Stony Brook University employees who have devoted 25 years or more of service to the institution were honored on February 11 at the annual Service Recognition Luncheon at the Bauman Center for Leadership and Service.
The celebration recognized 419 faculty and staff members whose combined decades of commitment have helped shape Stony Brook into the top-ranked public university in New York. Among them were two employees marking an extraordinary 55 years of service.
President Andrea Goldsmith welcomed the honorees.
“Today we gather to celebrate and to thank our phenomenal staff who are the heart of our excellence and impact,” she said. “Our staff that supports all dimensions of our mission is truly exceptional — including our healthcare professionals, facilities support, emergency responders, academic support staff, athletics staff, and all other staff that support the broad range of activities that take place every day across our university and medical center. You have shaped this wonderful Seawolf community, making it the number one public university in New York.”
“We could not achieve this level of success without you, the backbone of our university,” she added. “Together, from Manhattan to Montauk, we are expanding our excellence and impact across all dimensions of education, research, clinical care and service to our community.”
Goldsmith noted that when meeting with state and national leaders, “I am so proud to share with them that it is the people who make Stony Brook a diverse, vibrant university teeming with infinite possibilities. I also talk about the family ties that exist here: generations within families work here — you don’t usually hear about this at other universities, and it speaks to our supportive and unique culture. People really love it here, and so do I!”
Honorees were recognized in milestone groups of 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50 and 55 years of service.
For those celebrating 25 years, Goldsmith reflected on the year 2000, when Stony Brook completed Phase I of its beautification project and unveiled the Academic Mall. She recalled students walking across campus with portable CD players and cars filled with CDs from artists such as Britney Spears and Blink-182.
Turning to the 30-year honorees, she noted that when they joined in 1995, students carried heavy backpacks filled with textbooks in a pre-laptop era. She also reflected on the transformative donation from Charles B. Wang that led to the creation of the Wang Center.
“For those who arrived here 35 years ago, you may recall seeing students wearing flannels, oversized T-shirts displaying ‘Metallica’ on them or perhaps they were rocking their Chuck Taylors,” she said, connecting their milestone to the 1990 completion of the Long Island State Veterans Home. “Our Veterans Home is a reminder that service is at the heart of our mission.”
Goldsmith recognized employees marking 40 years or more of service: “It is outstanding that these next groups of employees have dedicated four and five decades of their careers to our mission,” she said. “Every day they share valuable knowledge and wisdom, building a campus culture defined by excellence, bold ambition and compassion.”
Those celebrating 40 years began their Stony Brook journeys in 1985, the year the university established its first Instructional Network Computing sites. For the 45-year honorees, she recalled the opening of Stony Brook University Hospital with its first 30 beds and the county’s first neonatal intensive care unit.
“A half-century of service is an extraordinary testament to a lifelong commitment to excellence,” Goldsmith said of the 50-year honorees. “For 50 years, these honorees have been part of the heart and soul of Stony Brook, shaping its legacy and inspiring us all.”
Two employees were recognized for 55 years of service: Alan Tucker, Distinguished Service Professor in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Statistics, and Gilbert Kalish, Director of Performance Activities and Professor of Piano.
“Fifty-five years of service is an achievement few can claim — a lifetime of dedication, leadership, and transformation,” Goldsmith said. “These individuals have played an instrumental role in the university’s growth, bringing wisdom, experience, and an unwavering commitment to its mission.”
“You are both shining examples of excellence in our mission,” she added. “Through your dedication, you provided countless students an accessible and transformative education and you both made a lasting footprint on a local and national scale, guiding Stony Brook to new heights.”
“Our Stony Brook culture of support and gratitude is so special,” Goldsmith said. “Thank you to all of our honorees who have greatly contributed to our mission and impacted our community.”
Service Honorees
55 Years
Gilbert Kalish; Alan Tucker
50 Years
Carol Carter; Fred Confessore; Richard Faber
45 Years
Elaine Castelli; Jeanette Cavanaugh; Fernando Colon; Patricia Coyle; Richard Ferguson; Judith Lochhead; Joan Miller; Jayant Parekh; Richard Reeder; John Scally; Joseph Spinks; Shikaripur Sridhar; Nancy Yen
40 Years
Janet Allgaier; Marie Badalamente; Charles Bebber; Mary Bennett; Kelly Bollhofer; Beverly Busch; Gabrielle Carlson; Joyce Casale; Robert Cerrato; William Chittick; Karen Chmiel; Augusto Cortes; Rosemarie D’Orsi; John Delahunty; S. Frazier Dudley Gaines; Marie Fiore; Georges Fouron; Sarahjeanne Goldstein; Lyle Gomes; Carol Gomes; Arthur Haas; Stephanie Haverty; Donna Hoffman; Arie Kaufman; Deidre Kelloff; Carmen LaSorsa; Lawrence Martin; Eric Niegelberg; Geoffrey O’Connell; Linda Ording-Bauer; I.V. Ramakrishnan; Marlin Rigas; Susan Ryan; Maureen Turner; Renee Veneable; Stephen Vitkun; Ismail Zahed
35 Years
Sylvia Abrilz; Annette Ainsley; Wadie Bahou; Marlene Baumeister; Susan Brennan; Steven Burgardt; Kathleen Cardno; Chris Cepeda; Cheryl Chambers; Ana Chevres; Richard Clark; Laurie Dalessio; Susan DeBevoise; Karen DeChello; Genevieve Dellaporta; Yuefan Deng; Alfred DiVenuto; Petar Djuric; Patricia Doty; Jan Dzierzawiec; Diane Fabel; Linda Fanene; Richard Fine; James Gillas; Debra Giugliano; Christina Haberstroh; Walter Hellmich; Rickie Hendrickson; Mark Henry; Deon Holland; Randy Holland; Catherine Jones; Chang Jung; Sarah Kempster; Richard Kew; Allan Kucine; Mary La Corte; Colleen Laskowitz; Terryn Leahy; Marci Lobel; Bertram Mack; Barbara Magnussen; Marlene Marmol; Dorothy McMahon; Jennifer McSweeney; Louise Melious; Pamela Minett; Kerri Miranda; Lynn Murro; Sharon Nachman; Judy O’Brien; Maureen O’Rourke; Maria Olson; Douglas Panico; Deborah Phelan; Christine Pidgeon; Victor Poon; James Prudenti; Elizabeth Ramos; Sheila Routh; Patricia Schmitt; Christine Schortemeyer; Roxanne Scudiere; Edward Shuryak; Marcia Simon; Vimala Sivaraman; Stephen Sullivan; Raveesh Talanki; Gordon Taylor; Marie Titone; Marcia Tonnesen; Efie Tourlafti-Spentzos; Kathleen Vernon; Christine Wilson; Kathleen Wilson; Karen Wolfer; Catherine Zahra
30 Years
Victor Alonzo; Kristine Andrews; Tricia Annitto-Grassi; John Bailyn; David Barnett; Maryellen Bestenheider; Susan Blum; Mary Cain; Giuseppe Caso; Terri Cavaliere; Sandra Cevallos; Florence Christie; Gabriele Conte; Margaret Corrigan; William D’Andrea; Christina Dahl; Donna DeHayes; Michael DeMasi; Joann DeRubio; Holly Diciero; Wendy Doroski; Norman Edelman; Jennifer Fite; Eileen Flaherty; Patricia Flores; Elizabeth Frei; Lynette Giordano; Vera Gorfinkel; Iris Granek; Stuart Green; Bernadette Holdener; Chunbo Huang; Heidi Hutner; Glen Itzkowitz; Ruth Johnston; Maurice Kernan; Nada Klinovsky; Darrin Kolyer; Jacob Kurian; Margaret Kyriacou; Kenneth Lanzetta; Herbert Lewis; Barbara Leyva; Joanne London; Clark McGrew; Koreen McKenna; Robert Moscato; Kathleen Muenkel; Linda Mullins; Noor Nasim; Leticia Nazaire; Natalie Olsen; Jennifer Peace; Anielka Perez; Patricia Peterson; Ronald Pierre; Justine Pitts-Howell; Donna Pozzolano; Andrea Pressley; Dan Qiu; Kathleen Rago; C Ramakrishnan; Donna Rilling; Evelyn Rodriguez; Eriko Sato; Tracie Saunders; Anthony Scarlatos; Robert Schindel; Elizabeth Schumann; Kerry Scribner; Bernadette Shannon; Chandra Shrestha; Teresa Stables-Carney; Susan Strom; Pushpa Talanki; Yasemin Tansel; Ana Topolovec; Styliani-Anna Tsirka; Lawrence Usher; Kelly Verrelli; Peter Vitola; Rosemarie Wheeler; Rosemary Williams
25 Years
Alexandre Abanov; Djenane Adams; Jennifer Adams; Angela Agnello; Jay Allen; Arturo Andrade; Leocrecia Aracena; Jacqueline Archer; Edicta Arias; Sean August; Charles Backfish; Nadine Barrett; Janine Becker; Tazeen Beg; Christopher Bello; Michael Bender; Hugo Benitez-Silva; Joseph Bica; Barbara Blizzard; Thomas Bowling; Megan Bryant; Lauri Budnick; Keisha Butler; Rafaela Cabrera; Bernadette Caligiuri; Ritchie Calvin; Joanne Camarda; Sergio Cardenas; Prima Carriere; Andrea Cavese; Christopher Christodoulou; Samantha Claros; Barbara Coniglio; Eduardo Constantino; Christine Conway; Mary Cooper; Catherine Costanzo; Patricia Dalce; Lorraine Danowski; Mark de Cataldo; Luz De los Santos; Susan Deaver; Desiree de Figueroa; Gerard DeFoe; Denise Dengel; Paul Depaulis; Florence DiMartino; Kimberly Dixon; Alexa Doboli; Dmitri Donetski; Jill Douglas; Ann Dowsey; Robert DuBois; Kenya Earl; Jennifer Eriksen; Benjamin Etkin; Kenneth Faulkner; Jennifer Fisher; Joanna Foley; Allen Futcher; Feliciano Garcia; Lauren Garrett; Victoria Gaugh; Martha Genao; Jill Giuffrida; Raul Gonzalez; Milagros Gonzalez; Elena Gorbunova; Marilyn Gordon; Willie Graham; Emily Gravier; Kellie Gumersell; Diana Hannan; Eileen Harrington; Matineh Hassanzadeh; Lynn Hatta; Floyd Haynes; Agnes He; Jean Hendrickson; Dawn Herritt; Michael Higgins; Heather Histand-Miller; Robert Holliday; Anthony Indelicato; Linda Jackson; Cynthia Jackson; Scott Johnson; JeanAnn Johnston; Sarah Jourdain; Lobna Kahek; Heather Kammerer; Karen Keeley; Laura Kelly; Catherine Kier; Robert Kirincic; Tracy Koetter; Cheryl Koller; Stephen Kruger; John Lagner; Anita Lago; Susan Lane; Cleveland Levi; Sarah Leviness; Daniel Levy; Xiomara Liriano; Abby Lisberger; Annie Liu; Salema Mahajan; Kim Manno; Elvia Manrique; Maury Marmor; Geraldine Marsh; Adriana Martin; Lori Martinez; Sharon Martino; Nina Maung; Kelly McGuire; Richard McKenna; Ana Mejia; Yvette Melendez; Mauricia Mesa; Ninosca Mestres; Kettly Mondesir-Thesatus; Kevin Moriarty; John Moscarelli; Daysi Mosquea; Belkys Mosquea; Kimberly Munoz; Anatoliy Mykhaylyk; Doreen Nicholas; Jenna O’Neill; Manuel Olarte; Carla Orenzo; Judith Ortiz; Mary Paciella; Maria Paiva; Ekaterini Panagiotakopoulou; Elena Pastoriza; John Pearson; Dona Pellegrino; Stephen Perkins; Majory Pierre; Albert Pisano; Patricia Plaia; Mary Plant; Jamie Plume; Theresa Polonski; William Powell; Mary Powers; Lisa Reagan; Shafiq Rehman; Barbara Rigney; Eleazar Rodriguez; Andrew Ronan; Lynne Roth; Patricia Rubino; Luisa Sabujo; Johanna Saleh; Dimitrios Samaras; Beth Schaeffler; Susan Scheckel; Annemarie Scherer; Glenn Schmidt; Elizabeth Schriener; John Schwedes; Holly Sherman; Cari Smith; Stephen Smith; Scott Stoller; Amy Strauss; Sergey Suchalkin; Stewart Suchit; Stephanie Susskraut; John Suszczynski; Timothy Sutherland; Dina Symonds; Dawn Teer; Michael Thaxter; Benny Thomas; Maximo Tineo; Susan Tito; Maritza Torres; Lorraine Tsamisis; Bernarda Valerio; Cheryl Van Brunt; Yvette VanGorden; Melania Vargas; Dana Vecchio; James Vulpi; Michelle Wakely; Stephen Walker; Greta Walker-Ametewee; Tracey Walters; Lihong Wan; Ruixue Wang; Lianxing Wen; Michael White; Albert Wilkinson; Pearle Williamoski; Claudia Wolk; Stanislaus Wong; Tirathorn Wongtangswad; Maureen Zaharis; Allen Zawada
To download photos from the event, visit the SBU Flickr site.
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