The end of the school year not only marks a time of celebration for students, but also a time of achievement for faculty and staff at the University of Hartford. Much like it serves the end of a chapter for graduating seniors, it may also mark the end of a chapter for faculty or staff who are moving on to other endeavors.
At the University of Hartford, the annual Recognition Day event celebrates and honors members of the faculty and staff who are celebrating special anniversaries with the University. These special anniversary years are those with 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40 and 45 years of service.
This year’s Recognition Day had an extra twist to it — it was the first time an employee was honored for 50 years of service. Professor of guitar Richard Provost became a full-time faculty member in 1964, starting the Guitar Department and serving as chair of the department from 1964–1988 and 2008–2012.
Provost has performed throughout the United States, Great Britain and Germany, and has conducted numerous master classes and workshops as well as authoring three books on guitar technique along with “The Art and Technique of Practice” and “The Art and Technique of Performance.”
He is also a University of Hartford alumnus and will be retiring as a full-time faculty member at the end of the current school year. He will continue to teach on a part-time basis.
Also retiring at the end of the year will be associate Vice President and Treasurer Tom Perra, whom was also recognized on Recognition Day for 45 years of service to the University. He too will still continue in a part-time capacity for one more year.
Perra first joined the University in 1969 as assistant to the chief accountant. He earned both his undergraduate degree in accounting and a Master of Science in professional accounting from the University of Hartford while working full time.
Perra has overseen all of the University’s tax-exempt bond issues and re-financing of them, which brought in hundreds of millions of dollars for capital projects, including the residential properties as well as some of the academic buildings.
He has also been responsible for increasing auxiliary revenues as well as contributing to the automation of student services, the launch of the University’s ID card for on- and off-campus uses, Purchasing Card for faculty and staff, electronic billing and payments for students and the automation of the student refund process.
A celebration will be held April 30 at 4:30 p.m. in the 1877 Club to thank him for his service. Perra, together with senior advisor for external relations John Carson, will also be awarded the University Medal for Distinguished Service during the Undergraduate Commencement ceremony on May 17.
Dr. Sharon Shepela is another long-tenured faculty member who will be retiring after 37 years of teaching for Hillyer College and Hartford College for Women. Shepela is a professor of psychology and has co-authored a book titled “Courageous Resistance: The Power of Ordinary People” which examines how ordinary people find courage to stand up for justice and peace.
A celebration was held April 27 in the Regents Commons at the Shaw Center in Hillyer Hall. It included a jazz performance from Hartt School students Erica Bryan and her quartet and a vocalist Quoron Walker.
The department of psychology will be losing another valuable member in Dr. Otto Wahl, who will also be retiring. Wahl came to the University of Hartford in 2003 to lead the Graduate Institute of Professional Psychology as its director of clinical training.
Wahl’s work within the University and outside the classroom includes mental health advocacy activities. His research on mental illness stigma and media depictions of mental illness has earned him a national and international reputation.
A celebration for Wahl was held April 28 in the Shaw Center in Hillyer Hall.
The University of Hartford will undoubtedly miss the many faculty and staff whom will be moving on at the end of the school year.
Their accomplishments and achievements here will forever leave an impression on the history of the school, much like it will their own histories.