A life of quiet impact: Keith Jones' legacy of service at CWU

Growing up in Centralia, Keith Jones' father owned a company that delivered stove oil to private homes.

The CWU Construction Project Coordinator doesn't remember a holiday dinner that wasn't interrupted by someone calling to say they'd run out of oil. His father couldn't have a family with a cold home, so he'd jump in his rig to make the delivery.

This commitment to people is reflected in Keith's own life, both personally and professionally.

For more than four decades — and counting — Jones has been a steady, guiding presence at CWU. His fingerprints are on nearly every major tech advancement the university has undergone since the 1980s.

Though his work often takes place behind the scenes, its impact continues to ripple across campus every day.

Keith arrived at CWU in the winter of 1982, transferring from Centralia Community College with an electronics background and an eye on the university’s budding engineering program. Though the program was still in its infancy, Keith immediately began contributing — calibrating lab equipment, organizing donated parts, and working alongside faculty to shape the foundation of what would become a full-fledged degree pathway.

“I wasn’t officially in the program yet,” he says with a smile. “But I just kept showing up and helping where I could.”

That can-do attitude has defined Keith’s career at CWU — one which will come to an end October 1 when he retires after 42 years of service (45 if you count his time as a student employee and temp).

And while he will no longer be a steady presence on campus, as he has been for the past four decades, Keith will always look back on his time at Central with a sense of pride.

“I’m one of those people who has worked ever since I was 12 years old, doing one job or another,” he says. “I worked every summer to put myself through college, and then I got a job as soon as I arrived at CWU in January 1982. I eventually got hired full time and never felt like I wanted to be anywhere else.”

Keith’s early work in the university’s computer services department came at a time when computing meant punch cards, mainframes, and early teletype terminals. Over the course of 31 years, he helped lead the transition from analog to digital, supported the rollout of the university’s first personal computers, and played an essential role in building the infrastructure that powers today’s learning environments.

He was also key in the expansion of CWU’s off-campus learning centers, helping connect students across the state — from Edmonds to Yakima, Wenatchee to Moses Lake. These partnerships with local community colleges brought CWU’s high-quality programs to students who might not have otherwise had access.

“These sites needed to run like clockwork, from morning to night,” Keith explains. “It was about making sure students had the same experience in Wenatchee as they did in Ellensburg.”

Keith’s work has also included significant behind-the-scenes efforts like the Y2K system readiness project in 2000, major infrastructure upgrades under the CLIP (Campus Legacy Infrastructure Project) initiative, and the university’s transition to the PeopleSoft system for student and administrative data.

He eventually transitioned to Facilities Management, where he has been since 2015, handling many of the same types of projects he oversaw for Information Services.

“It’s basically the same job, only for Facilities instead of IS,” he said. “I still do a lot of work with hardware, project management, infrastructure, cabling, and preparing for future expansions. I’ve definitely been involved in a lot of big projects over the years.”

With every project and interaction over the past 45 years, Keith has brought a calm presence, deep technical knowledge, and an unwavering commitment to people. That last quality is what colleagues admire most. Keith doesn’t just solve problems; he makes people feel seen.

“Keith never made anyone feel like their issue was too small,” one longtime co-worker shared. “He listens, he asks questions, and he sticks around to make sure you're really okay.”

Keith has also taken pride in mentoring the next generation. Dozens of student employees have passed through his office — many of whom went on to launch careers in IT, engineering, and education. Some even stayed at CWU, following his footsteps by continuing to serve the university community.

“There’s nothing better than watching a student grow into a colleague,” Keith says. “When someone you’ve mentored finds their own path and stays to build something here — that’s success.”

Though he once arrived in Ellensburg during a brutal snowstorm — three feet of snow and temperatures that dropped to minus 20 — Keith never left. He made a home here, finding warmth in the people, the sense of community, and the quiet satisfaction of work that matters.

“I thought I’d landed in Siberia,” he jokes. “But CWU welcomed me. It became home.”

That sense of belonging is something Keith has worked to pass on — to students, to co-workers, and to anyone who needs help navigating a new system, department, or challenge.

He credits much of his ethic to his upbringing in Centralia, where he learned the value of hard work and service from his parents: a father who responded to midnight calls in the dead of winter, and a mother who kept the books running smoothly behind the scenes.

“You take care of people,” he says. “That’s the job.”

And it's a job Keith continues to do with humility and heart. Whether it’s troubleshooting a campus-wide outage or patiently guiding a faculty member through a new system, he shows up day after day with the same quiet dedication that first brought him through CWU’s doors.

Now, as he prepares to call it a career, he’s finally able to think about what life will be like without having to wake up and go to work every day. Not that he minded it, though.

“I’ve pretty much done nothing but work, so I’m looking forward to just taking every day as it comes,” he said. “I’m going to do a little remodeling on my house and then, once the weather breaks next spring, I’m going to hit the road with my dog and see the country. I’ve flown over a lot of it, but I really haven’t stopped along the way to see anything.”

And no matter what the next chapter in his life brings, Keith Jones will always hold a fond place in his heart for CWU.

“This place is fantastic,” he said. “For someone like me who’s been around for so long, it’s more like a family than a place to work. I feel like the people here care about each other, and they do their best to come together and do the work that needs to get done. That’s something I will always remember.”

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Author Staci Sleigh-Layman is the former Associate Vice President of Human Resources, who retired from CWU in August 2025. She completed a series of CWU employee features last year, and they are running periodically on Central Today.

Associate Director of Strategic Communications David Leder contributed to this article.