As he greeted the more than 500 Lehigh faculty and staff in attendance at Stabler Arena for the annual Lehigh Appreciation Dinner, Interim President Kevin Clayton had a message of thanks:
“You’re going to see a lot of awards handed out, and there will be lots of ovations. All well-deserved,” he remarked. “But the biggest winner tonight is Lehigh. That’s because each and every one of you—as well as those staff and faculty who could not be here tonight—represents this university with distinction. Day in and day out, year in and year out.”
J. Gary Lutz, Vice Provost for Institutional Research, served as master of ceremonies for the evening. Gary recognized Kevin as well as his wife Lisa for their sacrifice and dedication to Lehigh in serving as the university’s interim president for the past year. “We don’t have an award that recognizes people who have been here ten months,” Gary noted, “but if we did, you would be getting such an award tonight.
As is tradition, Gary and Kevin were joined by Provost Pat Farrell on stage to recognize the staff and faculty members reaching the twenty five year service milestone. The new members of the 25-Year Club, listed below, were invited to gather on stage for a group photo.
Mark Bickard – Philosophy
Berrisford Boothe – Art, Architecture and Design
Lawrence “Ozzie” Breiner – Residential Services
John Coulter - Mechanical Engineering & Mechanics
John DuPont – Materials Science and Engineering
Josephine Engel - International Relations
Gregory Ferguson – Chemistry
Rita Frey - Industrial and Systems Engineering
Sandra Holsonback – Small Business Development Center
John Hutchinson – Library and Technology Services
Vaclav Janout – Chemistry
Milton Jenkins – Facilities Services
Jodie Johnson – Mechanical Engineering and Mechanics
Ursla Levy – Energy Research Center
John “Jack” Lule – Journalism and Communication
Anne Meltzer – Earth and Environmental Sciences
Anne Noon-Scaggs - Community Relations
Padraig O’Seaghdha - Psychology
Raymond Pearson - Materials Science and Engineering
Stephen Pessiki - Civil and Environmental Engineering
Barbra A. Plohocki - Health and Safety
Alayne Renninger – Bursar
Steven Schlegel – Facilities Services
Mary Jo Schulze – Library and Technology Services
Lloyd Steffen – Religion Studies
Vera Stegmann – Modern Languages and Literature
J. Bruce Thomas – Art, Architecture and Design
Benjamin Wright – Religion Studies
Following dinner, Gary led a moment of silence for those members of the Lehigh family who passed away in the last year. The event program listed those who received 2014-15 Spot Bonus Awards and those who received 2014 Tradition of Excellence individual and team awards.
As guests enjoyed dessert, Gary was joined on stage by Kevin Clayton, Pat Farrell, and others to present the 2015 Lehigh University Awards. You can read more and see photos of all the recipients in this story.
The evening closed with recognition of this year’s retirees. More information and photos can be found in this story.
For the complete photo gallery of the 2015 Lehigh Appreciation Dinner, visit Work Life Lehigh on Google+ via this link.