Pollack lauds staff expertise, service at 64th annual dinner

Following 10 years working in Cornell’s telecommunications department, Henry Crans has been the director of facilities in the College of Arts and Sciences for 40 years, overseeing the construction of buildings from conception to occupancy. He especially is proud of Klarman Hall, which he considers one of the most beautiful buildings on campus. Crans has also worked part time with Cornell Outdoor Education teaching rock climbing, wilderness camping and cross-country skiing.

Carl Moravec, who came to Cornell as a computer operator at the beginning of the fall semester in 1968, is now senior production controller for Cornell Information Technologies Infrastructure. He spent nearly 30 years working with programmers and the human resource and payroll offices on paychecks and W2 forms; more recently he has focused on admissions, student financial records and financial aid.

Both staffers were recognized for 50 years of Cornell service at the 64th annual Service Recognition Dinner, June 4 in Barton Hall.

Also attending were four staff members with 45 years of service:

• Charles W. Jermy Jr., senior associate dean of the School of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions, who has worked in that school his entire career;
• George Scofield, retail manager, who has worked his entire 45 years in The Cornell Store and is well-known for his knowledge of art supplies;
• Vicky Sharp, known around the world through her administrative service in International Services and the Undergraduate Admissions Office; and
• Michael Skvarla, who began his Cornell career in the physics department before joining the Cornell NanoScale Science and Technology Facility, where for the last 15 years he has been user program manager.

“In so many ways, Cornell staff are the backbone of this university,” said President Martha E. Pollack in recognizing staff members celebrating 25, 30, 35 and 40 or more years of Cornell service. “The jobs you do, the range of ways in which you contribute to this university, are incredibly diverse.”

More than 200 of those staff members and their guests, along with Provost Michael Kotlikoff, college deans, vice presidents, vice provosts and other university leaders, attended the recognition dinner, provided by Cornell Catering.

Cornell’s “diversity and its distinction, its teaching and its research, its programs and its facilities, its progress and its promise – all of them rely on the talent and dedication of its staff, day after day, year after year, and even decade after decade,” Pollack said. “That depth and breadth of expertise and institutional knowledge is so valuable, and it is something we’re so grateful to have.

Mary Opperman, vice president and chief human resources officer, noted that anniversaries provide the opportunity to reflect on “our own lives and the ways in which we weave together our work and home priorities, enjoying our campus community and the communities in which we live, our family, our friends and our colleagues who so enrich our lives.

“You have contributed so much to the lives of our students, faculty, alumni and to each other throughout the years,” Opperman said. “There is no doubt in my mind that with all of you as a strong foundation for our university, our community will continue to flourish and our university will continue to lead the way in higher education for years to come.”

Following dinner, Opperman enumerated events that took place in each anniversary year, both on campus and in world affairs. The Backtalk Band provided popular musical selections from each era.

This story also appeared in the Cornell Chronicle.