A 'visionary' until the end

Jeff Huskamp may have been dying, but the university vice president in charge of OIT wasn't going to let cancer and the aftereffects of two motorcycle accidents stop him from trying to make sure the university would remain in capable hands.

Huskamp, who headed the Office of Information Technology since 2004 and also served in other administrative roles at the university, died May 27 at age 60 — but only after making sure his work would continue.

"I had a meeting with Dr. Huskamp on Wednesday, two days before he died," said Joseph JaJa, who was appointed interim vice president and chief information officer last week. "He wanted to make sure to tell me about the vision for this campus."

That vision — to promote both ambitious research and ongoing improvement to university IT systems — is what everyone seems to remember, along with Huskamp's love of the university.

Colleagues, including university President Dan Mote and Provost Nariman Farvardin spoke at Huskamp's June 1 memorial service at the Memorial Chapel.

"The day before he died we met for an hour in my office to discuss OIT and his plans for the fall," Mote said at the service, according to his prepared remarks. "He could not think any other way."

This thinking is what led Huskamp to become heavily involved in a myriad of capacities within the university administration; in addition to being in the president's cabinet and chairing the university's Information Technology Council, Huskamp was involved in numerous committees across several departments, including a spot as chairman of the once-per-decade NCAA re-accreditation review of university athletics.

"Jeff always said ‘yes' when asked to serve," Mote said. "I had to be careful not to ask too often."

His widow, Sandra Huskamp, also works at the university as an administrator in the school of engineering.

"Jeff and Sandra did not just work at the university — they lived the university and wove themselves into its fabric in just six short years," Mote said.

Sandra said her husband was more than willing to be woven in.

"He lived all over the country — great places — but Maryland is the place that became home," she said.

In addition to his widespread efforts at the university and national contributions to information technology, Huskamp leaves behind a different legacy outside the office.

He spent his days at work wearing a suit and tie; he commuted home on a motorcycle wearing jeans and a leather jacket. He helped craft supercomputing proposals to national funding agencies; he went to biker rallies in Daytona, Myrtle Beach and Sturgis. And his home at this university inspired a series of custom motorcycle jobs; Huskamp had his Harley Fatboy motorcycle painted in Maryland colors and his one-of-a-kind helmet had the state seal on the back and "Terps" across the front.

Huskamp, a motorcycle rider since 1996, recently suffered two accidents in two years: In 2008, when he was struck by a car while standing near his motorcycle on the side of the road; and in November, when a parked car rolled into New Hampshire Avenue rush-hour traffic and caused a chain-reaction accident that left him pinned under a dump truck, Sandra Huskamp said.

Even though he was not expected to survive the 2008 accident, Huskamp recovered from both crashes to return to work.

Huskamp was born on Oct. 17, 1949, and was raised in Louisville, Ky. He earned his bachelor's and master's degrees — in electrical engineering and computer science, respectively — from Purdue University and his doctorate from the University of California, Berkeley.

At this university, Huskamp is also credited with expanding and encouraging research that he hoped would put the university "ahead of technology, a leader instead of a follower," according to the program handed out at the memorial service. He was, as Mote said, "a visionary."

JaJa will take over Huskamp's administrative roles until a permanent replacement is selected by the provost.

"He was very loyal to this campus," JaJa said. "He really left it a much better place than he found it."

rabdill at umdbk dot com