David & Kathy Ecklund
A World of Generosity
Growing up in small-town Iowa, David Ecklund spent his summers working around construction equipment. When he was a high school senior, his family hosted a Belgian exchange student. Together, these experiences sparked a global perspective and a 31-year career with Caterpillar.
Ecklund pursued an undergraduate degree in industrial administration and accepted a graduate assistantship at the University of Arkansas to pursue an MBA, where he met Kathy. It was the early 1970s, and women were still rare in business programs. “Even in my undergraduate program, I was the only girl in a lot of my classes,” Kathy recalls. She hadn’t planned on graduate school, but when a professor offered an assistantship, she accepted it—and found herself working alongside David. “That’s how we got to know each other.”
They married, and David joined Caterpillar in Peoria, Illinois, initially in the company’s global parts business, where his responsibilities included product development, marketing and sales, and supply chain management. He later helped launch a global remanufacturing program and spent several years working with Caterpillar dealers on the West Coast.
The company’s overseas assignments were formative for the Ecklunds. In the late 1970s, David and Kathy moved to Geneva and then Dubai, where David was responsible for Caterpillar dealers throughout the Middle East and supported some of the largest infrastructure projects in the world at the time. After returning to Peoria, David’s roles included marketing analysis and pricing, remanufacturing, and construction machinery.
In the early ’90s, Caterpillar sent them to Brussels for a long-term post tied to the launch of Caterpillar Logistics Services, which provided supply chain services to Caterpillar and external companies across multiple industries. The 10 years they spent there deepened their love for living abroad, with Kathy taking up horseback riding and helping lead a women’s club for American expatriates.
The couple settled in East Tennessee after David retired from Caterpillar in 2004. David began his relationship with Haslam by working with the Supply Chain Forum and teaching a class in global procurement. In late 2007, college leaders tapped him to help design and launch an executive MBA in global supply chain management. David joined the college’s faculty in 2008 and remained a lecturer, faculty advisor, and program director until 2014.
“Receiving a scholarship is what made college accessible for me. Now that I’m in a place to give back, I want to do it.”
-David Ecklund
According to Ted Stank, Harry J. and Vivienne R. Bruce Chair of Excellence in Business in the Department of Supply Chain Management, David’s contributions to the department helped establish its world-wide reputation.
“David’s passion, extensive experience, and network were instrumental in helping us connect with global partners,” says Stank. “As a result of this collaborative effort, our programs have gained significant notoriety.”
Over the years, David has continued to serve as faculty advisor, coach, and mentor to students and currently chairs the MBA Advisory Council. “I had professors who invested in me and had a transformative impact on my career,” he says. “I want to pass that on.”
Bhavna Bhari (MBA, ’17) and her husband, Sam, are both recipients of David’s mentorship. “He wants to set every student up for success,” she says. “He coached me through my interview process at EY, where I’m now a partner, then offered to advise my husband, even though he was in an MBA program at another university.”
In addition to providing their time and expertise, the Ecklunds have established scholarships at three institutions, including Haslam, over the past 22 years. “Kathy and I both benefited from scholarships and assistantships to make college accessible for us,” David says. “Now that we’re in a place to give back, it’s important to us to ensure that future students have this same opportunity.”
Amy Cathey, associate dean of Graduate and Executive Education, sums up the Ecklunds’ impact: “David and Kathy are not UT graduates, but their Volunteer Spirit and commitment to light the way for others exemplify the values of the UT and Haslam community. We are grateful for their generosity and service.”
