An Engineer and a Mayor

When Tommy Kuykendall (BSCE '97) took a construction job with the Texas Department of Transportation 25 years ago, he wasn't really thinking about going to college. Fast-forward to today and Kuykendall is a past president of the Houston branch of the American Society of Civil Engineers. vice president and co-owner of a 25-person engineering firm, and mayor of Fulshear, Texas.

That's a lot of change. even for a full quarter century. So what happened?

At TXDOT, he said. "I noticed that a lot of the guys who were advancing were working on getting a college degree. I realized that if I wanted to move up. l'd have to go and get my degree too."

So in 1989, Kuykendall began taking night classes at a community college in Richmond, Texas. A few years later he enrolled in the UH Cullen College of Engineering, graduating magna cum laude in 1997 with a degree in civil engineering.

Kuykendall spent the next 11 years working as a civil engineer and engineering project manager. Then, in 2009, he joined forces with Victoria, Texas-based CivilCorp. LLC. Looking to increase its presence in the Houston area, the company tapped Kuykendall as its vice president and head of its Houston office. The firm offers a full range of civil engineering and land surveying services, from roadway and transportation engineering. to planning studies, to drainage analysis and design, to water distribution systems, to right-of-way and route surveys.

While CivilCorp's Houston office has only been open for two years, it has already landed some significant projects, including handling storm sewer design, ramp design, cost estimates and construction scheduling for the $310 million reconstruction and widening of Interstate Highway 35 through the city of Waco.

While Kuykendall was busy establishing his career. not to mention raising two children with his wife, Rhonda, he took on another role: that of civil servant.

Kuykendall began his service to Fulshear in 2002 in the most natural place for a civil engineer, as a volunteer member of the city's planning commission. ln 2010, he was elected mayor.

For Fulshear. this is a good time to have a civil engineer at the helm. Though the city has a population of only around 1,500, it is located in one of the fastest-growing regions of the country. The city must plan wisely in order to accommodate this growth yet maintain its small-town character and charm, Kuykendall said.

"In talking to engineers or developers about projects, just having the engineering background is a plus in this position. lts been very helpful to have a knowledge base to analyze situations and make decisions," said Kuykendall.

Kuykendall has also set up a more formal structure for the management and operation of municipal functions. Under his leadership, Fulshear has hired its first city administrator and put in place a professional staff in city hall that should provide continuity from one administration to the next. "We have a long way to go as the city grows: the needs can be overwhelming. However. my view is that if we make good decisions each day, then a year or two years from now we'll have a foundation of good decisions that will be moving us in the right direction"

This article was originally found in The Cougar Engineer, Volume 6,  Summer 2011