The Offices for Faculty and the Senior Vice President's offices are hosting a Retirement Brunch on Tuesday, May 7th 2024 to honor and celebrate University faculty who retired between June 2023 and June 2024!
"You have all played a significant role in shaping the lives of our students and contributing to the growth and success of the University of Utah. Your commitment to excellence and dedication in your respective fields has not gone unnoticed. Your legacy will not be forgotten, as your contributions will continue to impact our university for many years to come." - Rob Scott Smith, Emcee for Retirement Brunch
Quick Stats
These numbers represent University of Utah faculty who retired between July 1st 2023 and July 1st 2024
11
Retirees with 40+ years at the U
95
Retirees
55 years
Longest tenure at the U
Words from our Retirees
We asked all the retirees who attended the luncheon to consider their answer for one or more of these three questions:
What is your favorite memory at the U?
What are you most proud of in your career?
What are you most looking forward to about retirement?
See some of their responses below:
![](https://officeforfaculty.utah.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/57/2024/09/Butterfield-Marci-School-of-Accounting.jpeg)
Marci Butterfield
School of AccountingMarci Butterfield
School of AccountingWhat is your favorite memory at the U?
"I love the energy I get when I step on campus - it is a fantastic feeling."
What are you most proud of from your career?
"I am most proud that I love mentoring and enjoying my students. They are my passion!"
What are you most looking forward to about retirement?
- "TRAVEL and spending more time with my husband and family."
![](https://officeforfaculty.utah.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/57/2024/09/Curtin-Karen-Internal-Medicine.jpeg)
Karen Curtin
Department of Internal MedicineKaren Curtin
Department of Internal MedicineWhat is your favorite memory at the U?
"As a fairly newly minted PhD myself in the School of Medicine (in 2008), I was able to hood my son when he graduated from the School of Medicine with his MD in 2017."
What are you most proud of from your career?
"Menoting early career trainees, physicians, and scientists in publishing their first first-author publication."
What are you most looking forward to about retirement?
- "Continuing to bicycle around the world on my non-ebikes, (pedal power!) Although an ebike is looming in my future at some point.."
![](https://officeforfaculty.utah.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/57/2024/09/Engar-Ann-Honors-683x1024.jpeg)
Ann Engar
The Honors CollegeAnn Engar
The Honors CollegeWhat is your favorite memory at the U?
"A wonderful retirement party put on by Honors and LEAP - 80 smiling faces showing "good vibes", warmth and love to a colleague who cherishes them and our time together."
What are you most proud of from your career?
"The acheivements of my students - the advocates for the homeless and victims of domestic violence, the two young men brought as children to this country by "coyotes" but are among the 20 top Hispanic Young Lawyers"
What are you most looking forward to about retirement?
- "Getting the chance to do all the things that have had to be set aside - more exercising, more playing the piano, more cleaning 40 years of accumulation."
![](https://officeforfaculty.utah.edu/wp-content/uploads/sites/57/2024/09/McLeskey-Nanci-Nursing-751x1024.png)
Nanci McLeskey
College of NursingNanci McLeskey
College of NursingWhat is your favorite memory at the U?
"Turning nursing students on to the richness, joy, and value in caring for older adults, especially those with dementia and those at end of life."
What are you most proud of from your career?
"Implementing an end-of-life nursing course (ELNEC), taken by all undergraduate nursing students, and creating and teaching GERON 5320 Death, Dying and Bereavement, a course available to all students across the university campus."
What are you most looking forward to about retirement?
- "Spending more time with my husband, children, and grandchildren, and exploring the world through travel."
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Name
Department Name
Years of Service
Zeinab Afify Department of Pediatrics 20 years, 7 months Timothy Ameel Department of Mechanical Engineering 27 years, 3 months You Han Bae College of Pharmacy 33 years, 11 months Michael Bastiani School of Biological Sciences 36 years Michael Behrens Anesthesiology Department 24 years, 10 months Susan Benedict Department of Pediatrics 20 years, 3 months Gunseli Berik Department of Economics 29 years Martha Bradley School of Architecture 29 years, 6 months Janice Bradley Department of Educational Leadership & Policy 3 years, 6 months Paul Bray Department of Internal Medicine 7 years, 2 months Bruce Bray Department of Internal Medicine 41 years Kelly Bricker Department of Parks, Recreation, & Tourism 16 years Diana Brixner College of Pharmacy 22 years, 1 month Kathleen Brown Department of Educational Psychology 29 years, 10 months Karen Buchi Department of Pediatrics 34 years, 11 months Marci Butterfield School of Accounting 20 years, 1 month Dana Carroll Department of Biochemistry 48 years, 4 months Elizabeth Cashdan Department of Anthropology 35 years Marjorie Chan Department of Geology & Geophysics 41 years, 11 months Karen Curtin Division of Epidemiology 14 years, 4 months Laura Czajkowski Department of Psychiatry 35 years Ann Darling Department of Communication 31 years, 2 months J. Michael Dean Department of Pediatrics 37 years Mark Christopher Ely School of Music 34 years, 11 months Ann Engar The Honors College 21 years, 4 months Robert Farney Department of Internal Medicine 44 years, 10 months Donald Feener School of Biological Sciences 33 years, 8 months Peter Flynn Department of Chemistry 21 years, 7 months Robert Fujinami Department of Pathology 32 years, 10 months Eduard Gappmaier Department of Physical Therapy & Athletic Training 30 years, 10 months Jerry Gardner Department of Theatre 25 years, 10 months Joan Gregory Eccles Health Science Library 34 years, 6 months Abbie Griffin Department of Marketing 17 years, 11 months Xiao He Department of Pathology 17 years, 9 months Robert Hitchcock Department of Biomedical Engineering 20 years, 10 months Vladimir Hlady Department of Biomedical Engineering 34 years, 9 months Howard Horwitz Department of English 33 years, 9 months John Hurdle Department of Biomedical Informatics 26 years, 11 months Xan Johnson Department of Theatre 41 years James Keener Department of Mathematics 45 years, 6 months Tek Kilgore College of Nursing 27 years, 8 months Paul Larsen Department of Film & Media Arts 30 years Jennifer Leiser Family & Preventive Medicine (Family Medicine) 25 years, 8 months Nancy Lombardo Eccles Health Science Library 28 years, 2 months Bob Lutz Department of Finance 26 years, 11 months Suzanne Mansour Department of Human Genetics 31 years, 5 months Nanci McLeskey College of Nursing 17 years, 5 months Julie Metos Department of Nutrition & Integrative Physiology 29 years, 9 months Rebecka Meyers Department of Pediatrics 29 years, 3 months Jan Miller Department of Metallurgical Engineering 55 years Susan Naidu Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders 19 years, 7 months Lance Olsen Department of English 16 years Anne Osborn Radiology and Imaging Scienecs 49 years, 5 months Bhupendra Patel Department of Ophalmology & Visual Sciences 23 years Kathy Pedersen Family & Preventive Medicine (Family Medicine) 12 years, 6 months David Perrin Department of Physical Therapy & Athletic Training 9 years, 11 months Paula Peterson Department of Pediatrics 42 years, 11 months Pam Phares College of Nursing 11 years, 10 months G Powell School of Dentistry 39 years, 4 months Mary Price Department of Occupational & Recreational Therapies 19 years Theodore Pysher Department of Pathology 38 years, 6 months Larry Reimer Department of Pathology 39 years, 7 months Glenn E. Richardson Department of Health and Kinesiology 38 years, 10 months Alan Rogers Department of Anthropology 35 years Edward Ruddell Department of Parks, Recreation, & Tourism 34 years, 11 months Bill Salter Department of Radiation Oncology 17 years, 11 months Susan Sample Department of Internal Medicine 8 years, 4 months Wayne Samuelson Department of Internal Medicine 28 years, 2 months Osman Sanyer Family & Preventive Medicine (Family Medicine) 36 years, 6 months Debra Scammon Department of Marketing 48 years Brent Schneider School of Dance 25 years, 9 months Jeff Schunk Department of Pediatrics 34 years, 9 months Jon Seger School of Biological Sciences 37 years Dennis Shrieve Department of Radiation Oncology 22 years, 11 months Barbara Smith Department of Theatre 22 years, 11 months John Smith Orthopaedic Surgery Operations 32 years, 2 months Yda Smith Department of Occupational & Recreational Therapies 24 years, 10 months Brian Snapp Department of Art & Art History 23 years, 10 months Armando Solorzano Department of Family & Consumer Studies 31 years, 11 months John Speed Physical Medicine and Rehabilition 35 years, 6 months Julie Steele Department of Pediatrics 25 years Carol Sweeney Division of Epidemiology 20 years, 4 months Liz Tashjian Department of Finance 37 years, 11 months Carl Thummel Department of Human Genetics 37 years Gillian Tufts College of Nursing 29 years, 4 months Julie Wambaugh Department of Communication Sciences & Disorders 27 years, 11 months John Ward Department of Internal Medicine 41 years, 4 months David J. Warren Department of Biomedical Engineering 13 years, 2 months Jost Wendt Department of Chemical Engineering 20 years, 9 months Ross Whitaker School of Computing 24 years Dennis Winge Department of Internal Medicine 45 years, 2 months Cheryl Wright Department of Family & Consumer Studies 39 years, 11 months Anne Yeagle Department of Economics 23 years Holly Zhou Department of Pathology 24 years, 9 months Edward Zipser Department of Atmospheric Sciences 24 years, 9 months
Click HERE to view photos and data from the 2023 Faculty Retirement Bash celebrating faculty who retired between July 2019 and July 2023.