Steven Rigby: A Signature Career

At age 14, Steven Rigby became an Eagle Scout, the highest achievement in the Boy Scouts of America program. As he completed the final leap to the top of the Scouting ranks, he also took his first step toward a top-notch career in printing.

"I received my Eagle Scout certificate, which was signed by [then] President Richard Nixon in blue ink," recalls Rigby, now director of Printing Services at Washington State University. "I wondered how that [signature] happened, since I was quite sure he didn't sign it himself."

Rigby's curiosity about ink-on-paper reproduction inspired him to sign up for the graphics program at Provo High School in Provo, Utah. "It just sucked me in," he declares. He credits his teacher as a major influence and mentor.

Rigby proved to be a more-than-apt pupil. So much so that, when the graphics teacher went out on sabbatical during Rigby's senior year in the mid-1970s, guess who served as the unofficial replacement?

"Well, the English teacher came in to take roll, but I really taught the classes," Rigby reveals. "I just thought it was a fascinating thing how ink got from here to there."

Rigby went on to attend Brigham Young University (BYU), where he studied business and advertising. He also met his wife Debbie there. They now have five children and nine grandchildren.

During his first year at BYU, Rigby also worked at the university in-plant. "My first job was melting lead for the linotype machine," he recounts. In the latter half of his college years, he worked for a couple of commercial shops in Provo.

After graduation, starting around 1980, Rigby worked at a few large commercial printers, including Paragon Press, in Salt Lake City. He served as pressman, paper buyer and sales rep, as well as in bindery and prepress departments, and eventually worked his way up to management.

"I'm a very hands-on manager and I'm willing to get my hands dirty with everyone else," he remarks. "Plus, no one can bamboozle me because I've done it all." His business and advertising knowledge came in handy when dealing with clients.

In 1995, Rigby left the commercial world to join Salt Lake City's University of Utah as plant manager. "When you go from a commercial shop to a university in-plant, you're in a completely different environment," he asserts. "I liked it better. I felt like I was contributing to a bigger cause at the university."

He spent about two-and-a-half years at the University of Utah. In 1998, he was recruited by Washington State University (WSU), in Pullman, Wash., to serve as director of Printing Services. "And I've been here ever since," he states.

A Full-service In-plant

WSU's in-plant is a full-service operation with 45 full-time and 20 part-time employees, and annual sales of $6 million. It offers digital, offset and wide-format printing, as well as project coordination, graphic design, prepress, bindery, mailing, copyright and Web design/development services. It also features two copy centers (CougarCopies), Cougar Express Mail and Coug Prints mobile printing services on campus, plus the WSU Press.

"I like the people here, and I like the university setting," notes Rigby. "We have a very robust printing organization that keeps me challenged. I enjoy what I do."

He and his wife also found that they like living in a smaller town, and have grown "deeply rooted" in the community. In his spare time, Rigby enjoys music, spending time with his grandchildren, golf and running (he has run a number of marathons). He demonstrates his regard and respect for the great outdoors both personally and professionally.

"I'm not a tree hugger, but I am very concerned about the environment," Rigby notes. "At WSU, we have a very active sustainability program. I believe we were the first university to become FSC-certified, we've maintained certification ever since, and we've helped other plants gain certification. That's something I'm particularly proud of."

Rigby also takes pride in the three IPMA Management Awards that WSU has won during his tenure (in 2000, 2006 and 2009). He has spoken at several IPMA conferences (including the recent one in Kansas City) on issues such as sustainability and cross-media.

"Clear back in 2003, I spoke about Web and print together, and people thought I was Looney Tunes," he acknowledges. Now that the entire industry has its collective eye on cross-media, Rigby can enjoy the last laugh.

"It's exciting to see print and Web come together, and we do cross-media very well here at WSU," he asserts proudly.

Looking back, Rigby sees a well-chosen and happily traveled career path. "If I could change something, I probably would have joined the education system sooner," he considers. "I've enjoyed being part of a university a lot."

Really, though, Rigby has been an educator extraordinaire since high school. At WSU, he continues to reach out and teach. "Since we put in our first digital press in 2005, I've spent a lot of time educating people on campus about digital printing," he relates.

"I just really took to and have always enjoyed printing," Rigby concludes. "The challenge and excitement of rapidly advancing technology—that's what keeps me going. You can't let up for a minute or you'll miss something."