The University of Oregon recognized its longest-tenured officers of administration and classified employees with a celebratory brunch on May 13 in the Erb Memorial Union Redwood Auditorium.
HR Learning and Development hosted the event to celebrate seventy-eight employees who marked twenty to forty-five years of service to the UO in 2023. (The university’s Years of Service program recognizes service milestones in five-year increments.)
“Years of Service, especially the program for our longest-term employees, celebrates the career longevity, institutional knowledge and team cohesion that come with employees who’ve been at UO for a while,” said Mark Schmelz, vice president and chief human resources officer. “I’m thrilled that we get to honor these employees and the strength they bring to our institution.”
The brunch featured a photo booth; remarks by Tiffany Lundy, senior associate director of employee development and engagement; and entertainment from a student jazz ensemble. Honorees and their supervisors enjoyed brunch from UO Catering and spent time connecting and appreciating each other. Because the room was full of colleagues who have been at UO for at least twenty years and know each other, there were lively conversations and quite a few hugs.
Honoree Rachel Kahn, project coordinator in the College of Arts and Sciences, was celebrating her twenty-year milestone. Reflecting on her UO career, which included roles in the Lundquist College of Business and the School of Law before she began working for CAS, Kahn said, “It’s great to see the community that’s created from working here for so long, the networking and connections you make, all the skills you learn over the years. And it’s nice to see friendly faces when you’re walking around campus.”
Kahn’s supervisor, Lisa Mick Shimizu, director of operations and strategic initiatives for CAS, is glad to have an experienced employee on her team. “New employees bring great things,” Mick Shimizu said. “But we also need people who know the little different parts of [the institution] and how they connect, which takes a long time to learn because this is a complicated place. People who know the people and have the connections are an immeasurable benefit.”
For more information on the program, visit the Years of Service Recognition webpage.
—By Anna Duncan, Human Resources Communications
Top photo: Ken Kato, director of the Location Innovation Lab, celebrates 25 years as a UO employee. (Photo: Zakary Christen-Cooney)