The unlikely and sometimes hilarious cases of mistaken identity in some of our resident campus ‘dopple-namers’
Steve Runge was baffled when the store clerk was excited to meet him.
“He said, ‘You’re Steve Runge?’ and I said, “Yeah, I am,'” Runge said. “And I knew something was wrong when he started asking me questions about golfing.”
Runge told the clerk he was not a golfer and left the store curious why the clerk asked him about golf. At the time, Runge was a student at The Ohio State University where he was working on his doctorate in biochemistry, and he didn’t play golf.
Shortly after that encounter with the store clerk, Runge learned that a young man from California, also named Steve Runge, had been recruited to play golf at The Ohio State University.
“So, he follows me to Ohio State and 25 years later–same guy, same name–he follows me to the University of Central Arkansas,” said Dr. Steven W. Runge, a UCA biology professor.
Coach Steven Paul Runge started as the men’s golf coach at UCA in 2014.
They both go by “Steve.”
“Everyone laughs about it and makes comments,” said Coach Steve. “It’s kind of cool, just the whole connection with Ohio State makes it more incredible.”
The two did not meet in Ohio, but Coach Steve visited Dr. Steve while touring campus after his hire. The two took a photo together.
“He is a little taller, and I have more hair,” said Dr. Steve, adding that the two have become great friends.
“We’ve had him over for dinner, and he’s met my family,” said Coach Steve. Family includes Kathy Runge, who also works at UCA, and their 16-year-old son, Cole Steven Runge. The younger Runge did not have much to say about meeting yet another Steve Runge.
Still, Coach Steve and Dr. Steve do take time to make light of the scenario.
“We had a coaches meeting this one time, and he had to speak to us,” said Coach Steve. “He was acting like he was me. That was kind of fun.”
Both say campus confusion caused by their same name has been limited primarily to emails.
“In the beginning, emails got messed up all the time,” said Coach Steve.
Dr. Steve says most of the mix-ups are minor, but he recalls one instance in which former UCA President Tom Courtway sent him an email that needed an immediate response.
“He’d sent it to the golf coach,” said Dr. Steve while trying to hold back a giggle. “We had [information and systems technology] change his email address to ‘Coach Steve Runge.'”
Dr. Steve says only about 20 people in the United States are named “Steve Runge,” so he did find it odd to work with someone with the same name two times in two different states.
Wikipedia, Buzzfeed, Facebook and other sites have dedicated interests in the subject of “reduplicated names.” Having the same name as another person is not uncommon, but having the same name as someone at work might be.
At UCA, it goes beyond Dr. Steve and Coach Steve. In addition, UCA employees include Brad Moore and Brad Moore and Mike Casey and Mike Casey.
Dr. Kevin Michael Casey ’90 is a tenured professor of finance in the College of Business and Kevin Michael Casey Jr. ’09 is a lecturer in the Department of Management Information Systems, also in the College of Business. They are father and son.
They each go by “Mike,” but they differentiate themselves in a unique way: Old Mike and Young Mike.
“We used to be Big Mike and Little Mike, but when I was about 13, I outgrew my dad,” Young Mike said. “Mom had to start saying Old Mike and Young Mike.”
They collect each other’s mail at their home residence and get telephone calls meant for the other person. At work, they receive the other’s emails routinely.
Young Mike says his dad will sometimes sign a work email “Old Mike” to stay potential confusion.
“In retrospect, I should never have named my son a junior,” said Old Mike.
The two hold a strong family resemblance. They get together for lunch on campus a few times a month. They also like fishing, hunting and hosting a good crawfish boil.
“Mike used to be an MMA fighter. He’s a worship leader at our church. He sings. He is very good at guitar–self-taught,” said Old Mike. “Yeah, I don’t do any of that.”
Then there’s Brad Moore and Brad Moore.
Lt. Bradley K. Moore, Community Outreach commander at the UCA Police Department, began working at UCA in 2005. He immediately noticed when Bradley D. Moore, education counselor, began in 2012.
“I started getting advising question emails,” said Lt. Brad. To respond to the emails, “I did say, ‘You don’t want me to advise you. I am a police officer.'”
Like the other pairs of same namers, getting emails meant for the other has become routine. For this duo, they also deal with lost packages.
“He had to have a replacement cell phone one time, and they brought it to me. And I think one time I was having my computer repaired, and they brought it to him,” said Brad D. “He called me and said, ‘Have you received a package today?’ and I said, ‘Yep, it’s on the window sill waiting for you.'”
All of this may sound like a game, but these confusing moments the same name employees had to tame, and they eventually overcame.
Now UCA can make the claim but gains no fame in having three sets of employees with the same name.