U of T Mississauga retirees feted for years of service
The day that long-time U of T Mississauga employee Karen Younger retired, her husband got a job.
Retired two years earlier, Younger's husband, Rob, handled household chores like cooking, cleaning and cutting grass. With Younger at home to share the domestic duties, Rob took a part-time job to keep him busy. "Rob loves to get out of the house three days a week, and I love the peace and quiet," Younger said at a retirement celebration held on June 8 in the Faculty Club.
The ceremony honoured Younger, and seven other familiar faces on campus, for their years of dedicated service. The retirees were: Grace Chung (Geography), Rafael Garcia (Facilities Management & Planning), John Inciura (Dept of Mathematical and Computational Sciences), Peter Mui (Technology Resource Centre), Slavka Murray (Dept. of Management), Michael Jalland (Dept. of Management), Lawrence Schmidt (Dept of Historical Studies) and Karen Younger (Office of the Registrar).
Professor Deep Saini, Vice President and Principal of the University of Toronto Mississauga, thanked the retirees for their years of commitment. "It's remarkable how long each one of these men and women have been here," Dr. Saini told the gathering of faculty, staff and students. "It's not that people don't have opportunities to go elsewhere; it's just that they don't want to take them. Institutions are not based on the land we stand on or the buildings we build; it's the the people that count. There's something very special about this place and the people who work here."
Younger was one of the first two academic secretaries hired by U of T Mississauga when the campus first opened as Erindale College in 1967. "I'm an ‘Erindale Original', Younger says. The North Building was a little wee structure, just half the size it is now, that housed all academic classes and administration. We were so small, it was like a family."
Like many of the other retirees, Younger helped the college transition to a campus; has seen the construction of new teaching, research, residence, library and athletic facilities; and has watched student enrolment swell from 400 students to more than 12,000.
When Grace Chung arrived at U of T Mississauga in 1989, she marveled at the 225-acre campus spread along the Credit River. "There were two secretary positions available-one in Economics and one in Geography," Chung says. "I'm very fond of nature and I was amazed by how vast the land is here compared to Hong Kong. So, I chose Geography."
Professor Joe Leydon praised Chung's contributions during her 21 years, first as the Geography department secretary, and later, as an academic counselor. "As faculty members, we like to think that we are the ones that inspire students and that we are the reason that students take our courses," Leydon said, "but students tell us over and over that the reason they study geography is because of Grace Chung."
Chung rejoices when students graduate, pursue research opportunities or continue in post-graduate studies. "It can be a long time waiting for the fruit to come out, but when we see it, it's wonderful," she says. Although Chung has retired from the regular round of 8:45 a.m. to 5 p.m. and beyond, she hopes to continue mentoring students as a volunteer in the International Centre.
Karen Younger says she's ready to swap her cubicle in the Office of the Registrar for a tow-along trailer that she and her husband will use to explore Canada. After 36 years, Younger leaves behind one last contribution--her daughter, Michelle, who joined the U of T Mississauga family on the health services team in 2009.
By Kimberley Wright