Ben E. Lewis Management Award Nomination Letter
During the time that Branden has been at BYU, he has consistently fostered excellent relationships with all whom he interacts with. We have witnessed his dedication to the university, ensuring all departments have what they need to respond to their respective challenges. Branden has an impressive number of traits and abilities, such as staying calm in difficult situations. He makes level-headed decisions in a timely manner and makes a special effort to make all those he interacts with feel valued. This has been exemplified during the COVID-19 pandemic. Branden’s work was immediately so valuable to President’s Council that he became, early on, the coordinator for a newly formed policy group that meets to make university decisions related to the pandemic. He and his team track all the ever-changing laws and regulations, all the latest scientific data, and all the BYU-specific information necessary for BYU to make informed decisions.
Branden’s work has been invaluable, but it’s the way he does it that is most impressive. Week after week, he keeps solving problems, without any ego, and with a collaborative approach that inspires everyone to pitch in for the greater good and with no concern about who gets credit. Under his wise leadership, BYU has been able to return to activity while maintaining important public health standards. During the entire pandemic, Branden has continued to manage all the university’s regular risk management and safety operations, including complex areas like high-risk academic safety work and BYU’s insurance portfolio.
It would be easy to nominate Branden for any one of several values, but we will focus on two extraordinary examples that are illustrative of the competence, respect, and service he exemplifies through teamwork. When the pandemic struck and caused wide-spread changes to the university, Branden helped coordinate the efforts that made it possible to have an in-person educational experience during the pandemic. He worked directly with the President’s Council, government officials, students, and countless campus units, and the resulting work affected every corner of the university. As another illustrative example of Branden’s teamwork, he was moving forward with helping the President’s Council organize and oversee preparations for winter semester 2021 when the governor issued an executive order that, among other things, mandated COVID-19 testing of students. Although testing of all students wasn’t required until January, there as an expectation to begin testing before Thanksgiving. The result was stunning teamwork to conceive, plan, organize, staff, and execute a testing system that involved many different groups. He coordinated the efforts of academic units, University Communications, Physical Facilities, Office of IT, Space Management, and Human Resources to help everyone work together toward achieving this ambitious goal. Under Branden’s exceptional leadership, BYU’s mass COVID-19 testing site was mobilized within days and tested thousands of students before the 2020 holidays, plus an incredible 20,000 students in the first ten days of 2021 winter semester.
We have received feedback from various colleagues across campus expressing how well Branden has responded to the many hurdles from the initial outbreak, random testing, collaborating with the community and working with key players, to assist in providing a way for the students to safely continue their education while protecting students, staff, and faculty. He has done this by the relationships he has fostered with university personnel and the surrounding communities. Branden is dependable, willing to help others, provides strong leadership, and is hard working. Through his direction in fostering an atmosphere of respect for all individuals, our department has been able to provide services to the campus community to help improve safety and minimize risk. These attributes and work history make him an excellent candidate for this award.