UA recognized employees with five years of service milestones in a ceremony on July 16. President Peter J. Mohler congratulated the honorees for their years of service, and participants were presented with a commemorative key ring engraved with their years of service. They also reminisced with fellow honorees and enjoyed a reception buffet.
Here we honor just three of the 711 UA employees from all divisions, colleges and schools, and the Office of the President.
Cynthia Moore (40 Years)
Cynthia Moore, program coordinator of The University of Alabama Rural Programs, celebrated 40 years of service to the University. The co-founder and director of the Rural Health Scholars Program and the Medical Opportunities and Outreach in Rural Education Scholars Program, Moore spends her working hours overseeing recruiting, logistics and coordination of instructional programming for the two programs while serving as a mentor and advisor to students. She estimates that 70-80 former students have become physicians with the help of the Rural Health Scholars Program, in addition to others who became nurses or other healthcare workers.
“[Today’s] students are very studious and very serious, they’re always trying to get the best grade, and then there’s nothing wrong with that, but sometimes I think you need to sit back and just enjoy life,” Moore observed. Perhaps that is part of the reason why, in addition to her day job, Moore has advised the UA Afro-American gospel choir for around 30 years.
“I’m a hands-on type person, so I made the rehearsals every Thursday night,” Moore said. “When they go sing on Sunday mornings, I’m with them. Any other time that they go somewhere, I’m with them, so that has been rewarding, too.”
David Duff (30 Years)
David Duff started at Alabama Public Radio while he was a graduate student, and now directs the music program. He spends four hours each day on the air, broadcasting a live show. The remainder of his time is spent planning for the next day’s show and overseeing all of the music programming for the station. A music major in college, Duff now enjoys exposing his listeners to great composers and performances. “I would say the pleasure of being able to share this great music with our audience has probably been the biggest joy,” he said.
Jan Hamner (25 Years)
After accepting a position as a receptionist in the Registrar’s Office in 2001, Jan Hamner worked in different positions within the office before finally being hired as assistant to the registrar in 2006. With a passion for service, she has found fulfillment in the opportunities the job provides for assisting others, whether it’s students looking for transcripts, parents needing directions or a busy registrar needing help keeping everything organized.
Hamner plans to retire in March, but it wasn’t an easy decision. “We’ve had a great group of co-workers and management. It was hard to leave. I just enjoyed what I did,” she said.