When UVic’s annual Long Service Awards were presented at the University Club back in October, a surprising number of Fine Arts faculty and staff were among the recipients—and, if you add up all their years of service, it totals a remarkable 335 years at UVic.
Music professor Pamela Highbaugh Aloni with UVic president Jamie Cassels
In the 25-year category were Linda Sheldon (Music), Astri Wright (Art History & Visual Studies) and the members of the Lafayette String Quartet—Ann Elliott-Goldschmid, Pamela Highbaugh Aloni, Joanna Hood and Sharon Stanis (all Music).
Clocking in at 30 years were Sandra Guerreiro (Theatre), Harald Krebs (Music), and Alexandra Pohran-Dawkins (Music), while two people had achieved the impressive 35-year mark: Eva Kinderman (Music) and Laura Nuttall (Visual Arts).
During her 35 years on campus, Nuttall has worked in food services and the library, but most of her time was spent in the registrar’s office before transferring over to Visual Arts six years ago. “I could smell sawdust the first time I walked into the building, so I knew it was going to be completely different,” she recalls.
Visual Arts staffer Laura Nuttall with fellow 35-year recipient, Jamie Cassels
“I love helping people in Visual Arts,” says Nuttall. “It’s not about volume, like the registrar’s office—it’s about being there for that individual person, from enrollment to graduation. It offers a real sense of satisfaction and completion.”
And while she just earned a Long Service Award for her 25 years in Fine Arts, December also marked the end of an era with the retirement of Advising Officer Anne Heinl—not only did she help create the position 23 years ago, but she’s also the only person ever to have held it. Anne’s dedication and good humour will be sorely missed by faculty, staff and students alike.