They never had a woman go through that program before,” Bauer said. “They questioned me thoroughly to see if they thought I could actually do it, because they said the ‘women were really good at writing letters and doing contracts,’ while ‘the men were really good at building,’ but they hadn’t found someone that could make it through both parts of the degree.”
With her extensive history already with the University, and her husband’s private building business, Kati was accepted into her Associate program and was then the first person in the program to graduate with a 4.0 GPA.
Around 1998, Bauer switched roles to help the University’s Chief Information Officer on temporary assignment. There she became the Chief of Staff for the CIO. She stayed in this position for about three years, including at the turn of the century, making sure the university’s technology systems would keep up with the change.
“I actually spent Y2K on the University of Michigan campus in a bunker because they were afraid everything was going to shut down,” Bauer said. “A group of us spent the night there and were prepared to fix anything that might go wrong. It was kind of strange, but with our preparations, all went well.”
After Y2K, when the CIO left the University, Kati went to work for the Provost’s Office with James Hilton, Vice Provost for Information Technology, who requested the help of Bauer after several peers recommended her.
“[Hilton’s colleagues said,] ‘You want Kati Bauer to work for you. She knows everybody. She’ll do the work. She knows what needs to be done.’ Hilton had never had an assistant before. “He had no idea what I would do,” Bauer said. “so we worked it out together. It was a great fit for us both. James is a psychologist by trade, he was kind and he understood people, which was really important to me.”
Under Hilton, she became a Senior Administrative Associate, and then later an Assistant Vice Provost. Bauer also helped Hilton establish the Center for Academic Innovation (CAI), making her the third person working for the CAI. Today, the CAI is more than 100 employees strong. Additionally, she helped Hilton oversee the public goods units, including the Bentley and Clements Libraries, the Art Museum, Matthaei Botanical Gardens and Nichols Arboretum, and the Center for Research on Learning and Teaching.
Still under the direction of Hilton, Bauer moved to the Duderstadt Center (another public goods unit) in 2020 as interim COO, to help straighten out affairs at the DC. It was from here she retired from the University as COO, fully rounding out her 50-year contribution.
Bauer did not originally plan to stay with the university for this long. With Bauer’s husband owning his own building company, Bauer planned to retire from the University at her allowed 30-year mark, and to help run her husband’s business using the skills learned with her Associate’s degree. Unfortunately, her husband suffered an accident a few years before her expected retirement, which rapidly changed plans and encouraged Bauer to stay at U-M.
“In 2002, Jim fell and severely injured himself, which drastically changed our plans,” Bauer said. “He fell 32 feet … he was in the hospital for about three months.”
Through her husband’s recovery process, Bauer found another way to serve the U-M community and beyond. As she stayed with her husband in the hospital, Bauer had to advocate for him to his medical care team which presented its challenges at times. From these experiences, Bauer said she learned how important it is to pay attention to and respect people’s concerns about their care.
“‘Listen to the patients.’ That is what I kept telling doctors and nurses alike,” Bauer said. “You have to listen to them, because otherwise you’re not doing your job. If [someone is] upset about something, you listen to it. Listening alone might not be able to fix it, but at least they feel better.”
Through an article in the University Record, Bauer learned of Dr. Darrell “Skip” Campbell who, at the time, was forming a patient safety committee at Michigan Medicine. Bauer reached out to Dr. Campbell to ask if and how she could become involved with the committee following her experiences with her husband’s care. This led to two decades of volunteering as a patient advocate on the committee, where she provided input on how Michigan Medicine could improve patient and family experiences in the hospital and spoke at events to medical staff, students, and the greater community.
Although her time as a patient advocate came to an end when she joined the Duderstadt Center, this did not stop her from continuing to advocate instead for the center’s facilities and staff. Bauer said that because of this and being able to see the impact of her work has made her position at the Duderstadt Center one of her favorite jobs.
“I just love the people here, and I love the opportunities that we give students, and I wish everybody could see it from my view,” Bauer said. “By doing the little things, you can make big differences.”
During her six-year tenure at the Duderstadt Center, Bauer navigated several challenging periods at the University including the COVID-19 pandemic and the removal of DEI initiatives on campus in 2025. Bauer said she focused on how she could bring about positive change to the Duderstadt amid turbulent times such as flying the Pride flag at the Duderstadt.
“What drives me is what I can do for the good of the world,” Bauer said. “When the University
was pulling back on DEI, I said ‘Put the flag up.’ It makes a difference to people. I want people to feel welcome, loved, and cared for.”
If there could be a takeaway from her career at the University, it would be to stick to the mission and have passion for what you do. Now that she has officially retired from the University, Bauer said she plans to spend time with her family, join volunteer and social groups in her community, and to continue quilting.
Thank you Kati for the time, dedication, and love that you have given to the University and the people who have had the pleasure of working with you!
Photo Credits: Courtesy of Kathleen “Kati” Bauer
Article By Eilene Koo and Emma Powell