The smell of hors d'oeuvres wafted onto the Main Green as faculty and staff gathered Friday afternoon at a reception for Brown Employee Appreciation and Recognition Day, an event commemorating service, performance and excellence in the Brown community.
The annual awards ceremony and celebration recognizes dedication to the University and acknowledges accomplishments that reflect a commitment to sustained achievement.
Nearly 600 faculty, staff and their families and friends filled a festive Salomon 101 with laughter and congratulatory greetings before President Ruth Simmons thanked the honorees for their citizenship, innovation and effectiveness.
Despite this year's change in venue - the event was previously held in the Olney-Margolies Athletic Center - "our gratitude for the work you've done on a daily basis is unchanged," Simmons said. "We appreciate everything you've done to make the University what it
is today."
She said the service awards, which honor all faculty and staff who have worked at the University for five or more years, are a testament to the "supportive and cohesive nature" of the Brown community, adding that the honorees "reflect the letter and the spirit of Brown's character."
Staff members celebrating their time at Brown - 119 current employees have 30 or more years of service, according to Simmons - were called to the stage to accept recognition for their service, before excellence awards were given to teams and individuals for their work in the community.
Employees were honored in categories such as citizenship, diversity, efficiency, innovation, managing, "rising stars" and service, representing the breadth of accomplishment that Simmons said benefits the
community.
"Every service," Simmons said, "helps to build a better environment for teaching, learning and research on College Hill."
At the reception in Sayles Hall following the ceremony, community members mingled while munching on hamburgers and reflecting on their Brown experiences.
"I'm very happy that I made 20 years," said Eugene DeJesus, a campus police officer celebrating his milestone anniversary. "I never thought I'd be in the same job for 20 years."
"It's pretty exciting," said Shannon Silva, a program coordinator in the Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology who has been at Brown for 19 years. "It's just a huge honor."
Simmons said in an interview afterward that Brown could not "carry on its work of learning and teaching and doing research" without these employees, adding that it is important to honor faculty and staff not only because "we are grateful to them for what they do," but also because "it's fun."
"I'm still kind of in a state of disbelief," said Kit Salisbury, humanities center manager in the Cogut Center for Humanities, who received an Excellence Award for Efficiency for her work on last year's annual report. "I was just doing my job."
