In his welcoming remarks at a recent celebration for faculty and staff who are retiring from York University, President & Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri expressed his gratitude for the decades of dedicated service to the University provided by the retirees. “Thank you for believing in York University,” said Shoukri. “Thank you for helping us realize our hopes and dreams and for helping to make York Canada’s leading interdisciplinary university.
“It is interesting to note that we have five people who have given 20 years of service and 11 people who have given 30 years or more, and five faculty and staff who have accomplished 40 years or more,” he said. “Each of you is proof that one of York’s greatest strengths is the dedication of its faculty and staff. We cannot thank you enough. Today we recognize and celebrate your achievements.”
As those present at the celebration traded stories, a clear picture emerged of today’s retiree. Many of the retirees were still active in some form of employment, while others were travelling, volunteering or starting new careers.
Stanley Jeffers, professor emeritus of physics in York’s Faculty of Science & Engineering, retired last December following 39 years of service to York University. Jeffers was one of the special guests present at the retirement celebration on Wednesday, Oct. 14.
Jeffers, like many others his age, is living proof that retirement is a time to undertake personal growth and explore new challenges and experiences. This summer, he successfully completed a cross-Canada motorcycle trip to Vancouver and back. He will be giving a video presentation on cross-country adventure on Dec. 1 at 12:30pm in 317 Petrie Science & Engineering Building. He returned to York for the fall term to teach a course in physics and also teaches the Japanese martial art Aikido Yoshinkai for the School of Kinesiology & Health Science in York’s Faculty of Health.
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| Above: York President & Vice-Chancellor Mamdouh Shoukri (far right) and Douglas Peers, associate vice-president graduate and dean of the Faculty of Graduate Studies (far left), congratulate retiring faculty members onstage following the presentation of York pins |
Faculty members who attended the retirement luncheon included:
- Professor John Crozier, Department of Psychology, Glendon College (36 years of service);
- Professor Margo Gewurtz, Division of Humanities, Faculty of Liberal Arts & Professional Studies (LA&PS) (41 years of service);
- Professor Joan Gibson, Division of Humanities, LA&PS (38 years of service);
- Professor Stanley Jeffers, Department of Physics & Astronomy, Faculty of Science & Engineering (39 years of service);
- Professor Dalton Kehoe, Department of Social Sciences, LA&PS (41 years of service);
- Professor Sam Lanfranco, Department of Economics, LA&PS (24 years of service);
- Professor George O’Brien, Department of Mathematics & Statistics, Faculty of Science & Engineering (38 years of service);
- Professor Ronald Pearlman, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science & Engineering (40 years of service);
- Professor Ted Spence, Faculty of Environmental Studies (39 years of service);
- Professor Bernard Wolf, Economics Specialization, Schulich School of Business (40 years of service).
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| Above: President Shoukri (far left) congratulates retiring staff members |
Staff members who attended the retirement luncheon included:
- Ken Barger, Maintenance Services, Campus Services & Business Operations (CSBO) (20 years of service);
- David Bates, Office of Institutional Research & Analysis (32 years of service);
- Wendy Busby, Office of Institutional Research & Analysis (19 years of service);
- Edna Cameron, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science & Engineering (30 years of service);
- Anna Cavaliere, Department of Mathematics & Statistics, Faculty of Science & Engineering (41 years of service);
- Herman de Hoop, Office of the Chief Information Officer, University Information Technology (UIT) (27 years of service);
- Brian Harvey, Maintenance Services, CSBO (31 years of service);
- Joan Howard, Vanier College (23 years of service);
- Anna Politi, Parking Services, CSBO (27 years of service);
- Kenneth Tulino, Workgroup Technical Services, UIT (37 years of service);
- Mary Wilson, Parking Operations, UIT (30 years of service);
- Harold Zaplacinski, Student Information System, UIT (33 years of service).
Collectively, the group has devoted 726 years of service to the University. The President’s event for retirees is organized annually by University Events & Community Relations.