University Celebrates Years of Service

By Anne-Marie Kent

There we were: hundreds of university faculty and staff, all gathered under subdued lighting, against a backdrop of mod light fixtures and hip wall colors, lingering at the generous hot and cold buffet spreads or enjoying the cosmopolitan new seating, the buzz of lively conversation in the air.

As university employees crowded the newly refurbished Ryan Lounge for the seventh-annual Years of Service celebration on November 20, the once-stark lounge seemed transformed into a posh function room, complete with milling party guests and an unmistakable celebratory vibe.

"So many happy people in one place…that's all a chancellor really needs," quipped Chancellor Jo Ann Gora, greeting the crowd, thanking them for making UMass Boston great.

Employees representing departments and units from throughout the university, filed up amid coworkers' cheers to receive gifts as tokens of appreciation for reaching career milestones of 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, and 35 years of service.

"You're the reason our students come back," said Gora. "We celebrate your commitment to this campus and the value that you bring to your jobs every workday. You know how things are done. You know what works, what doesn't work, and you know how to make things work."

Crediting them with the university's growing success--including the fact that the fall 2003 class was the strongest and most diverse in recent years--the chancellor announced that, despite budget cuts, the university is moving forward. She noted that the university is completing the Campus Center, upgrading technology, and developing new programs, including the new McCormack Graduate School of Policy Studies and the Center for Health Science and Technology. She also noted plans for a new multi-year research partnership with the Dana Farber Cancer Institute and a new Center for the Study of the Senate, in collaboration with Senator Edward M. Kennedy.

Acknowledging that change--including the completion of new buildings, the installation of new technology, and the development of new programs--can be unsettling, Gora said, "As we celebrate new growth, it is important also to celebrate also our roots, our mission, and our history. It is a time to turn to those who have seen many, many changes in the history of the university."

One of them, oceanography professor Jack Looney, marking 35 years of service to the university, said, "I have a strong commitment to higher public education as well as public education in general. As long as it is still fun and I am making a contribution, I will endeavor to do what I am doing."

Image: Chancellor Gora (top right) celebrates the achievements of those with 35 years of service at UMass Boston: (top) Colin Godfrey of the Computer Sciences Department; (bottom – left to right) Gail Arnold of the Exercise Science and Physical Education Department; Jack Looney, Jr. of the Earth and Geographic Sciences; Dennis Loughlin of the Controller's Office; D.V.G.L.N. [Gopal] Rao of the Physics Department; and Castellano Turner of the Trotter Institute. (Photo by Harry Brett)

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