Employees Saluted for Years of Loyalty, Service

A recent ceremony at UT Dallas recognized employees for years of loyal service, including two who began their tenure well before 1969, when the university officially became a member of the UT System.

In all, the 263 faculty and staff members who walked the stage to receive their awards have contributed a total of 2,985 years of service to the university.  The awardees in the ceremony have worked an average 11.34 years at 800 West Campbell Road in Richardson.  That average is nearly three times the median employment rate of 4.1 years for American workers.

Two employees began their service a full five years before UT Dallas existed in its current form.  Dr. Brian Tinsley and Charles Lippincott, both with the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, received honors for serving 45 years each. 

Tinsley is a professor of physics.  The campus he recalls during his early years is much different from the one where he works today.  “There were cotton and wheat fields adjacent to the narrow Campbell Road at that time and on the 40 acres that were set aside for the campus,” he recalled.  “In October 1964 we moved into the only building on campus.  The eastern half of the Founders Building was finished first, and was impressive as it stood alone at the end of the long entrance road (North Armstrong Parkway).”

He also recollected the installation of some notable landmarks on campus.  “The western half of the Founders Building was next to be finished,” he remembered.  “When it was complete, a huge, 10-foot-high scale model of the Earth-facing side of the moon was installed in the central hallway.  In the early 1970s, a display stand with a brightly lighted piece of moon rock, brought back by the Apollo astronauts, was also set up in the hallway, with the public coming in to view it.”

Lippincott is a program manager in the William B. Hanson Center for Space Sciences.  He reminisced about an early off-hours experience with some fellow UT Dallas employees.  “At lunchtime we played touch football where Founders North is today,” he said.  “This was just outside Dr. Frank Johnson's office window.  After a while Dr. Johnson sent word we needed to stop the lunch games, and we did.”

For their distinguished service, all of the honorees received gifts that included plaques, watches, pen sets, and even iPhones.

The staff members honored and their departments or schools are as follows:

Friday
February 10, 2012

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