Farewell to Retired Staff 2015-2016

Ten faculty and eight staff retired during the 2015-2016 academic year. Retiring faculty are given the option to be recognized in the Commencement program and by President Marvin Krislov during the Commencement ceremony, while retiring staff are given the option to have their service acknowledged here on the Source.

Retha Carey retired from campus dining on July 14, 2015.

Craig Costantino retired from facilities on March 15, 2016.

Raymond (Ray) English, Azariah Smith Root director of libraries, retired December 31, 2015, following 36 years of service to the college. As director of libraries, English led the library system through a period of extraordinary change during which networked information technologies fundamentally altered academic and research library resources and services. During his tenure, the library joined OhioLINK (the first private college to do so) and it developed entirely new operational areas, including a sophisticated web environment, an institutional repository that hosts Oberlin’s scholarly and creative output, and digital collections and digital scholarship services. The library also fostered increased curricular emphasis on special collections and the traditional book in close cooperation with faculty. Major upgrades to library facilities included a new Science Library in 2001, the Academic Commons in Mudd Center in 2007, and renovation of the Main Library’s special collections and archives reading and teaching spaces. English was actively involved in library issues at the national level. He was a primary founder of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) scholarly communications program. He also served as both a member and long-time chair of the steering committee of the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC), a leading national and international advocate for open access to scholarly research information. He was named the ACRL Academic Research Librarian of the Year in 2006, and in 2009 received the Hugh Atkinson Memorial Award that recognizes “an eminent librarian and leader” in the academic library profession. A graduate of Davidson College, he earned master’s and Ph.D. degrees in German literature as well as a master’s degree in library and information science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. From 1979 to 1989 he was head reference librarian and from 1986 to 1990 was associate director of libraries.

Kathy Fenderson retired from campus dining on September 14, 2015, after nearly 40 years of service. Fenderson was interviewed by the Source about her position in campus dining in 2008.

Regina Gow retired from the Office of the Dean of Studies on December 4, 2015.

Deborah Hutnyak retired from the Office of Alumni Relations on December 4, 2015.

Gary Rucker retired from campus dining on August 11, 2015.

Sharon Shaffstall retired from the Office of the Controller on September 14, 2015, after 27 years of service.

Are you a former staff member who retired during the 2015-2016 academic year? Send a statement describing your time working for Oberlin to communications@oberlin.edu, and the communications staff will update the information included here.