March 31, 2009

Staff memorial planned for April 22

Staff members who have died during the past year will be honored and remembered at a ceremony on April 22.

The ceremony is the result of an effort in the Administrative and Professional Staff Advisory Committee to create a permanent staff memorial. Kristie Bishop, service desk manager in the College of Liberal Arts, suggested the idea to the full group in 2007.

"I felt strongly about selecting a way to honor a couple of former colleagues," says Bishop, now APSAC member emeritus. "I was serving on APSAC and decided to see if there was interest for APSAC supporting a project of this type. The committee discussed it and agreed it was worth pursuing."

APSAC sought the assistance of the Clerical and Service Staff Advisory Committee and the Purdue University Retirees Association. An ad hoc committee composed of members of all three groups was formed to pursue the project.

Committee members are APSAC representatives Bishop, Steve Santy and Mollie Pennock; CSSAC representatives Jaylene Nichols, Cynthia Dalton and Matt Marks; and PURA representatives Scott Rumble and Lois Wark.

The committee has discussed what form the staff memorial should take, sought feedback from their groups and met with Purdue’s Architecture Landscape Design and Planning Committee and representatives of the Office of the University Architect.

The initial ceremony on April 22 will be held on the steps of Hovde Hall. A time is pending and will be communicated closer to the date. Bishop says the committee is still working with the ALDP to narrow down locations for a permanent memorial and put together a vision for the overall look.

"Many staff members at Purdue feel that we are a large, extended family," Bishop says. "We spend so much of our time working with others and developing relationships that it’s sometimes our second family. When there is a loss of a colleague, it's a loss of a family member. We wanted to provide a location where staff can gather to honor a past colleague as well as an annual ceremony. We hope it is a way to recognize and remember those who worked at and devoted their careers to Purdue as well as bring tribute to how they touched our lives."

Golden Taps

Purdue students who have died will be remembered at the Golden Taps ceremony at 9 p.m. April 21. The ceremony will take  place at the "Unfinished Block P" statue in Academy Park, north of Stewart Center.