BGSU honors dedicated faculty and staff

Friends and colleagues gathered in the Bowen-Thompson Student Union March 23 to celebrate the years of service to the University of BGSU faculty and staff. The appreciation event honored employees for service ranging from five to 50 years, and those who have recently retired.

President Mary Ellen Mazey, Dr. Rodney Rogers, provost and senior vice president, and Viva McCarver, chief human resources officer, presented the honorees with certificates and offered their congratulations on reaching milestones in their careers.

At the top of the longevity list was Dr. Kenneth Shemberg, a faculty member in psychology, who is marking 50 years with BGSU. Also noted were Paul Vollmar, a stationary engineer with the physical plant, “who has helped keep things running smoothly for 40 years now,” said Mazey, and 40-year staff member Wayne Colvin, a project manager in information technology services, “whose contributions range from making our residence life program a national model to helping make BGSU one of the first campuses in the nation to be completely connected online,” she said.

“All of the people here today, and those who could not come, have played an important part in making Bowling Green State University what it is today, and together we have much to be proud of,” the president said. “To those of you who are still in the early years of your careers with BGSU, you bring a fresh eye and a new approach, and I know many of you are already making a difference in the lives of students and your colleagues. I look forward to what the future will bring as you continue to move the University forward.”

In accepting his certificate of appreciation, Colvin echoed the president’s sentiments and said he and his colleagues do what they do because of the students, and that’s what keeps him coming back and what makes the job worthwhile.