Staff Recognition Day 2021

Message from University Chaplain Rev. Dave Wright ’96

Message from the University of Puget Sound Board of Trustees

Congratulations from Cabinet

Sincerely,

Isiaah Crawford, Ph.D. | President
Laura Behling, Ph.D. | Provost
Sherry Mondou | Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Uchenna Baker, Ph.D. | Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students
Dave Beers P’11 | Vice President for University Relations
Joanna Carey Cleveland | Vice President and University Counsel and Secretary to the Board of Trustees
Gayle McIntosh | Vice President for Communications and Chief of Staff
Mary Elizabeth Collins ’81, P’02 | Director of the Office of the President
Matthew Boyce | Vice President for Enrollment

We are honored to celebrate all the retirees and to recognize their dedicated service and innumerable contributions to Puget Sound. We wish you well and thank you for your many years of service!

Debbie Hill began her career at the University of Puget Sound in 1988. She worked in the Education Department in the Powell Resource Center where she procured resources for students in the undergraduate and graduate programs. The library was fortunate when she joined the Circulation Department in 2007. She assisted patrons and worked in Interlibrary loan obtaining research materials for the campus community (with a special ability of locating hard to find items!). Debbie has always had a strong commitment to service and learning. She was also able to obtain a Master in Education Counseling degree at Puget Sound. In addition, she’s had a great rapport with student assistants.  Always friendly and helpful with a positive attitude. Having a green thumb, she was thoughtful in frequently bringing in beautiful bouquets of flowers from her garden and placing them at the Circulation Desk.

Joyce Davis started her career in Dining and Conference Services on September 1, 1980. In her forty years of service she thoroughly enjoyed engaging with generations of students, faculty and staff.

Joyce has many fond memories of her time here. In 1980, she remembers serving hamburgers, fries and a milk shake as a Grill special for $1.50. She made the first Caesar Salad ever served in the Diner and won a departmental award for her creation. At one time, part of her job was to frost freshly fried donuts that students loved! Joyce worked at nearly every station in the Diner; Salad Bar, Grill, Deli, Pantry and in 2004 she started cooking at what is now Chef’s Table. In 2012 she moved to the Tortilla station where she worked until her retirement last fall.  When there wasn’t summer hours in Dining, Joyce worked in Facilities cleaning residence halls.

Joyce took great pride in her work, her commitment and dedication are missed by all. Her co-workers miss her kindness and willingness to help out anywhere. She is known by her co-workers as “the best oven cleaner ever”, an accolade she is quite proud of!

In 2010 a tree was planted on campus in Joyce’s name in honor of 30 years of service. The tree, located near the southwest corner of Oppenheimer Hall is quite large now and is a source of great joy for Joyce.

Joyce is enjoying a well-deserved retirement, relaxing and spending time with her granddaughter Violet.  

Verlyn Brown joined Dining and Conference Services on September 17, 1988. In her 32 years of service, she worked in several Diner stations. Verlyn’s first position was in the dishroom at Wheelock Student Center, soon after she transferred to the Union Avenue Kitchen. She also worked in the servery keeping products stocked and then moved to the Pasta station where she worked until her retirement at the end of 2020.

In addition to being an outstanding staff member, Verlyn was known to treat her co-workers to chocolate treats during the holidays. One year, Verlyn wasn’t working so she sent chocolates with a co-worker to make sure everyone got their treats!

Verlyn is relaxing and enjoying her well-deserved retirement.

Chris Dowd began her career at the University of Puget Sound in 1983. As part of the Circulation Department team in Collins Memorial Library, she has processed thousands of interlibrary loan requests securing research materials for students, staff, and faculty.  Throughout her career, she has worked with Summit Borrowing, Course Reserves and Media Bookings. She has had a front row seat for many of the library renovations and has seen and/or been a part of the advancements to many of the library’s services.  As Circulation Desk Coordinator she was responsible for hiring, scheduling, and training student assistants.  She did this with kindness and patience.  Chris’s generosity, graciousness, and steadiness have been appreciated by colleagues and the campus community alike.

Melanie Sullivan started her Puget Sound Career in 1987 as the Registration Services Assistant in the Office of the Registrar.  She went to serve as the Transcript/Verification Coordinator, the Academic Recorder, and then in 1998 took on the role of Degree Evaluator.  As the Degree Evaluator, Melanie awarded 16, 843 degrees to our students.  Many degrees were awarded to students who experienced significant academic and personal challenges, and she walked alongside those students to find a path for success.   For the degrees that were denied, she handled those difficult conversations with grace and professionalism, and often with several options for the student to consider going forward.  In recognition of her awesomeness, Melanie was awarded the Employee of the Year award in 1996.

Anyone that visited Melanie’s office became immediately aware of her love for Disney and Harry Potter.  In many cases, Melanie was able to find solutions that to anyone else would appear as though magic had happened.  The truth is she cared deeply for this community, and worked really hard to be an amazing resource to everyone around her.  Her impact on this campus will carry on despite her retirement through the incredibly caring example she set for her colleagues.

Chris Vernon started her career at Puget Sound in February 2003. She joined the Human Resources department after working in corporate America HR for over 20 years. Chris then worked in Payroll for 2 ½ years before joining the then Academic Dean’s office where she worked for 8 ½ years. Chris had a desire to work half time in order to pursue personal interests and the opening for an administrative assistant in the Philosophy department was a perfect fit. After almost 4 years working with Philosophy professors, she is now able to fulfill her dream of transitioning into retirement. This does not mean a less active life! Chris will continue to enjoy time on the 10+ acre property she lives on in her small tiny home community in Olympia. Living life with nature is in her bones as an avid traveler, backpacker, and hiker. Previous backpacking trips have taken Chris to many beautiful places in Europe and New Zealand, as well as many places in the U.S. Her hope is to do much more traveling, all dependent on the status of the worldwide pandemic. In the meantime, you’ll find her reducing her footprint while living in her tiny home, spending time with family in S. California, and providing gentle yoga classes to seniors in her local community.

The numerous positions Chris held during her 18+ year career at Puget Sound provided the opportunity to interact and get to know many wonderful colleagues. This has been the best part of her Puget Sound career, as she sees it as the people that make the difference in how you feel about where you work. If you take that out of the equation, it ends up just being a place to work.

Anna Valladres worked in Dining and Conference Services for sixteen years before retiring in January. Ana worked preparing delightful salads for the salad bar until two years ago when she moved to Chef’s Table.  What Ana enjoyed most was working with student staff.  She loved teaching them how to make delicious salads and hearing about their classes and interests. 

In retirement, Ana enjoys travelling and spending time with her large extended family.

Marie Tompkins began her career at Puget Sound in August 2008 in a temporary capacity in the Office of Finance, Marie liked this community so much that she was patient and waited for a regular employment opportunity so she could stay a while.  Marie made her first home in Dining & Conference Services reviewing and coding tens of thousands of invoices and taking hundreds of photographs as the LoggerCard Coordinator over my 6+ years.  Wanting to explore the academic side of higher education she ventured over to School of OT where she collaborated with caring and supportive faculty and met hundreds of community members who participated in the Spring On-Site OT Clinic.

Marie softly retired (which is similar to not retiring) a few years ago but found herself gravitating back to campus to service temporarily in the Provost Office and now with ‘real’ retirement approaching she will depart from her last assignment in CHWS.

Awaiting Marie are her passions for gardening, photography, writing and nurturing sourdough starter for her artisan bread.

Marie is grateful for her career at Puget Sound.  She grew up in Tacoma and played on this campus as a youngin, to work here and retire from here is a vision board check-off…completed!

John Hickey joined the university in 1974 as Director of Safety and Security. In 1980, John was promoted to Director of Business Services, a role designed to celebrate John’s many talents. In 1983, John received his Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Puget Sound. Over the years, John became Associate Vice President for Business Services and Executive Director of Community Engagement as he took on more areas of responsibility.  Over his 47 years, John has given generously of his time and talents. He always has students’ and the university’s best interests at heart and has made Puget Sound a better place. John’s generosity, kindness, outgoing and easygoing nature, humility, and ability to get things done, have created a special place in the hearts and minds of all who know him. One colleague said, “I have always thought of John Hickey as Puget Sound’s super hero, our own personal Superman. No matter what needs to be done, John is there to do it and do it well, year after year.” Thank you, John!

Bob Peaslee retired from his position as Science Support Engineer after 9 years of service. In this role, Bob enjoyed the variety of projects that he was able to perform and the impact he made on both the school and the students.  

Rufus Kennedy retired from his position as Building Services Specialist after 29 years of service at University of Puget Sound. Rufus was recognized by practically everyone on this campus and was well respected and liked by all!  He led his building specialist team by maintaining a great work ethic, including working many Saturday overtime sessions in which he performed special projects like scrubbing and waxing floors, or doing carpet extraction. Rufus took such great pride in the university that he always wanted everything to look great!

Rufus was a well-known person at the dining hall, as well.  He was a regular for his favorite breakfast on Wednesdays, biscuits and gravy.  His other favorite foods were hot brats, peanuts and Pay Day candy bars.

Everyone will remember him for his signature laugh!  If you were having a bad day, all you had to do is hear that laugh and you could not help but smile!

Rufus and his wife Debbie are looking for a home in Texas, which is their original home state. He thinks they will be buying a house and moving by the end of this calendar year. It will lead him to his dream of a leisurely day of fishing and drinking Diet Dr. Pepper.

Richard Mairs retired from his position as Maintenance Mechanic after 33 years of service at University of Puget Sound. Richard Mairs was a dedicated and hard worker. He had a great knowledge of the boiler systems on campus and HVAC and he took on the responsibility to repair many of the vacuum cleaners for the building specialist team, which saved the University a lot of money in repair bills. His expertise in the department is missed.

Reggie Tison retired from her position as Office Coordinator after 34 years of service with the University of Puget Sound. During her time at Puget Sound, Reggie supported many students and faculty who remember their experiences with her fondly.

The Excellence in Action awards seek to honor those staff members who routinely go above and beyond the call of duty—staff members who actively seek to make a positive impact on students, staff, faculty, and the community around us.

It is humbling and remarkable to read about the heroic accomplishments of our fellow staff members. Nominations are reviewed and award recipients selected by the Staff Senate Human Resources Policies and Procedures Committee.
 

Winners

Amy Replogle, Biology

Amy has a passion for doing the absolute best in everything she does whether it be trouble shooting a problem instrument or setting up a lab for a faculty member. Amy serves in two formal capacities for the department: she is the Assistant Biology Storeroom Coordinator and she is the Science Core Facility Technician. Any member of the biology department, however, will tell you that she contributes SO MUCH more to the department beyond these two roles. A common theme in Amy’s nomination(s) was her willingness to do whatever is needed to support her colleagues and students.

Brittney Jackson, Office of Admission

I have lost count on how many students—from prospective students to alumni-- have been positively impacted by Brittney’s warmth and dedication. Brittney is very self-expressive (she is authentic leadership embodied!), and takes a community approach to learning. Brittney is also one of the biggest champions for staff and faculty development--she always has a book, podcast, or video on deck, and frequently makes important recommendations for those who want to learn more about admissions, DEI work, and Black liberation.

Kelly Brown, Ph.D., Counseling, Health and Wellness Services

She has the delicate balance of approachability and relatability across all peoples and generations, this is such a rare virtue and she has consistently maintained it throughout this pandemic. She shows up, smiling, even in the face of hardship, in these tumultuous times. Her commitment to supporting the staff and the students we serve is evident every day. She has been a tireless, effective, compassionate, and supportive leader, not only within CHWS, but with the entire campus.

Libby Baldwin, ARNP, Counseling, Health and Wellness Services

Libby’s leadership in CHWS has enabled us to provide a strong Covid-19 mitigation program while also ensuring student care remained a high priority. The work that CHWS has done this year would not have been possible without her leadership. Libby is also passionate in her work with students and serves as a model for professionalism in the medical field. She works tirelessly with students to ensure they understand how to navigate the health care system and how to advocate for their health care needs.

Liam McCarthy, Dining and Conference Services

When COVID hit and job needs changed, Liam was given the option of working the grill station which is one of the hardest stations in the Diner. Liam embraced the station with a positive can do attitude and bit by bit he learned the station. Liam emphasizes what a true professional looks like, jumping in when you are unsure and scared in order to help the team deliver food to our students, faculty and staff. Liam’s personal drive and desire to take care of our campus community has been an inspiration to all and we simply could not have done it without him.

Nominees

Adam Crowthers, Dining and Conference Services
Adriana Flores, Library
Alex Gerspacher, Dining and Conference Services
Amy Hackett, Athletics
Amy Replogle, Biology
Angela Markos, Finance
Angela Weaver, Library
April Propes, Facilities Services
Barbara Weist, Communications
Ben Janis, Technology Services
Bob Kief, Facilities Services
Bob Taylor, Facilities Services
Brian Arcuri, Dining and Conference Services
Brittney Jackson, Admission
Cassandra Palmore, Library
Claire Brecher, Occupational Therapy
Craig Bennett, Athletics
Cris McCarty, English
Debby Stewart, Dining and Conference Services
Denise Powell, Human Resources
Derek Beuning, Dining and Conference Services
Elizabeth (Libby) Baldwin, ARNP, Counseling, Health and Wellness Services
Emily Holloway, University Relations
Emma St. Jon, Dining and Conference Services
Faithlina Abeshima, Technology Services
Gregg Habelt, Dining and Conference Services
Greivin Badilla Murillo, Dining and Conference Services
Haley Harshaw, Alumni and Parent Relations
Heather Bailey, Chemistry
Henry Waymack, Print and Copy Services
Hunter Loftus, Technology Services
Jacqui Elliott, Academic Advising
James Kidd, Mail Services
Jessica Hartenstine, Technology Services
Jessica Rembert, Dining and Conference Services
John Hickey, Business Services and Community Engagement
John Horne, Facilities Services
Kariann Lee, Academic Advising
Karissa Valine-Plaza, School of Music
Kelly Brown, Ph.D., Counseling, Health and Wellness Services
Kendra Peevy, Dining and Conference Services
Khalila Fordham, Psy.D., Counseling, Health and Wellness Services
Kim Halverson, Dining and Conference Services
Landon Wade, Academic Advising
Larissa Ogawa, Technology Services
Liam McCarthy, Dining and Conference Services
Luanne Meyer, Admission
Mark Eschbach, Media Services
Nan Martin-Clapp, Dining and Conference Services
Pam Taylor, School of Music and Exercise Science
Patricia Thane, Dining and Conference Services
Peggy Burge, Collins Memorial Library
Phillip Dart, Dining and Conference Services
Rachel Vaughan, Technology Services
Ricky Nieto, Dining and Conference Services
Rufus Kennedy, Facilities Services
Sabrina Shepherd, Facilities Services
Sarah Johnson, Technology Services
Sharon Young, Dining and Conference Services
Stefanie Lund, Finance
Sy Bean, Communications
Tami Hulbert, School of Business and Leadership
Teresa Giddens, Dining and Conference Services
Terrence Carr, Dining and Conference Services
Theresa Williams-Chow, Associate Deans Office
Ti Nguyen, Honors and Classics
Twila G. Hamel, School of Occupational Therapy
Vann Lek, Dining and Conference Services
Vivian Chargualaf, Dining and Conference Services
Vivie Nguyen, Intercultural Engagement, Diversity and Inclusion
Will DeFraine, Insitutional Research

Winner: Everything is Fine

Winner: "It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" by R.E.M.