Some were here when John Madden played on the football team. Many have seen riots and floods. They remember how the city used to celebrate Mardi Gras. A few could have seen Chuck Liddell sitting in a classroom. They are the 267 employees who have been employed by the university for 10 or more years and whose service will be recognized during a luncheon tomorrow in Chumash Auditorium from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
The annual Cal Poly Service Awards Luncheon recognizes university employees who have worked for 10-40 years.
“The purpose of the luncheon is to honor those personnel who have worked for State, Corporation and ASI,” said Karen Stubberfield, a member of the committee planning the event.
Awardees are given complimentary lunches, award certificates and special gifts donated by the President’s Office, Cal Poly Corporation, Associated Students Inc., El Corral Bookstore, University Police Department and Cal Poly Athletics, she added.
During the lunch, all recipients will have their names called and shake hands with President Warren Baker — who will be honored for his 30 years at Cal Poly — as brief descriptions of their time at the school are read by Phil Bailey, emcee of the ceremony.
Bailey, also dean of the College of Science and Mathematics, said he has performed this job about eight to 10 times at the request of the President’s Office, including the last three years.
“A long time ago, they asked me once to do it, and then seemed like every three or four years I’d do it,” he said. “I just lose track. I’m not shy anymore like I used to be; I’ve been here a long time and I know a lot of people.”
Bailey is now in his 40th year at Cal Poly and will also be receiving recognition and a gift.
As dean, Bailey is most proud of the close connection he maintains with the students of his college. He has instructed a class every quarter but two since he came to Cal Poly in 1960. He is a club adviser and has had 15 disadvantaged students live with him and his wife over the last several years.
“I came here because I really wanted to be at a university where you could interact with students, and I’ve kept that going my whole 40 years,” he said. “What was most important to me was the relationships I’ve had with my students. I’m totally committed and that’s the most wonderful thing about the career.”
Bailey considers the ability to create and maintain these relationships his greatest accomplishment. Bailey also started the 25-35 studying program and is known for the chemistry magic shows he performs for children to get them interested in science and college.
Cal Poly is still a learn-by-doing university, he said, but the size of the student body and the look of the campus are very different from the first time he stepped on campus at age 26. The biggest improvement in four decades is the presence of Cal Poly as a well-known institution, he said.
“The most important (difference) is our growing national reputation,” Bailey said. “All the new buildings are really cool, but what’s really cool is that we’re a respected polytechnic university.”
Bailey is one of the three attending award recipients with 40-year anniversaries along with Jim Conway, communications studies department faculty member and Johanna Brown, head of library collection management.
Thirteen employees with 35-year anniversaries will be honored at the luncheon, including Susan Sparling, director of Student Academic Services.
The most prominent changes Sparling noted since she first started at Cal Poly as medical transcriber at the Health Center are the advances in technology that have changed the operation of the school both academically and professionally. Specifically, she witnessed a shift to online communication and the digitization of records.
One thing that hasn’t changed, she admitted, is the lack of diversity on campus.
“I do believe more staff, faculty and students do understand the importance of an ethnically and diversity-sensitive community, but Cal Poly still has so very far to go to be responsive and comfortable for a wide range of students,” Sparling said. “Still, in many ways, I stayed here because of the work that I really care about with regard to academic success, especially for underrepresented students.”
Sparling plans to stay at the university for several more years and cherishes the family-like relationship she shares with her co-workers.
“I feel honored to be able to say that,” Sparling said. “The friendships I have through Cal Poly have clearly shaped my life.”
The presidential function is organized by a volunteer committee made up of Cal Poly employees and has been an annual event since the ’70s. Five-hundred seats are available, with guest tickets selling for $10 that are sold out most years, Stubberfield said.