Ken Borden to enter GLVC Hall of Fame
The Great Lakes Valley Conference announced on Jan. 17 that former University of Indianapolis administrator and chemistry professor Ken Borden will be inducted into the 2013 class of the GLVC Hall of Fame.
“Naturally I was excited [to hear about the selection]. Anyone has to be humble; that’s something that is rare,” Borden said. “There have already been some outstanding individuals that have been selected to the GLVC Hall of Fame.”
Borden began at UIndy as a professor of chemistry. His background and interest in athletics led him to add the position of sports information director as well. Borden served two years in the sports information role before leaving that position to become head of the chemistry department.
“I always enjoyed sports. It’s a way to build relationships and the understanding of teamwork in a lot of different endeavors,” Borden said.
A founding member of the GLVC, Borden was the first elected president of the conference. He also served on all of the conference commissioner search committees from 1980 until his retirement in 2005. He was a member of the Awards Restructuring Committee, as well as the GLVC expansion visitation team.
“He [Borden] had a passion for his students, for his student-athletes and for UIndy. He wanted to make a difference, so he became very active in governance at the university, conference and national level. He did not sit back,” said UIndy Vice President for Intercollegiate Athletics Sue Willey.
According to Willey, one of the policies Borden was most influential in bringing to UIndy was the Absence Policy, designed so that students could miss class for events in which they represent the university without being penalized.
Besides being head of the chemistry department, Borden was UIndy’s Faculty Athletics Representative from 1980 to 2005 and also the first chair of the Faculty Athletics Committee. Borden recalls that it was a challenge trying to meet the needs of student-athletes, coaches and administrators.
“One of the toughest things that comes to mind was trying to find a nice balance. Trying to find a compromise,” Borden said.
Nationally, Borden also had a hand in the NCAA Division II Management Council, serving a four-year term late in his career. He spent time working with the Academic Requirements Committee and the Satisfactory-Progress Waivers Committee. From 2000 to 2002, he chaired the Division II Administrative Review Committee and the Division II Football Issues Project Team, Health and Safety Committee. Borden is grateful to have been in these positions.
“Surviving, I guess, was an accomplishment,” Borden said, joking. “But I had the opportunity to work with some outstanding individuals.”
Another contribution that Borden and his wife gave to UIndy students was the presence of their rescued racing greyhound Timothy O’ Tool. Borden attended most of UIndy’s athletic events, and the greyhound was at his side sporting a UIndy racing jacket.
“He [Borden] was all about the student-athlete experience. He was a leader in that way. You would see him at almost any event, it didn’t matter what sport,” Willey said.
Since retiring, Borden has relocated to Florida but maintains ties to UIndy. Borden was in the stands at the baseball team’s Spring Break tournament in Winter Haven, Fla., last year, and he does his best to follow Greyhound athletics online.
“Our athletic department is better because of his leadership. A great deal of credit goes to him,” Willey said. “I’m glad that the conference is going to recognize him in this manner. He is most deserving.”
Borden will be inducted at the Enterprise Rent-a-Car/GLVC Spring Awards Banquet, which will be held on May 21 at the Drury Plaza Hotel in St. Louis, Mo.
