At the 46thAnnual Spartan Service Celebration on Oct. 30, three staff members from the College of Applied Sciences and Arts were recognized along with more than 80 staff members campus-wide for serving San José State University for 15 to 35 years.
Stanley Laufer stands during the Spartan Service Celebration. He has worked on campus for 15 years.
Stanley Laufer and Kristina Luna, who work in the School of Library and Information Science, were recognized for 15 years of service while Curt Sennewald, who works in Kinesiology, was recognized for 20 years of service. Staff members are first recognized when they reach the milestone of 15 years of service and then again at 5-year increments.
Laufer is a network administrator for SLIS, a program that is completely online. Luna is the administrative services manager and works closely with SLIS Director Sandy Hirsh to manage the budget for the college. Sennewald is an instructional support assistant II with Kinesiology.
“The staff are the backbone of the university,” said Shawn Bibb, the vice president for Administration and Finance, who was himself honored for 25 years of service.
During the presentation of awards, different AVPs took the opportunity to touch on some of the goals set by President Mohammad Qayoumi in the strategic plan for the university.
“Thank you to all of you who make the university a better place to work by helping and caring,” said Bill Nance, the vice president of student affairs, noting that staff members play a large part in welcoming students and other visitors to the university.
At the recent celebration, five staff members were recognized for 35 years of service.
Provost Ellen Junn acknowledged in a fast-paced business environment it is becoming increasingly rare for employees to stay at the same company or organization for 30 or 35 years. She referenced a short video that gave voice to a handful of the long-time employees who talked about their experience on campus.
“They talk about love of the community,” she said. “…Staff represents the heart of the campus.”
The format for the service celebration was updated this year from a luncheon in past years to an afternoon recognition ceremony followed by a reception that allowed honorees to mingle with others from campus.