University community remembers longtime employee Bradley Koelper

LAWRENCE — The University of Kansas community is remembering Bradley Koelper, a KU employee of over a decade, who died Oct. 11 at age 32.

“I was profoundly saddened to learn of the death of Bradley Koelper, one of our software developers who was taken from us too soon,” said Chancellor Douglas A. Girod. “On behalf of the entire university, I express my sincere condolences to his family, his friends and his colleagues at KU.”

Koelper’s first role at KU was as a student, working on numerous projects for Agile Technology Solutions, part of the Achievement & Assessment Institute. Quick-witted, Koelper had a tenacious drive in his work, said Susan Martin, AAI/ATS director.

“He often worked long hours to get a project finished ‘just right,’ and he would take to new challenges with eagerness and a sense of internal competition,” Martin said.

Graduating in May 2012 with a bachelor’s degree in computer science, Koelper joined the university full-time that June. In his most recent role with AAI, Koelper was a research engineer with ATS.

“Brad was an incredibly talented developer who often took on the most complex coding assignments and created flawless code,” Martin said. “He also had a knack for finding the root cause of production issues very quickly and resolving them in minutes.” 

During critical production assessment windows, Martin said that Koelper earned the title of “fireman,” as his amazing talent ensured the team’s educators were able to complete their tasks efficiently.

“Brad was sarcastic, funny and very much adored by all of us at AAI/ATS,” Martin said. “We miss his wit and his smile.”  

While Koelper leaves a legacy of high-quality work as a software developer, Martin said he was more than his code.

“Brad was a musician, an avid sports fan (KU, Chiefs, Royals, Blackhawks, Cubs), a video game enthusiast, and, most importantly, a friend to so many,” she said.